SAS Transvaal

	A Loch-class frigate
History
United Kingdom
Name	Loch Ard
Namesake	Loch Ard
Ordered	2 May 1943
Builder	Harland & Wolff, Belfast, Northern Ireland
Laid down	20 January 1944
Launched	2 August 1944
Identification	Pennant number: K602
Fate	Transferred to the South African Navy, 1944
South Africa
Name	Transvaal
Namesake	Transvaal Province
Completed	21 May 1945
Acquired	1944
Commissioned	14 May 1945
Out of service	14 August 1964
Identification	Pennant number: F602
Fate	Scuttled, 3 August 1978
General characteristics (as built)
Class & type	Loch-class frigate
Displacement	1,435 long tons (1,458 t) (standard load); 2,260 long tons (2,300 t) (deep load);
Length	307 ft (93.6 m)
Beam	38 ft 7 in (11.8 m)
Draught	12 ft 4 in (3.8 m)
Installed power	2 Admiralty 3-drum boilers; 5,500 ihp (4,100 kW);
Propulsion	2 shafts; 2 × vertical triple-expansion steam engines;
Speed	20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph)
Range	9,500 nmi (17,600 km; 10,900 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Complement	114
Sensors &; processing systems	Types 144 and 147B ASDIC; Type 277 surface-search radar;
Armament	1 × single QF 4-inch Mark V; 1 × quadruple 2-pounder (40 mm) "pom-pom" AA gun; 2 × twin, 2 × single 20 mm (0.8 in) Oerlikon AA guns; 2 × triple-barrelled Squid anti-submarine mortars; 1 × rail, 2 × throwers for 15 depth charges;

SAS Transvaal was one of three Loch-class frigates in the South African Navy (SAN). She was built as HMS Loch Ard (K602) for the Royal Navy during World War II, but was transferred to the SAN in 1944 before completion and renamed as HMSAS Transvaal. The ship was completed shortly after the German surrender in May 1945 and did not participate in the war.

Transvaal was assigned to ferry troops home from Egypt after the war and participated in the annexation of the Prince Edward Islands in late 1947. Together with her sister ships, the ship made port visits in Middle Africa in 1948. Three years later, she participated in the celebration of Australia's Golden Jubilee. Transvaal received a lengthy refit in the late 1950s. The ship was placed in reserve in 1964 and was sold for scrap in 1977. Transvaal's remains were donated for use as an artificial reef and it was scuttled the following year.