| Algerine-class minesweeper | |
|---|---|
 HMS Mutine | |
| Class overview | |
| Name: | Algerine |
| Builders: |
Belfast, Northern Ireland (50) Canada (60) |
| Operators: |
 Royal Navy Royal Canadian Navy South African Navy Belgian Navy Royal Ceylon Navy Royal Thai Navy |
| Preceded by: | Bangor-class minesweeper |
| Succeeded by: | Ton-class minesweeper |
| In service: | 1942 |
| Completed: | 110 |
| Active: | 1? |
| Lost: | 6 |
| Retired: | 109 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Minesweeper |
| Displacement: |
1162 tons (reciprocating engines) 1122 tons (turbine engines) 990 tons (escort) |
| Length: | 225 ft (69 m) |
| Beam: | 35 ft 6 in (10.82 m) |
| Draught: | 8 ft 6 in (2.59 m) |
| Propulsion: |
Geared turbines, 2 shafts; OR Reciprocating engines, 2 shafts, 2,000 shp (1,500 kW) |
| Speed: | 16.5 knots (30.6 km/h) |
| Complement: | 85 |
| Armament: |
1 x QF 4-inch (101.6 mm) Mk V anti-aircraft gun 4 x Oerlikon 20 mm cannon Hedgehog (Escorts only) |
The Algerine-class was a class of minesweepers of the Royal Navy and the Commonwealth. 110 ships of the class were launched between 1942 and 1944 and served in World War II.
They were designed as small vessels that could serve in several roles, not just as minesweepers; in practice the desperate shortage of convoy escorts in the Battle of the Atlantic meant that they served mainly in that role; twelve Algerines of the Royal Canadian Navy consequently never had minesweeping gear fitted.
After the war, a number continued in service as patrol boats, survey ships, and training ships. Some were sold to other navies or into merchant service. At least one - HMS Pickle (commanded by Lt. Cmdr. Hallifax) - was still engaged in minesweeping duties in British waters as late as 1954. At least one Algerine is still in service with the Royal Thai Navy: HTMS Phosampton (ex-HMS Minstrel).
Ships[]
| Royal Canadian Navy |
|---|
| Border Cities |
| Fort Francis |
| Kapuskasing |
| Middlesex |
| New Liskeard |
| Oshawa |
| Portage |
| Rockcliffe |
| Sault Ste. Marie |
| St. Boniface |
| Wallaceburg |
| Winnipeg |
| Royal Navy |
|---|
| Acute |
| Alarm (lost 2 January 1943) |
| Albacore |
| Algerine (lost 15 November 1942) |
| Antares |
| Arcturus |
| Aries |
| Bramble |
| Brave |
| Cadmus |
| Chameleon |
| Cheerful |
| Circe |
| Clinton |
| Cockatrice |
| Coquette |
| Courier |
| Espiegle |
| Fancy |
| Fantome |
| Felicity |
| Fierce |
| Fly |
| Flying Fish (Gifted to Royal Ceylon Navy as HMCyS Vijaya) |
| Friendship |
| Golden Fleece |
| Gozo |
| Hare (renamed HMNS Nigeria as flagship of Nigerian Navy on 21 July 1959) |
| Hound |
| Hydra |
| Jaseur |
| Jewel |
| Laertes |
| Larne |
| Lennox |
| Liberty |
| Lightfoot |
| Lioness |
| Loyalty - launched as Rattler but later renamed Loyalty (lost 22 August 1944) |
| Lysander |
| Maenad |
| Magicienne |
| Mameluke |
| Mandate |
| Mariner |
| Marmion |
| Marvel |
| Mary Rose |
| Melita |
| Michael |
| Minstrel |
| Moon |
| Mutine |
| Myrmidon |
| Mystic |
| Nerissa |
| Niger |
| Octavia |
| Onyx |
| Orcadia |
| Orestes |
| Ossory |
| Pelorus (Sold to South African Navy as HMSAS Pietermaritzburg)[1] |
| Persian |
| Pickle |
| Pincher |
| Plucky (Sold to Royal Ceylon Navy as HMCyS Parakrama) |
| Pluto |
| Polaris |
| Postillion |
| Prompt Towed to Southend but not repaired ( CTL ) |
| Providence |
| Pyrrhus |
| Rattler, see Loyalty (lost 22 August 1944) |
| Rattlesnake |
| Ready |
| Recruit |
| Regulus (lost 12 January 1945) |
| Rifleman |
| Rinaldo |
| Romola |
| Rosamund (Sold to South African Navy as HMSAS Bloemfontein)[1] |
| Rosario |
| Rowena |
| Seabear |
| Serene |
| Skipjack |
| Spanker |
| Squirrel (lost 24 July 1945) |
| Stormcloud |
| Sylvia |
| Tanganyika |
| Thisbe |
| Truelove |
| Vestal (lost 26 July 1945) |
| Waterwitch |
| Wave |
| Welcome |
| Welfare |
| Belgian Navy |
|---|
| M900 Adrien de Gerlache (ex HMS Liberty, acquired 1949 - stricken 1969) |
| M901 Georges Lecointe (i) (ex HMS Cadmus, acquired 1950 - stricken 1959) |
| M901 Georges Lecointe (ii) (ex HMCS Wallaceburg, acquired 1959 - stricken 1969) |
| M902 Van Haverbeke (i) (ex HMS Ready - acquired 1951 - stricken 1960) |
| M903 Dufour (i) (ex HMS Fancy - acquired 1951 - stricken 1959) |
| M903 Dufour (ii) (ex HMCS Winnipeg - acquired 1959 - stricken 1966) |
| M904 De Brouwer (i) (ex HMS Spanker - acquired 1953 - stricken 1966) |
| M905 De Moor (ex HMS Rosario - acquired 1953 - stricken 1966) |
| Cancelled |
|---|
| Fireball (J464) |
| Gabriel (J465) |
| Happy Return (J466) |
| Larne |
| Lennox |
| Marmion |
| Moon |
| Nicator (J457) |
| Niger |
| Nonpareil (J459) |
| Nox (J459) |
| Odin (J460) |
| Styx (J440) |
Algerines sunk in action[]
- Algerine was torpedoed by the Italian submarine Ascianghi off Bougie, Algeria on 15 November 1942.
- Alarm was damaged beyond repair by air attack off Bône, Algeria on 2 January 1943.
- Loyalty (ex-Rattler) was sunk by U-480 in the English Channel on 22 August 1944.
- Regulus was sunk by a mine off Corfu on 12 January 1945.
- Squirrel was sunk by a mine off Phuket, Thailand on 24 July 1945.
- Vestal was sunk by a Japanese kamikaze plane off Phuket, Thailand on 26 July 1945.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "History of the SA Navy". South African Navy. Archived from the original on 23 February 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080223071216/http://www.navy.mil.za/aboutus/history/index.htm. Retrieved 2008-02-18.
External links[]
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Algerine class minesweeper. |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The original article can be found at Algerine-class minesweeper and the edit history here.