HMT Bracklyn

History
Name	Bracklyn
Owner	The Brooklyn Fishing Company Ltd., Fleetwood
Port of registry	Fleetwood, England
Builder	J. Duthie Torry Shipbuilding Co., Aberdeen
Yard number	401 [1]
Launched	22 April 1914
Completed	May 1914
In service	1914
Identification	FD2 [1]
Fate	Requisitioned by Royal Navy as a minesweeper, December 1914
United Kingdom
Name	HMT Bracklyn
Acquired	December 1914
In service	1914
Identification	No.1978 [1]
Fate	Sunk by mine off Great Yarmouth, 11 May 1917
General characteristics [1] [2]
Tonnage	303  gross register tons  (GRT) 122  net register tons  (NRT)
Length	125.8 ft (38.3 m)
Beam	23.4 ft (7.1 m)
Height	13.2 ft (4.0 m)
Propulsion	T.3-cylinder by J. Abernethy and Co., Aberdeen
Crew	10 (1917)

Bracklyn was a British steam fishing trawler. Completed in 1914, it was almost immediately requisitioned as a minesweeper by the Royal Navy to take part in the First World War. It ran aground at Great Yarmouth in 1916, but was towed off and re-floated by a tugboat. In May 1917, the ship was mined by a German U-boat and sank, killing the crew.

Construction and design

Bracklyn (Official Number 13688), a steel fishing trawler, was constructed in Aberdeen by J. Duthie Torry Shipbuilding Co. for The Brooklyn Fishing Company Ltd. of Fleetwood. ^{[1] [3]} The trawler measured 303  gross register tons  (GRT) and 122  net register tons  (NRT) and featured a length of 125.8 feet (38.3 m), a beam of 23.4 ft (7.1 m), and a height of 13.2 ft (4.0 m). ^[1] Bracklyn was launched on 22 April 1914 and was completed a month later in May, being registered by her owners in Fleetwood on 28 May 1914. ^[1]

History

First World War service

In December 1914, seven months after her registration, Bracklyn was requisitioned by the Royal Navy for service in the First World War, becoming a minesweeper. ^[1] On 28 March 1916, the warship and four other civilian ships ran aground on Corton Beach, Great Yarmouth during a period of bad weather. ^[1] When the weather cleared, Bracklyn was towed off the beach by the tug Lowestoft, assisted by the lifeboat Kentwell. ^[1] The following year, on 11 May 1917, Bracklyn sank at 52°42′00″N2°10′00″E / 52.7°N 2.166667°E / 52.7; 2.166667 after striking a mine laid by UC-1 three days earlier. ^{[1] [2] [4]} The entire crew of ten were killed in action. ^[1]

References

1. "S.T. Bracklyn FD2". The Bosun's Watch. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
2. "Bracklyn". uboat.net. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
3. "Aberdeen Ships | Bracklyn". Aberdeen Built Ships. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
4. "Bracklyn (1136888)" . Miramar Ship Index . Retrieved 1 September 2020.