HMS Ascension
HMS "Ascension" (K502) was a of the United Kingdom that served in the Royal Navy during World War II. She originally was ordered by the United States Navy as the USS "Hargood" (PF-74) and was transferred to the Royal Navy prior to completion. Construction and acquisition. The ship, originally designated a "patrol gunboat," PG-182, was ordered by the United States Maritime Commission under a United States Navy contract as the first USS "Hargood", a British name she carried because of her intended transfer to the United Kingdom. Reclassified as a "patrol frigate," PF-74, on 15 April 1943, she  was laid down by the Walsh-Kaiser Company at Providence, Rhode Island, on 30 April 1943. The British renamed her "Ascension" prior to launching. She was launched on 6 August 1943, sponsored by Mrs. A. A. Kirby. Service history. Transferred to the United Kingdom under Lend-Lease on 24 November 1943, the ship served in the Royal Navy as HMS "Ascension" (K502) on patrol and escort duty. On 25 November 1944 she sank the German submarine with depth charges in the North Atlantic Ocean west of the Shetland Islands at . On 14 March 1945, "Ascension" led a Royal Navy hunter -killer group to the scene of an attack by the South African Navy frigate on the German submarine off St. Abbs, Scotland, which had brought oil and a metal tank to the surface at . While "Natal" proceeded to Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands, "Ascension"s group depth-charged the position, bringing more flotsam from the submarine to the surface. The destroyer claimed a share of the kill after depth-charging an oil slick to the south under the assumption that it was oil from "U-714", which "Wivern"s crew believed had been only been damaged by "Natal" and was attempting to  escape. Although some controversy surrounds credit for the sinking, naval authorities later determined that "Natal" had sunk "U-714" with the loss of the submarines entire crew of 50 men and gave "Natal" sole credit for the sinking. Disposal. The United Kingdom returned "Ascension" to the U.S. Navy on 31 May 1946. She was sold to the Hudson Valley Shipwrecking Corporation of Newburgh, New York, for scrapping on 16 October 1947.