HMS Louis (K515)


The second HMS Louis was a British Captain-class frigate of the Royal Navy in commission during World War II. Originally constructed as the United States Navy Evarts-class destroyer escort DE-517, she served in the Royal Navy from 1943 to 1946.

Description

The Evarts-class ships had an overall length of, a beam of, and a draught of at full load. They displaced at and at full load. The ships had a diesel–electric powertrain derived from a submarine propulsion system with four General Motors 16-cylinder diesel engines providing power to four General Electric electric generators which sent electricity to four General Electric electric motors which drove the two propeller shafts. The destroyer escorts had enough power give them a speed of and enough fuel oil to give them a range of at. Their crew consisted of 198 officers and ratings.
The armament of the Evarts-class ships in British service consisted of three single mounts for 50-caliber /50 Mk 22 dual-purpose guns; one superfiring pair forward of the bridge and the third gun aft of the superstructure. Anti-aircraft defence was intended to consisted of a twin-gun mount for Bofors anti-aircraft (AA) guns atop the rear superstructure with nine Oerlikon AA guns located on the superstructure, but production shortages meant that that not all guns were fitted, or that additional Oerlikons replaced the Bofors guns. A Mark 10 Hedgehog anti-submarine mortar was positioned just behind the forward gun. The ships were also equipped with two depth charge rails at the stern and four "K-gun" depth charge throwers.

Construction and career

The ship was laid down by the Boston Navy Yard in Boston, Massachusetts, on 9 July 1943 as the unnamed U.S. Navy destroyer escort DE-517 and launched on 13 August 1943. The United States transferred the ship to the United Kingdom under Lend-Lease on 9 November 1943. The ship was commissioned into service in the Royal Navy as HMS Louis on 9 November 1943 simultaneously with her transfer. She served on antisubmarine patrol and convoy escort duty in the Bay of Biscay, North Atlantic Ocean, and Arctic Ocean. On 24 August 1944, she sank the German submarine U-445 with depth charges in the Bay of Biscay west of St. Nazaire, France, at position.
The Royal Navy returned Louis to the U.S. Navy at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard in Philadelphia, on 20 March 1946. The United States Government sold Louis to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on 17 June 1946.