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She was eventually sold by the RN and re-named MV Queen of the Bay and went on to operate

as a pleasure craft out of Blackpool. She was subsequently sold to the Spanish navy and re-
named Lieutenant Captain Remigio Verdia and was used as a supply vessel to run blockades –

smuggling supplies to the anti-Fascists in Spain during the Civil War. In 1939 she ran aground
and sank off Cartagena in Spain.

HMSAS Immortelle and HMSAS Sonneblom

Both of these vessels were Mersey Class mine-sweeping trawlers and both were commissioned

on 1 April 1922. (Fig. 1.16). The Great Depression of 1929 to 1933 led to their

decommissioning on 31 March 1934. All three vessels (the third being HMSAS Protea) were
returned to the Royal Navy. The HMSAS Sonneblom reverted to its former name HMT Foyle

and the HMSAS Immortelle to HMT Eden.

Frigates

It was only in 1944/45 that the SA Navy received its major warships. These were three Loch

Class frigates: HMSAS Natal, HMSAS Good Hope, and HMSAS Transvaal. These frigates
had a displacement of 1,435 tons and were 307 feet in length (93.6 meters) with a beam of 38.7

feet (11.8 meters) and a draught of 12 feet 4 inches (3.8 meters). They were powered by 2 x
vertical expansion steam engines producing a combined output of 5,500 horse power. They

were twin-screw ships which had a maximum speed of 20 knots (37 kmph or 23 mph). They

had a range of 9,500 nautical miles (17,000 km or 10,900 miles). They each carried a
compliment of 114.

HMSAS Natal

HMSAS Natal was built for the Royal Navy during WW 2 as HMS Loch Cree, but was

transferred to the SAN before completion in 1945 and was re-named HMSAS Natal. (Fig.
1.17). Just hours after completion of fitting out, in early 1945, she sank a German submarine

off the coast of Scotland. She was then assigned to convoy escort duties for the remaining few

months of the war in Europe.

In June 1945 she arrived in South Africa. In September and October 1945 she participated in

the re-occupation of British Malaya, before returning to South Africa in November 1945. She
also ferried troops home from Egypt afterwards and participated in the annexation of the Prince

Edward Islands in 1947. Together with her sister-ships HMSAS Good Hope and HMSAS

Transvaal she made numerous port visits to Central Africa in 1948.