HMS Zanzibar

HMS Zanzibar (K596) was a Colony-class frigate of the United Kingdom that served during World War II. She was ordered by the United States Navy as the Tacoma-class patrol frigate USS Prowse (PF-92) and was transferred to the Royal Navy prior to completion.

History
United States
NameUSS Prowse
NamesakeBritish name assigned in anticipation of ship's transfer to United Kingdom
ReclassifiedPatrol frigate, PF-92, 15 April 1943
BuilderWalsh-Kaiser Company, Providence, Rhode Island
Laid down20 October 1943
RenamedZanzibar, 1943
NamesakeZanzibar
Launched21 November 1943
IdentificationPG-200
FateTransferred to the United Kingdom, 21 June 1944
AcquiredReturned by United Kingdom 21 May 1946[1]
Stricken29 October 1946
FateSold for scrapping 17 June 1947
United Kingdom
NameHMS Zanzibar
Acquired21 June 1944
Commissioned21 June 1944[2]
IdentificationPennant number: K596
FateReturned to the United States, 21 May 1946[1]
General characteristics
Class and typeColony-class frigate
Displacement1,264 long tons (1,284 t)
Length303 ft 11 in (92.63 m)
Beam37 ft 6 in (11.43 m)
Draft13 ft 8 in (4.17 m)
Propulsion
  • 3 × boilers
  • 2 × turbines, 5,500 shp (4,100 kW) each
  • 2 shafts
Speed20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph)
Complement190
Armament

Construction and acquisition

The ship, originally designated a "patrol gunboat," PG-200, was ordered by the United States Maritime Commission under a U.S. Navy contract as USS Prowse. She was reclassified as a "patrol frigate," PF-92, on 15 April 1943 and laid down by the Walsh-Kaiser Company at Providence, Rhode Island, on 20 October 1943. Intended for transfer to the United Kingdom, the ship was renamed Zanzibar by the British prior to her launch on 21 November 1943.

Service history

Transferred to the United Kingdom under Lend-Lease on 21 June 1944, the ship served in the Royal Navy as HMS Zanzibar (K596). She operated out of Derry, Northern Ireland, and Greenock, Scotland, on convoy escort duty into the western Atlantic Ocean as far as Boston, Massachusetts. In addition, she served as a weather ship on Ocean Station No. 19 in both the spring of 1945 and the spring of 1946.

Disposal

The United Kingdom returned Zanzibar to the U.S. Navy on 21 May 1946 at Brooklyn, New York.[1] She was stricken from the U.S. Naval Vessel Register on 29 October 1946 and sold on 17 June 1947 for scrapping.

References

Notes
  1. According to uboat.net HMS Zanzibar (K596), the ship was returned on 31 May 1946.
  2. uboat.net HMS Zanzibar (K596)

Bibliography
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