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River Class Frigates.
With the Flower Class corvettes under construction, a larger, faster more durable escort was designed and put into production. The RN envisaged the day when they could go on the offensive against the U-Boat menace and they wanted to have the ships available to do the job. The River Class and its offshoots eventually numbered over 200. Both ASW and AA were accorded equal weight so that these ships could be used anywhere from the Arctic to the Pacific. ASW had a Hedgehog forward, and depth charge racks and throwers aft. AA armament centred around the two twin 4" MkXVI mountings, while close in protection was catered for by eight 20mm cannons in 3 twin and two single mounts.