HMS Lossie (K303)

History
United Kingdom
Namesake:	River Lossie
Builder:	Canadian Vickers Ltd., Montreal
Laid down:	2 October 1942
Launched:	30 April 1943
Commissioned:	14 August 1943
Decommissioned:	26 January 1946
Notes:	Ordered by United States Navy as PG-108. Transferred to RN before completion under the lend-lease program. Returned to the USN on 26 January 1946.
General characteristics
Class and type:	River-class frigate
Displacement:	1,370 long tons (1,390 t) 1,830 long tons (1,860 t) (deep load)
Length:	283 ft (86.26 m) p/p 301.25 ft (91.82 m)o/a
Beam:	36.5 ft (11.13 m)
Draught:	9 ft (2.74 m); 13 ft (3.96 m) (deep load)
Propulsion:	2 x Admiralty 3-drum boilers, 2 shafts, reciprocating vertical triple expansion, 5,500 ihp
Speed:	20 knots (37.0 km/h)
Range:	646 long tons (656 t) oil fuel; 7,500 nautical miles (13,890 km) at 15 knots (27.8 km/h)
Complement:	140
Armament:	2 × QF 4 in (102 mm) /40 Mk.XIX, single mounts CP Mk.XXIII up to 10 x QF 20 mm Oerlikon A/A on twin mounts Mk.V and single mounts Mk.III 1 × Hedgehog 24 spigot A/S projector up to 150 depth charges

HMS Lossie was a River-class frigate that served in the Royal Navy from 1943-1946.

Construction

Lossie was ordered by the United States Navy as PG-103 and was built to the RN's specifications as a Group II River-class frigate. She was laid down at Canadian Vickers Ltd., Montreal on 2 October 1942 and launched on 30 April 1943. She was transferred on 12 August 1943 while still under construction from the USN to the RN under the auspices of the lend-lease program.

She was commissioned 2 days later into the RN as HMS Lossie and was named after the River Lossie in Moray, Scotland which flows into the Moray Firth at Lossiemouth.

War service

Lossie saw extensive service on North Atlantic convoy escort missions and also saw service in the Indian Ocean.

It was during a patrol mission in the Indian Ocean that the freighter Nellore was sunk on 29 June 1944. Lossie picked up 112 crew from the Nellore the following week near the Chagos Archipelago and landed them at Addu Atoll.

Convoy escorts

Convoy code	Route	Convoy departure	Began escort duty	Ceased escort duty	Convoy arrival
SC 148	Halifax, Nova Scotia to Liverpool, England	02/12/1943	06/12/1943	15/12/1943	16/12/1943
HX 276	New York City, USA to Liverpool	22/01/1944	03/02/1944	05/02/1944	07/02/1944
ON 223	Liverpool to New York City	07/02/1944	10/02/1944	11/02/1944	24/02/1944
HX 278	New York City to Liverpool	05/02/1944	16/02/1944	17/02/1944	20/02/1944
ONS 029	Liverpool to Halifax	12/02/1944	17/02/1944	19/02/1944	29/02/1944
ON 224	Liverpool to New York City	14/02/1944	17/02/1944	18/02/1944	02/03/1944
KMF 029A	Clyde, Scotland to Alexandria, Egypt	03/03/1944	03/03/1944	17/03/1944	17/03/1944
AJ 002/2	Aden to Colombo, Ceylon	28/03/1944	28/03/1944	04/04/1944	04/04/1944
CJ 023B	Calcutta, India to Colombo	16/04/ 1944	16/04/1944	18/04/1944	18/04/1944
XC 024	Chagos Archipeligo to Maldives to Colombo	20/07/1944	20/07/1944	22/07/1944	22/07/1944
KR 016/1	Calcutta to Rangoon, Burma	09/07/1945	09/07/1945	11/07/1945	11/07/1945

Post-war use

Lossie was decommissioned and stricken from the RN on 26 January 1946 and was returned to the USN at Boston, Massachusetts two days later as PG-103.

The USN sold her on 13 November 1946 to Cadio Compania de Navegacio S.A. of Panama and she was registered as Teti. She was sold in 1955 to Typaldos Brothers 88 Co. Ltd. of Piraeus, Greece and was registered as Adriatiki. She was wrecked in the Aegean Sea on 16 January 1968.

References

Sources