The River class 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 and Royal Canadian Navy (RCN), with some serving in the other Allied navies: the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), the Free French Naval Forces, the Royal Netherlands Navy and, post-war, the South African Navy.

The Royal Navy placed the first orders in 1940, and the vessels were named after rivers in the United Kingdom, giving the name to the class. In Canada, they were called after towns and cities, although they retained the same designation. Originally called a "twin-screw corvette", the name "frigate" was suggested by Vice-Admiral Percy W. Nelles of the Royal Canadian Navy. Canada originally ordered the construction of 33 frigates in October 1941. In 1947, Greek shipowner Aristotle Onassis purchased her for scrap value and converted her into a luxurious superyacht named Christina O, after his daughter. The vessel is now owned by John Paul Nicolaou, who lets the yacht for elite charters and cruises.

, formerly HMCS Hallowell served as a convoy escort during World War II and later transferred to the Israeli Navy and then the Royal Ceylon Navy, which later became the Sri Lankan Navy. She was withdrawn from active duty in 1980 and is now used as a training ship by Sri Lanka.

, formerly , is preserved in Seikkyi, Myanmar.

In fiction

"HMS Saltash" was a fictional River-class frigate in Nicholas Monsarrat's 1951 book The Cruel Sea. (In the 1953 Jack Hawkins film version she is called "HMS Saltash Castle", and was played by the corvette .)

played the fictional frigate "HMS Rockhampton" in the 1955 John Wayne film The Sea Chase. (She had just been recommissioned as a Prestonian class upgrade of the Canadian River-class frigate, after ten years in reserve.)

"HMS Nairn" was a fictional River-class frigate in Alistair MacLean's 1955 book HMS Ulysses.

See also

  • List of Escorteurs of the French Navy
  • List of patrol vessels of the United States Navy

References

Bibliography

  • Convoy escort movements for River-class frigates