HMS Somaliland (K594) was aColony-class frigate of the United Kingdom thatserved during World War II.
She originally was ordered by the United States Navy as the Tacoma-class patrol frigate USS Popham (PF-90) and was transferred to the Royal Navy prior to completion.
Construction and acquisition
The ship, originally designated a “patrol gunboat,” PG-198, was ordered by the United States Maritime Commission under a U.S. Navy contract as USS Popham. She was reclassified as a “patrol frigate,” PF-90, on 15 April 1943 and laid down by the Walsh-Kaiser Company at Providence, Rhode Island, on 11 October 1943.[1] Intended for transfer to the United Kingdom, the ship was renamed Somaliland by the British prior to launching and was launched on 11 November 1943.
Service history
Transferred to the United Kingdom under Lend-Lease on, according to different sources, either 22 February 1944 or 24 June 1944, the ship served in the Royal Navy as HMS Somaliland (K594) on patrol and escort duty.
The United Kingdom returned Somaliland to the U.S. Navy on 22 May 1946. She was scrapped in 1947.
Tacoma Class Patrol Frigate/British Colony Class Frigate:
(MC Type T. S2-S2-AQ1) Originally authorized as Patrol Gunboat, PG-198.
Reclassified as a Patrol Frigate, PF-90 in 1943.
Laid down in 1943 under a Maritime Commission contract at Walsh-Kaiser Co., Inc., Providence, RI.
Assigned to the Royal Navy under the Lend-Lease Program and named Ppham.
Launched 11 November 1943.
Transferred to Great Britian 24 June 1944 as HMS Somaliland (K 594).
Returned to U.S. custody 22 May 1946.
Scrapped in 1947.
Specifications:
• Displacement 1,430 t.
• Length 303′ 11″(oa)
• Beam 37′ 6″
• Draft 13′ 8″
• Speed 20.3 kts.
• Complement 176
• Armament: Three 3″/50 dual purpose mounts, two twin 40mm mounts, nine 20mm mounts, one Hedgehog, eight depth charge projectors and two depth charge tracks.
• Propulsion: Two 240psi 3-drum express boilers, two 5,500ihp Valley Iron Works engines, two shafts.
