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WWII era Royal Navy warship

The Loch class was a class of anti submarine (A/S) frigate built for the Royal Navy and her Allies during World War II. They were an innovative design based on the experience of three years of fighting in the Battle of the Atlantic and attendant technological advances. Some shipyards had trouble building these larger ships, which led to widespread use of the Castle class corvette, introduced around the same time.

The Lochs were based upon the hull of the preceding with increased sheer and flare to improve seakeeping and modified to suit it to mass pre fabrication, with sections riveted or welded together at the shipyard. Accordingly, as many curves as possible were eliminated, producing a noticeable kink in the main deck where the increased sheer forwards met the level abreast the bridge. The fighting capability of the Loch class was a great jump forward, being based around the new Squid ahead throwing A/S mortar. Previously, escorts had attacked with depth charges, requiring the attacking vessel to pass over the submerged submarine and drop warheads over the stern. Consequently, the ahead looking ASDIC (sonar) set lost contact at the vital moment before the weapons were launched, allowing a skilled submarine commander to take successful evasive action. Squid, however, lobbed three , 390 pound warheads up to ahead of the launching vessel falling in a triangular pattern with sides of As the clockwork fuses detonated the warheads at a depth determined by the ships' ASDIC set, the Squid therefore attacked in full ASDIC contact for greater accuracy and lethality. Two mortars were carried, with the bombs set to explode at different depths in order to create a convergent pressure wave to crush the hull of a submarine. The first successful "kill" was by on 31 July 1944, sinking the Such was the utility of Squid that depth charge carriage was reduced to only 15, with a single rack and a pair of throwers being carried at the stern, resulting in a clear quarterdeck compared to the eight throwers, two racks and stowage for 100 plus charges in the Rivers. The weapons outfit was completed with a single QF Mark V gun forwards. An oversight in the River design had been to place the gun in the favourable position forward on the shelter deck, with the ahead throwing Hedgehog on the main deck, exposed to the worst of the seas breaking over the fo'c'sle, consequently this was reversed in the Lochs; the Squids being on the shelter deck behind protective bulwarks. For anti aircraft (A/A) defence, a quadruple mounting Mark VII QF 2 pounder was shipped aft along with up to 12 20 mm Oerlikon guns, in 2 twin powered mounts Mark V in the bridge wings and 8 single pedestal mounts Mark III. , Loch Craggie, Loch Eck, Loch Glendhu, and the South African Navy ships HMSAS Good Hope, Natal and Transvaal carried single Bofors 40 mm L/60 gun mounts in lieu of the twin Oerlikons. In addition to the new weaponry, the Lochs also carried new sensors, in the form of Radar Type 277. This set utilised the cavity magnetron to transmit on centimetric wavelengths for target indication purposes, excelling at picking out small targets such as a submarine periscope or snorkel from the surface clutter. The increased weight of the stabilised antenna array and the carriage of HF/DF at the masthead meant that a lattice mast was stepped in lieu of the traditional tripod or pole. Some vessels completed with Radar Type 271 or 272 and the associated "lantern" radome until Type 277 became available. ASDIC Type 144 was carried for search and attack functions with Type 147B used for depth finding. As with the previous wartime escort designs, mercantile machinery was adopted to speed construction, with a pair of 4 cylinder vertical triple expansion reciprocating engines. Loch Arkaig and Loch Tralaig were fitted with Parsons single reduction steam turbines to establish the feasibility of such an installation, but it was not possible to provide enough sets of turbines for all vessels. One advantage of the use of mercantile machinery was that it was instantly familiar to the mainly reservist and volunteer (RNR and RNVR) crews who manned these ships.

Of the one hundred and ten vessels ordered, twenty eight were built as frigates, entering service from 1944. Another two – Loch Assynt and Loch Torridon – were converted while building and completed as Coastal Forces Depot Ships, being renamed and Due to a need in 1944 for a version fitted as anti aircraft vessels with the British Pacific Fleet, twenty six units were authorised for completion to a modified design labelled the and were renamed. A further fifty four Loch class vessels were cancelled in 1945. Of the twenty eight Loch class frigates completed as such, Loch Achanalt, Loch Alvie and Loch Morlich were transferred to Canada in 1943 but retained their Royal Navy names and were returned after the war; a fourth ship – Loch Fionn – was also earmarked for transfer but was retained by the Royal Navy as a Bay class frigate. Loch Ard, Loch Boisdale and Loch Cree were transferred to South Africa as Transvaal, Good Hope and Natal respectively on completion. In 1948, six vessels, including two of the ex Royal Canadian Navy trio, were refitted from reserve and transferred to New Zealand. During the Korean War, the Royal Navy reactivated several vessels and transferred them to the Mediterranean where they released s for war duties. In 1964 Loch Insh was transferred to Malaysia.

