| Career (United Kingdom) | |
|---|---|
| Name: | HMS Oceanway (F143) |
| Builder: | Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company, Newport News, Virginia |
| Laid down: | 23 July 1943 |
| Launched: | 29 December 1943 |
| Commissioned: | 29 March 1944 |
| Decommissioned: | 1947 |
| Fate: | Loaned to Greece |
| Career (Greece) | |
| Name: | Okeanos |
| Commissioned: | March 1947 |
| Decommissioned: | 1952 |
| Fate: | Returned to the United States |
| Career (France) | |
| Name: | TCD Foudre (L646) |
| Namesake: | lightning |
| Acquired: | 1952 |
| Commissioned: | 1952 |
| Decommissioned: | 1969 |
| Fate: | sunk as target, 10 February 1970 |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 7,930 tons (loaded), 4,032 tons (light draft) |
| Length: | 457 ft 9 in (139.52 m) overall |
| Beam: | 72 ft 2 in (22.00 m) |
| Draft: | 8 ft 2 1⁄2 in (2.50 m) fwd, 10 ft (3.0 m) aft (light); 15 ft 5 1⁄2 in (4.71 m) fwd, 16 ft 2 in (4.93 m) aft (loaded) |
| Propulsion: | 2 Babcock and Wilcox boilers, 2 Skinner geared steam turbines, 2 propeller shafts |
| Speed: | 17 kn (31 km/h) |
| Range: | 8,000 nmi. at 15 knots (15,000 km at 28 km/h) |
| Boats and landing craft carried: |
3 × LCT (Mk V or VI) each w/ 5 medium tanks or 2 × LCT (Mk III or IV) each w/ 12 medium tanks or 14 × LCM (Mk III) each w/ 1 medium tank or 1,500 long tons cargo or 47 × DUKW or 41 × LVT or Any combination of landing vehicles, amphibious and landing craft up to capacity |
| Capacity: | 22 officers, 218 men |
| Complement: | 17 officers, 237 men (ship); 6 officers, 30 men (landing craft) |
| Armament: | • 1 × 5 in / 38 cal. DP gun; • 16 × 20 mm single barrel AA guns; • 4 × 2 pound pom pomAA guns; |
| Notes: | Characteristics are as of April 1944 |
HMS Oceanway (F143) was a Casa Grande class dock landing ship of the British Royal Navy provided under Lend-Lease from the US.
The ship was authorised under the United States Lend-Lease act as BAPM-4 ("British Mechanized Artilley Transport 4") but reclassified as LSD-12 ("Landing Ship Dock 12") on 1 July 1942. The vessel was originally to have been named HMS Dagger but the name HMS Oceanway was assigned to it in August 1943. The vessel was formally transferred to the United Kingdom on 29 March 1944.
Oceanway took part in the Normandy Landings, transporting 20 landing craft, each containing a single tank, arriving at Omaha Beach at 15:30 on 6 June 1944. The vessel served in the Far East in 1945 before being returned to the US.
It was loaned to Greece in Match 1947, and served as Okeanos before being returned to the United States in 1952. Later that year it was loaned to France, where it served as Foudre (L646) and was eventually purchased by the French Government, serving in the French Navy until 1969. The ship was sunk as a target in 1970.
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