River-class frigate

For other naval ship classes of the same name, see River class (disambiguation).

Class overview
Operators
Succeeded byLoch class
SubclassesRN group I, RN group II, RAN group I, RAN group II, RCN group
In commission1942
Planned30
Completed151
Cancelled2
Active
  • 1 as training ship
  • 1 converted to yacht
Lost
Preserved4
General characteristics RN group I
Displacement
  • 1,370 long tons (1,392 t)
  • 1,830 long tons (1,859 t) (deep load)
Length
  • 283 ft (86.3 m) p/p
  • 301.25 ft (91.8 m) o/a
Beam36 ft 6 in (11.1 m)
Draught9 ft (2.7 m); 13 ft (4.0 m) (deep load)
Propulsion
Speed
  • 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph)
  • 20.5 knots (38.0 km/h; 23.6 mph) (turbine ships)
Range7,200 nmi (13,300 km; 8,300 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) with; 440 long tons (447 t) oil fuel
Complement107
Armament
General characteristics (RN group II)
Range646 long tons (656 t) oil fuel; 7,500 nmi (13,890 km; 8,631 mi) at 15 knots (27.8 km/h; 17.3 mph)
NotesOther data per RN group I
General characteristics (RCN group)
Displacement
  • 1,445 long tons (1,468 t)
  • 2,110 long tons (2,144 t) (deep load)
Range646 long tons (656 t) oil fuel; 7,500 nmi (13,890 km; 8,631 mi) at 15 knots (27.8 km/h; 17.3 mph)
Complement157
Armament
NotesOther data per RN group I
General characteristics (RAN group I)
Displacement
  • 1,420 long tons (1,443 t)
  • 2,020 long tons (2,052 t) (deep load)
Range500 long tons (508 t) oil fuel; 5,180 nmi (9,593 km; 5,961 mi) at 12 knots (22.2 km/h; 13.8 mph)
Complement140
Armament
NotesOther data per RN group I
General characteristics (RAN group II)
Displacement
  • 1,545 long tons (1,570 t)
  • 2,185 long tons (2,220 t)
Complement177
Sensors and
processing systems		SC radar
Armament
NotesOther data per RAN group I

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 first orders were placed by the Royal Navy in 1940, and the vessels were named for rivers in the United Kingdom, giving name to the class. In Canada, they were named for towns and cities, though they kept the same designation.[1] Originally called a "twin-screw corvette", the name "frigate" was suggested by Vice-Admiral Percy W. Nelles of the Royal Canadian Navy.[2] Canada originally ordered the construction of 33 frigates in October 1941.[1][2] The design was too big for the locks on the Lachine Canal so it was not built by the shipyards on the Great Lakes and therefore all the frigates built in Canada were built in dockyards along the West Coast or along the St. Lawrence River below Montreal.[2] In all, Canada ordered the construction of 70 frigates, including ten for the Royal Navy, which transferred two (USS Asheville and USS Natchez) to the United States Navy.[1] Twelve were built in Australia for the RAN (four to a modified design).

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 Onassis and converted into the luxury yacht Christina O.

  1. ^ a b c "Fact Sheet No.21 - Canadian River Class Frigate" (PDF). Canadian War Museum. 3 November 2013. Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 March 2024. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
  2. ^ a b c Macpherson, Ken (1989). Frigates of the Royal Canadian Navy 1943–1974. Lewiston, New York: Vanwell Publishing. pp. 6–7, 15. ISBN 0-920277-22-5.