Loch Assynt and Loch Torridon were modified whilst under construction to depot ships for coastal forces, armed with a twin QF Mark XVI on a single mounting Mark XIX forward and six single 20 mm Oerlikons. With the war in the Atlantic won by 1944, and a need forecast for additional fleet A/A escorts for the Royal Navy's increased Far Eastern commitments, twenty six Loch class were redesigned and renamed (of which nineteen were completed) as Bay class anti aircraft frigates. In 1953, seven vessels were modernised; Loch Alvie, Loch Fada, Loch Fyne, Loch Insh, Loch Killisport, Loch Lomond and Loch Ruthven. The single gun was replaced by the ubiquitous twin mounting HA/LA Mark XIX and the A/A weaponry was standardised as a single twin mounting Mark V and four single mounting Mark VII for the 40 mm Bofors gun, with a Simple Tachymetric Director shipped for the Mark V. Radar Type 277 was fitted with the new ANU antenna array. Loch Killisport sported a gunshield manufactured from GRP to test this material for suitability of constructing the housing of the new 4.5 inch gun Mark 8. Loch Fada paid off in 1967 and was used to test an early vertical launch variant of the new Sea Wolf missile.

All three were returned to the Royal Navy in 1945.

HMSAS Good Hope (K 432) (ex HMS Loch Boisdale). Scuttled as an artificial reef in False Bay, 12 December 1978. HMSAS Natal (K 10) (ex HMS Loch Cree). Survey ship 1957. Sunk as a target off the Cape, 19 September 1972. HMSAS Transvaal (K 602) (ex HMS Loch Ard). Scuttled as an artificial reef in False Bay, 3 August 1978.

(ex HMS Loch Achanalt). Broken up in January 1966 at Hong Kong. (ex HMS Loch Achray). Sold in 1966 for breaking up at Hong Kong. (ex HMS Loch Katrine). Sold in November 1966 for breaking up at Hong Kong. (ex HMS Loch Eck). Sold in September 1965 for breaking up in Hong Kong. (ex HMS Loch Shin). Sold 15 December 1961 for breaking up. (ex HMS Loch Morlich). Sold 15 December 1961 for breaking up. Ex Royal Navy vessels, transferred from 1948.

Hang Tuah (ex HMS Loch Insh). Retired and scrapped in 1977.

HMS Loch Affric (K 601) from Ailsa Shipbuilding, Troon. HMS Loch Clunie (K 607) from Ailsa Shipbuilding, Troon. HMS Loch Ericht (K 612) from Ailsa Shipbuilding, Troon. HMS Loch Erisort (K 613) from Barclay Curle, Glasgow. HMS Loch Garve (K 617) from Hall Russell. HMS Loch Griam (K 621) from Swan Hunter. HMS Loch Harray (K 623) from Smith's Dock. HMS Loch Ken (K 626) from Smith's Dock. HMS Loch Kirbister (K 629) from Swan Hunter. HMS Loch Linfern (K 631) from Smith's Dock. HMS Loch Linnhe (K 632) from William Pickersgill. HMS Loch Lyon (K 635) from Swan Hunter. HMS Loch Minnick (K 637) from Smith's Dock. HMS Loch Nell (K 641) from Henry Robb. HMS Loch Odairn (K 642) from Henry Robb. HMS Loch Ossian (K 643) from Smith's Dock. HMS Loch Ryan (K 646) from William Pickersgill. HMS Loch Scrivain (K 649) from William Pickersgill. HMS Loch Tanna (K 652) from Blyth Dry Dock. HMS Loch Tilt (K 653) from William Pickersgill. HMS Loch Urgill (K 656) from Blyth Dry Dock. HMS Loch Vennacher (K 657) from Blyth Dry Dock. HMS Loch Watten (K 659) from Blyth Dry Dock. HMS Loch Awe from Harland & Wolff. HMS Loch Badcall from William Pickersgill. HMS Loch Caroy from William Pickersgill. HMS Loch Doine from Smith's Dock. HMS Loch Creran from Smith's Dock. HMS Loch Earn from Charles Hill & Sons. HMS Loch Enoch from Harland & Wolff. HMS Loch Eye from Harland & Wolff. HMS Loch Eyenort from Harland & Wolff. HMS Loch Glashan from Smith's Dock. HMS Loch Goil from Harland & Wolff. HMS Loch Hourn from Harland & Wolff. HMS Loch Inchard from Harland & Wolff. HMS Loch Kirkaig from Harland & Wolff. HMS Loch Kishorn from Henry Robb. HMS Loch Knochie from William Pickersgill. HMS Loch Laro from Harland & Wolff. HMS Loch Lurgan from Harland & Wolff. HMS Loch Maberry from Hall Russell. HMS Loch Ronald from Harland & Wolff. HMS Loch Sheallah from Harland & Wolff. HMS Loch Shiel from Harland & Wolff. HMS Loch Skaig from Smith's Dock. HMS Loch Skerrow from Charles Hill & Sons. HMS Loch Stemster from Harland & Wolff. HMS Loch Stenness from Smith's Dock. HMS Loch Striven from Harland & Wolff. HMS Loch Sunart from Harland & Wolff. HMS Loch Swin from Harland & Wolff. HMS Loch Tummell from Harland & Wolff. HMS Loch Vanavie from Harland & Wolff.