 HMSPorlock Bay in 1946 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | HMSPorlock Bay |
| Builder | Charles Hill & Sons,Bristol |
| Yard number | 302 |
| Laid down | 22 November 1944 |
| Launched | 14 June 1945 |
| Completed | 8 February 1946 |
| Commissioned | 14 February 1946 |
| Decommissioned | January 1949 |
| Identification | Pennant number K650/F650 |
| Motto |
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| Fate | Sold toFinland, 19 March 1962 |
| Badge | On a Field quarterly Gold and Red in base berry wavy of four white and blue, an oak tree fructed proper. |
 Finland | |
| Name | Matti Kurki |
| Namesake | Matti Kurki |
| Acquired | 19 March 1962 |
| Commissioned | 1964 |
| Fate | Sold for scrapping, September 1975 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Bay-classfrigate |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | |
| Beam | 38 ft 6 in (11.73 m) |
| Draught | 12 ft 9 in (3.89 m) |
| Propulsion | 2 × Admiralty 3-drum boilers, 2 shafts, 4-cylinder verticaltriple expansionreciprocating engines, 5,500 ihp (4,100 kW) |
| Speed | 19.5knots (36.1 km/h; 22.4 mph) |
| Range | 724 tons oil fuel, 9,500 nmi (17,600 km) at 12 knots (22 km/h) |
| Complement | 157 |
| Sensors & processing systems |
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| Armament |
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HMSPorlock Bay was aBay-classanti-aircraftfrigate of theBritishRoyal Navy, named forPorlock Bay on the northern coast ofSomerset. Commissioned in 1946, she served on theAmerican and West Indies Station and as a Fisheries Protection Vessel before being put into reserve in 1949. She was sold to Finland in 1962 and served as the training shipMatti Kurki until 1974.[1]
Aftersea trialsPorlock Bay was commissioned on 14 February 1946 for service in theAmerica and West Indies Station under the command of Lieutenant Dudley L. Davenport. After training she was attached to the Plymouth Local Flotilla and finally sailed for Bermuda withsister shipPadstow Bay on 22 July. On arrival a minor collision meant that she did not participate with the Squadron in the Autumn Programme of visits to U.S. ports.[1]
Once repaired she took part in visits toNewfoundland and Canada, arriving atSt John's on 7 September for theNational Convention on the political future of the Colony, and took the Governor,Sir Gordon Macdonald on an official tour of isolated settlements on south coast. After visits on the northern coast, she then visited mainland ports, arriving atQuebec on 15 October. In early November she took part in joint exercises with ships of theRoyal Canadian Navy atHalifax before returning to Bermuda to refit at theRoyal Dockyard.[1]
In December, while under refit, CommanderFrank J. Twiss assumed command, and in January 1947 the ship took part in exercises with the Squadron before making visits toVeracruz, Mexico andKingston, Jamaica, thenGalveston, Texas,Mobile, Alabama, andKey West, Florida before returning to Bermuda in April. In July she took part in a programme of official visits by theGovernor of the Bahamas to theTurks and Caicos Islands, but on the 21st was despatched toBelize City inBritish Honduras afterGuatemalan threats to the colony, remaining there until early August.[1]
On 12 September the termination of her commission announced as part of a programme of cuts in naval spending. On 16 October she left Bermuda for the UK, arriving at Devonport on 3 November.Porlock Bay spent the year 1948 as part of the Fishery Protection Squadron in home waters, and was put into reserve at Devonport in January 1949. In February herpennant number was changed to F650 from K650. She remained in Reserve until 1962, during which she was refitted twice.[1]
On 19 March 1962 she was sold to theFinnish Navy as the training shipMatti Kurki,[2] named for the Finnish medieval military heroMatti Kurki (Mats Kurck).Matti Kurki made seven global circumnavigations. It is estimated some 1,500 Finnish cadets and conscripts served on board her during her service in the Finnish Navy. She was permanently anchored atUpinniemi after being decommissioned in 1974. She was scrapped inPohja, Finland, in 1975.
 Royal Navy |
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 Finnish Navy |
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 Portuguese Navy |
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