HMS Blackpool (J27)

For other ships with the same name, see HMS Blackpool.

HMS Blackpool
History
United Kingdom
Name	HMS Blackpool
Laid down	19 September 1939
Launched	4 July 1940
Commissioned	3 February 1941
Decommissioned	July 1946
Stricken	July 1946
Fate	Transferred to Norway, late 1946
Norway
Name	HNoMS Tarna
Commissioned	9 September 1946
Stricken	1 May 1961
Identification	M-310
Fate	Scrapped
General characteristics (as built)
Class & type	Bangor-class minesweeper
Displacement	605 long tons (615  t)
Length	174 ft (53.0 m) (o/a)
Beam	28 ft (8.5 m)
Draught	8 ft 3 in (2.5 m)
Installed power	2,000  bhp (1,500  kW)
Propulsion	2 shafts; diesel engine
Speed	16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph)
Complement	60
Armament	1 × 12 pdr 3 in (76 mm) gun 1 × quadruple 0.5 in (12.7 mm) Vickers machine gun

HMS Blackpool (J27) was a diesel-powered British Bangor-class minesweeper that served in World War II. She was paid off and sold to the Royal Norwegian Navy in 1946.

Description

The Bangor-class ships were designed to be mass produced, requiring a minimum of resources and able to be built in small shipyards inexperienced with naval work. The diesel-powered ships had an overall length of 174 feet (53.0 m), a beam of 28 feet (8.5 m), and a draught of 8 feet 3 inches (2.5 m) at full load. They displaced 605 long tons (615  t ) at (standard) and 770 long tons (780 t) at full load. The ships had a pair of nine-cylinder diesel engines that drove the two propeller shafts. The engines were designed to produced a total of 2,000 brake horsepower (1,500  kW ) which was intended to give the ships a speed of 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph). Their crew consisted of 60 officers and ratings. ^[1]

The armament of the Bangor-class ships consisted of a 12-pounder 3-inch (76 mm) gun mounted forward of the superstructure and a quadruple mount for 0.5 inches (12.7 mm) Vickers machine guns aft. ^[1] They could carry 40 depth charges when serving as convoy escorts. ^[2]

Construction and career

HMS Blackpool was ordered on 6 July 1939 from Harland and Wolff, and laid down at their Govan shipyard in Glasgow on 19 September 1939. She was launched on 4 July 1940 and commissioned on 3 February 1941. ^[1] She was the second ship in the Royal Navy to carry that name. ^[3]

Postwar duties

Blackpool continued mine clearing duties near Plymouth until July 1946, when she was paid off to reserve status, and sold to the Royal Norwegian Navy later that year. ^[4]

Royal Norwegian Navy

Blackpool was purchased and renamed Tarna by the Royal Norwegian Navy, and remained on the active register of ships until being struck in May 1961. ^[5]

Citations

1. Lenton, p. 254
2. Campbell, p. 64
3. Colledge, Warlow & Bush, p. 48
4. "HMS Blackpool (J 27) of the Royal Navy - British Minesweeper of the Bangor class". uboat.net. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
5. "Minesveiper HMS Blackpool J27 - Sjøhistorie.no". www.sjohistorie.no. Retrieved 8 April 2018.

Bibliography

• Campbell, N. J. M. (1980). "Great Britain (including Empire Forces)". In Chesneau, Roger (ed.). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. Conway Maritime Press. pp. 2–85. ISBN   0-85177-146-7.
• Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben & Bush, Steve (2020). Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy from the 15th Century to the Present (5th revised and updated ed.). Seaforth Publishing. ISBN   978-1-5267-9327-0.
• Lenton, H. T. (1998). British & Empire Warships of the Second World War. Naval Institute Press. ISBN   1-55750-048-7.