HMS Precept (Z266) was a net laying ship for the Royal Navy during the Second World War acquired from the United States Navy in October 1944 via Lend-Lease.

History
Royal Navy EnsignUnited Kingdom
NameHMS Precept (Z266)
Builder
Laid down5 August 1943
Launched11 April 1944
Completed14 October 1944
Acquired14 October 1944
Fatereturned to U.S. Navy, 4 January 1946
History
United States
Acquired4 January 1946
Stricken28 March 1946
Fatetransferred to the Maritime Commission, 21 March 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 Precept (YN-79), a net tender of the Ailanthus class, on 5 August 1943 at Barbour Boat Works in New Bern, North Carolina. On 17 January 1944, while still under construction, the ship was reclassified as a net laying ship and redesignated AN-73. Precept was launched on 11 April and completed on 13 October.

After delivery to the U.S. Navy on 14 October, she was transferred to the United Kingdom under Lend-Lease the same day and commissioned into the Royal Navy as HMS Precept (Z266). 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 4 January 1946. Struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 28 March 1946, she was transferred to the United States Maritime Commission on 21 March 1947 and sold.

References

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