Waldegrave (DE-570)
(DE-570: dp. 1,300; l. 306'0"; b. 37'0"; dr. 9'0"; s. 26.0 k.; cpl. 200; a. 3 3", 1 2-pdr., 2 40mm., 8 20mm., 2 dct., 6 dcp., 1 dcp. (hh.); cl. Buckley)
William Waldegrave, born on 9 July 1753, entered the Royal Navy as a midshipman in 1766 and served for three years in the Mediterranean on board Jersey. In ensuing years, he served in Quebec, Montagu, Portland, and was given his first command, sloop Zephyr, on 23 June 1775. Assignments of increasing responsibility followed. In 1778, he assumed command of Pomona and took her to the West Indies where he captured the renowned American privateer Cumberland.
His distinguished service as captain of Courageux off Toulon in 1793 helped to win him promotion to rear admiral in 1794. He became a vice admiral in the following year and was made peer in 1800 as the first Baron Radstock. Upon his retirement on 29 April 1802, he became admiral. He died on 20 August 1825.
Waldegrave (DE-570) was laid down on 16 October 1943 at Hingham, Mass., by the Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard; launched on 4 December 1943; and transferred to the Royal Navy under lend-lease on 25 January 1944, when she was commissioned for service under the white ensign as HMS Waldegrave (K.579). She served in the Royal Navy for the duration of World War II, garnering "battle honors" for her operations in the Atlantic and in the English Channel.
Returned to the United States after World War II, the ship was accepted on 3 December 1945 and was subsequently struck from the Navy list on 21 January 1946. Sold, three times in succession: first to the Atlas Steel and Supply Co. of Cleveland, Ohio; then to the Kulka Steel and Equipment Co. of Alliance, Ohio; and last to the Bristol Engineering Co. of Somerset, Mass.; on 8 December 1946, the erstwhile "Captain-class" escort vessel was scrapped in June 1948.
