HMS St Austell Bay ( K634 ) HMS " St Austell Bay " ( K634 ) was a anti - aircraft frigate of the British Royal Navy , named after St Austell Bay on the south coast of Cornwall . In commission from 1945 until 1956 , she served in the Mediterranean Fleet and on the America and West Indies Squadron . Construction . The ship was originally ordered from Harland and Wolff of Belfast on 2 February 1943 as the " Loch Lydoch " . However the contract was then changed , and the ship was built to a revised design as a Bay - class anti - aircraft frigate , launched on 18 November 1944 , and completed on 29 May 1945 . Service history . After commissioning and sea trials " St Austell Bay " was assigned to duty in the British Pacific Fleet . However , she was still at Malta with other ships of the 33rd Escort Group when news of the surrender of Japan arrived on 15 August . " St Austell Bay " remained in the Mediterranean Sea for the next five years , mainly operating in the Aegean and Adriatic , on patrols , guardship duties , and several periods as part of the Haifa Patrol , attempting to intercept ships carrying illegal Jewish immigrants to Palestine . In April 1950 " St Austell Bay " and exchanged with the Royal New Zealand Navy frigates and , arriving at Auckland on 3 July to join the RNZN 11th Frigate Flotilla for exercises , patrols and visits in the Pacific , finally returning to the flotilla at Malta on 4 January 1951 . In March she returned to the UK for service in the 7th Frigate Flotilla , Home Fleet , and almost immediately took part on the search for the missing submarine . Patrols , visits , and fleet exercises occupied the rest of the year , including an exercise with a submarine of the Royal Norwegian Navy in September . In June 1952 she arrived at Hamilton , Bermuda , to join the America and West Indies Squadron , and in July was sent to Port Stanley to act as Guardship in the Falkland Islands . In October she left the Falklands and sailed up the west coast of South America , making calls at Puerto Montt , Valparaíso and Antofagasta in Chile , and Callao in Peru , before transiting the Panama Canal , and returning to Bermuda in December . In 1953 she visited various Caribbean ports , and carried out exercises , including one in May with ships of the Royal Canadian Navy . In June she sailed to Devonport to refit , then returned to Bermuda in November . From March to June 1954 she was Guardship at the Falklands , again returning to Bermuda by way of the Pacific coast of South America . In September she visited the United States , calling at ports in New England , then returned to the UK in November to refit at Plymouth . " St Austell Bay " was recommissioned in May 1955 , but significant problems with the refit delayed deployment until November when she returned to Bermuda for the usual programme of joint exercises , training and port visits in the Caribbean and to North America . She returned to Plymouth in August 1956 to decommission and was put into Reserve . " St Austell Bay " remained in the Reserve Fleet at Plymouth until 1959 when she was placed on the Disposal List . She was sold to BISCO for demolition by Shipbreaking Industries and arrived in tow at the breakers yard at Charlestown near Rosyth on 5 July 1959 . References .