HMS Prefect (Z263) was a net laying ship for the Royal Navy during the Second World War acquired from the United States Navy in June 1944 via Lend-Lease.

History
Royal Navy EnsignUnited Kingdom
NameHMS Prefect (Z263)
Builder
Laid down1 April 1943
Launched8 March 1944
Completed3 June 1944
Acquired3 June 1944
Fatereturned to U.S. Navy, 28 December 1945
History
United States
Acquired28 December 1945
Stricken28 March 1946
Fatetransferred to the Maritime Commission, 3 April 1947, for disposal
General characteristics
Class and typeAilanthus-class net laying ship
Displacement1,190 long tons (1,210 t) (full)
Length194 ft 6 in (59.28 m)
Beam37 ft (11 m)
Draught13 ft 6 in (4.11 m)
Propulsiondiesel electric, 2,500 hp (1,900 kW)
Speed13 knots (24 km/h)
Complement56
Armament

The ship was laid down as Prefect (YN-88), a net tender of the Ailanthus class, on 1 April 1943 at the American Car and Foundry Co. in Wilmington, Delaware. On 17 January 1944, while still under construction, the ship was reclassified as a net laying ship and redesignated AN-75. Prefect was launched on 8 March and completed on 3 June.

After delivery to the U.S. Navy on 3 June, she was transferred to the United Kingdom under Lend-Lease the same day and commissioned into the Royal Navy as HMS Prefect (Z263). Upon completion of wartime duty with the United Kingdom, she arrived at Norfolk, Virginia, on 22 October 1945 and was returned to the U.S. Navy on 28 December 1945. Struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 28 March 1946, she was transferred 3 April 1947 to the United States Maritime Commission and sold.

References

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