River-class frigate

The River-class frigate 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 (RN) and Royal Canadian Navy (RCN), with some serving in the other Allied navies; the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), the Free French Navy (FFN), the Royal Netherlands Navy and, post-war, the South African Navy (SAN). Ten ships built in Canada were assigned to the United States Navy (USN) to cover for a shortage of suitable convoy escorts until American-built ships became available. In the event, only two were commissioned in the USN, the remaining eight were commissioned in the RN and RCN. Twelve River-class frigates were built in Australia for the RAN (four to a modified design), the last of which is HMAS Diamantina (K377), preserved as a museum ship at the Queensland Maritime Museum in Brisbane, Australia.

After World War II they found employment in many other navies the world over; several RCN ships were sunk as breakwaters. One, HMCS Stormont (K327), was purchased by Aristotle Onasis and converted into the luxury yacht Christina O.

Design
The River-class ships were designed by naval engineer William Reed to have the endurance and anti-submarine capabilities of the Black Swan-class sloops, while being quick and cheap to build in civil dockyards using the machinery (e.g. reciprocating-steam engines instead of turbines) and construction techniques pioneered in the building of the s.

The River-class design was used as the basis for the United States Navy's Tacoma class (which served in the Royal Navy as the ), and the hull design was later elaborated into the, and subsequently the.

Ships in class
151 frigates were built for seven navies during World War II.

In preservation and in fiction

 * On display in Brisbane, Australia is HMAS Diamantina (K377), the last complete River class frigate, preserved at the Queensland Maritime Museum.


 * River-class frigate HMCS Stormont (K327) served as a convoy escort during the Battle of the Atlantic and was present at the D-Day landings. In 1947 Greek shipowner Aristotle Onassis purchased her for scrap value and converted her into a luxurious superyacht named Christina O, after his daughter. The vessel is now owned by John Paul Nicolaou, who lets the yacht for elite charters and cruises.
 * "HMS Saltash" was a fictional River class frigate in Nicholas Monsarrat's 1951 book: The Cruel Sea. (In the 1953 Jack Hawkins film version she is called "HMS Saltash Castle", and was played by the corvette HMS Portchester Castle (K362)).


 * HMCS New Glasgow (K320) plays the fictional frigate "HMS Rockhampton" in the 1955 John Wayne film The Sea Chase. (She had just been recommissioned as a Prestonian class upgrade of the Canadian River class frigates, after ten years in reserve).