HMS Prefect

HMS Prefect (Z263) was a net laying ship for the Royal Navy during the Second World War acquired from the United States Navy in June 1944 via Lend-Lease.

History
United Kingdom
Name	HMS Prefect (Z263)
Builder	American Car and Foundry Co. Wilmington, Delaware
Laid down	1 April 1943
Launched	8 March 1944
Completed	3 June 1944
Acquired	3 June 1944
Fate	returned to U.S. Navy, 28 December 1945
History
United States
Acquired	28 December 1945
Stricken	28 March 1946
Fate	transferred to the Maritime Commission, 3 April 1947, for disposal
General characteristics
Class and type	Ailanthus-class net laying ship
Displacement	1,190 long tons (1,210 t) (full)
Length	194 ft 6 in (59.28 m)
Beam	37 ft (11 m)
Draught	13 ft 6 in (4.11 m)
Propulsion	diesel electric, 2,500 hp (1,900 kW)
Speed	13 knots (24 km/h)
Complement	56
Armament	1 × 3"/50 caliber gun 4 × twin 20 mm gun mounts

The ship was laid down as Prefect (YN-88), a net tender of the Ailanthus class, on 1 April 1943 at the American Car and Foundry Co. in Wilmington, Delaware. On 17 January 1944, while still under construction, the ship was reclassified as a net laying ship and redesignated AN-75. Prefect was launched on 8 March and completed on 3 June.

After delivery to the U.S. Navy on 3 June, she was transferred to the United Kingdom under Lend-Lease the same day and commissioned into the Royal Navy as HMS Prefect (Z263). Upon completion of wartime duty with the United Kingdom, she arrived at Norfolk, Virginia, on 22 October 1945 and was returned to the U.S. Navy on 28 December 1945. Struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 28 March 1946, she was transferred 3 April 1947 to the United States Maritime Commission and sold.