The Ton class were coastal minesweepers built in the 1950s for the Royal Navy, but also used by other navies such as the South African Navy and the Royal Australian Navy. They were intended to meet the threat of seabed mines laid in shallow coastal waters, rivers, ports and harbours, a task for which the existing ocean-going minesweepers of the Algerine class were not suited.
HMS Bassingham was one of 93 ships of the Ham class of inshore minesweepers, of which HMS Inglesham was the first. Their names were all chosen from villages ending in -ham. The minesweeper was named after Bassingham in Lincolnshire. She was built by Vospers Ltd. of Portsmouth, which later became Vosper-Thorneycroft and was commissioned in October 1953. She displaced 164 tons fully laden and was armed with one 40 mm Bofors gun.
HMS Abbotsham was one of 93 ships of the Ham class of inshore minesweepers.
HMS Asheldham was one of 93 ships of the Ham class of inshore minesweepers.
HMS Bodenham was one of 93 ships of the Ham-class of inshore minesweepers. Completed in 1953 for use in the British Royal Navy, she served as a tender to HMS Vernon between 1954 and 1955 before being placed in reserve. In 1967 she was transferred to the newly-independent country of South Yemen renamed Al Saqr. She was renamed Jihla in 1975 and discarded in 1984.
HMS Dittisham was one of 93 ships of the Ham-class of inshore minesweepers built for the British Royal Navy. Their names were all chosen from villages ending in -ham. The minesweeper was named after Dittisham in Devon.
HMS Greetham was one of 93 ships of the Ham class of inshore minesweepers. All ships in this class had names chosen from villages ending in -ham. The minesweeper was built by the firm of Herd & McKenzie in Buckie, Moray and was named after Greetham, Lincolnshire. Entering service in 1955, the vessel was transferred to the Libyan Navy in 1962 on loan and permanently in 1966. Renamed Zuara, the minesweeper was used as a patrol vessel until 1973. Zuara was sold to Captain Morgan Cruises of Malta for commercial use and renamed Lady Davinia. The ship was taken out of service in 2007 and laid up at Sliema Creek. Lady Davinia sank at her moorings in 2008 and for a short time became a diving attraction but in 2011 the wreck was partially broken up after being named a navigational hazard.
HMS Halsham was one of 93 ships of the Ham class of inshore minesweepers of the Royal Navy. Their names were all chosen from villages ending in -ham. The minesweeper was named after Halsham in the East Riding of Yorkshire.
HMS Mersham was a Ham-class minesweeper of the Royal Navy. All ships of the class were named after villages ending in -ham. The minesweeper was named after Mersham in Kent. Constructed at Appledore, in Devon, Mersham was launched in April 1954 and completed in January 1955. In April 1955, the ship was transferred to the French Navy and in French service, was known by its pennant number, M773, until it was renamed Violette in 1964. Throughout the 1950s and early 1960s, the vessel undertook minesweeping duties from Brest in Brittany, before being laid up in 1965. In 1974, the ship was transferred to the Gendarmerie and undertook patrol duties until finally being decommissioned in 1987.
HMS Neasham (M2712/IMS49) was a Ham-class minesweeper for the Royal Navy. The names of the Ham-class vessels were all chosen from villages ending in -ham. HMS Neasham was named after Neasham in County Durham.
HMS Petersham was a Ham-class minesweeper of the Royal Navy.
HMS Portisham was one of 93 ships of the Ham-class of inshore minesweepers.
HMS Powderham was one of 93 ships of the Ham class of inshore minesweepers named after villages ending in -ham, in this case Powderham in Devon. She was launched on 27 November 1958 by J. Samuel White & Company Ltd, Cowes and commissioned in 1959. She was allocated pennant number M 2720.
HMS Puttenham(M2784) was a Ham-class inshore minesweeper of the Royal Navy. She was launched in 1956 and entered service in 1958. The 93 ships of the Ham class had names chosen from villages ending in -ham. The minesweeper was named after Puttenham.
HMS Shrivenham was one of 93 ships of the Ham-class of inshore minesweepers.
HMS Wintringham (M2777/IMS77) was a Ham-class minesweeper for the Royal Navy. Their names were all chosen from villages ending in -ham. The minesweeper was named after Wintringham.
HMS Tongham was one of 93 ships in the Ham-class of inshore minesweepers. Their names were all chosen from villages ending in -ham; in this case, Tongham in Surrey. She was built in Scotland by James N Miller & Sons at St Monance, Fife, with a fully-wooden hull. Launched on 30 November 1955, she was delivered on 18 June 1967, and commissioned with pennant number M2735.
HMS Blackpool (J27) was a British Bangor-class minesweeper that served in World War II. She was paid off and sold to the Royal Norwegian Navy in 1946.
HMS Aveley was a Ley-class inshore minehunter of the Royal Navy. Aveley was built by J. Samuel White at their Cowes, Isle of Wight shipyard, being launched in 1953 and completing the next year. She remained in Royal Navy service until 1982, spending several years laid up in reserve, and from 1963 to 1980 was used for training at Portsmouth. In 1983, the ship was sold to the Woolwich Sea Cadets and renamed TS Woolwich. Woolwich was scrapped from November 1986.
United Kingdom
