The River class frigate was a class of 151 frigates launched between 1941 and 1944 for use as anti-submarine convoy escorts in the North Atlantic.
The majority served with the Royal Navy (RN) and Royal Canadian Navy (RCN), with some serving in the other Allied navies; the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), the Free French Navy (FFN), the Royal Netherlands Navy and, post-war, the South African Navy (SAN). Ten ships built in Canada were assigned to the United States Navy (USN) to cover for a shortage of suitable convoy escorts until American built ships became available. In the event, only two were commissioned in the USN, the remaining eight were commissioned in the RN and RCN. Twelve River class frigates were built in Australia for the RAN (four to a modified design), the last of which is HMAS Diamantina, preserved as a museum ship at the Queensland Maritime Museum in Brisbane, Australia.
After World War II they found employment in many other navies the world over; several RCN ships were sunk as breakwaters. One, HMCS Stormont, was purchased by Aristotle Onasis and converted into the luxury yacht Christina O.
The River class ships were designed by naval engineer William Reed to have the endurance and anti-submarine capabilities of the Black Swan class sloops, while being quick and cheap to build in civil dockyards using the machinery (e.g. reciprocating steam engines instead of turbines) and construction techniques pioneered in the building of the Flower-class corvettes.
The River class design was used as the basis for the United States Navy's Tacoma class (which served in the Royal Navy as the Colony class frigates), and the hull design was later elaborated into the Loch class frigate, and subsequently the Bay class frigate.
| General characteristics | |
|---|---|
| Displacement: | 1,370 long tons (1,390 t; 1,530 short tons) 1,830 long tons (1,860 t; 2,050 short tons) (deep load) |
| Length: | 283 ft (86.26 m) p/p 301.25 ft (91.82 m)o/a |
| Beam: | 36.5 ft (11.13 m) |
| Draught: | 9 ft (2.74 m); 13 ft (3.96 m) (deep load) |
| Propulsion: | 2 x Admiralty 3-drum boilers, 2 shafts, reciprocating vertical triple expansion, 5,500 ihp (4,100 kW) |
| Speed: | 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph) 20.5 knots (38.0 km/h; 23.6 mph) (turbine ships) |
| Range: | 440 long tons (450 t; 490 short tons) oil fuel; 7,200 nautical miles (13,300 km; 8,300 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) |
| Complement: | 107 |
| Armament: |
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