HMS Smilax

	ARA República (P-10)
History
United States
Name	Tact
Builder	Collingwood Shipyards Ltd., Collingwood
Laid down	in 1942 as Tact (PG 98)
Launched	19 November 1942
Fate	Transferred to the Royal Navy 21 June 1943
United Kingdom
Name	Smilax
Commissioned	15 July 1942
Decommissioned	9 October 1945
Stricken	24 October 1945
Identification	Pennant number: K280
Fate	US Navy custody, 18 October 1946
General characteristics
Class and type	Action-class patrol boat
Displacement	1,375 long tons (1,397 t)
Length	205 ft (62 m)
Beam	33 ft (10 m)
Draft	14 ft 7 in (4.45 m)
Propulsion	two 3-drum express boilers, 2,750ihp vertical triple expansion Port Arthur Shipbuilding Co. engine, one shaft.
Speed	16.5 kn (19.0 mph; 30.6 km/h)
Complement	90
Armament	2 × 3"/50 dual purpose gun mounts; 2 × 20 mm gun mounts; 1 × Hedgehog; 4 × depth charge guns; 2 × depth charge chutes;

HMS Smilax was originally launched as Tact (PG-98), an Action-class gunboat built for the United States Navy by Collingwood Shipyards, Ltd., Collingwood, Ontario, Canada

War service

Tact was launched on 14 November 1942. However, before seeing any service in the United States Navy, the ship was transferred to the United Kingdom under the Lend-Lease program on 21 June 1943 and served the Royal Navy as HMS Smilax until after the end of hostilities in Europe.

Argentine service

Tact was returned to the United States on 18 October 1946 and sold by the Maritime Commission to the Argentine Navy, where she served ARA República until her decommissioning in 1966. She saw some action during the 1955 Revolución Libertadora, when the República defended the rebel naval base at Mar del Plata.

References

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.

External links