A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping.
The Algerine-class minesweeper was a large group of minesweepers built for the Royal Navy (RN) and the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) during the Second World War. 110 ships of the class were launched between 1942 and 1944.
The Halcyon class was a class of 21 oil-fired minesweepers built for the British Royal Navy between 1933 and 1939. They were given traditional small ship names used historically by the Royal Navy and served during the Second World War.
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 Kirkliston (M1157) was a Ton-class minesweeper of the Royal Navy, built by Harland and Wolff and launched on 18 February 1954. In a brief episode from 1956 to 1960 she was temporarily renamed HMS Kilmorey and was assigned to the Ulster division Royal Naval Reserve (RNR).
HMS Bangor was a Bangor-class minesweeper of the Royal Navy that served during the Second World War. She was built at the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Govan, Scotland. Bangor was the lead vessel of her class and one of the diesel-engined versions. She was ordered on 12 July 1939, laid down on 19 September 1939, launched on 23 May 1940, and commissioned on 7 November 1940. She is named after the Northern Ireland seaside town of the same name.
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 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 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.
USS Swift (AM-122) was an Auk-class minesweeper acquired by the United States Navy for the dangerous task of removing mines from minefields laid in the water to prevent ships from passing.
The Viana do Castelo class is a class of offshore patrol vessels planned by and for the Portuguese Navy, as a result of the NPO2000 Project, that are being constructed in the West Sea Shipyard.
USS Marvel (AM-262) was an Admirable-class minesweeper built for the United States Navy during World War II and in commission from 1944 to 1945. In 1945, she was transferred to the Soviet Union and then served in the Soviet Navy as T-272. The Soviets converted her into a naval trawler in 1948 and renamed her Passat.
HMCS Miramichi was a Bay-class minesweeper that served in the Royal Canadian Navy and the French Navy. She was named Miramichi Bay, located at the mouth of the Miramichi River in New Brunswick. Entering service in 1954, the vessel served in the Royal Canadian Navy for only a few months before transferring to the French Navy. Renamed La Lorientaise, the ship was used as a minesweeper before converting to a patrol vessel in 1973. The ship was discarded in 1986.
Naval trawlers are vessels built along the lines of a fishing trawler but fitted out for naval purposes; they were widely used during the First and Second World Wars. Some, known in the Royal Navy as "Admiralty trawlers", were purpose-built to naval specifications; others were adapted from civilian use. Fishing trawlers were particularly suited for many naval requirements because they were robust vessels designed to work heavy trawls in all types of weather, and had large clear working decks. A minesweeper could be created by replacing the trawl with a mine sweep. Adding depth charge racks on the deck, ASDIC sonar below, and a 3-inch (76 mm) or 4-inch (102 mm) gun in the bow equipped the trawler for anti-submarine duties.
Three ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS St David, after Saint David, patron saint of Wales:
HMS Shoulton (M1182) was a Ton-class minesweeper of the Royal Navy. Constructed by the Montrose Shipyard in Montrose, Scotland and launched on 10 September 1954, the minesweeper was converted into a prototype minhunter in 1957. The vessel was used as a test bed in the mid-1960s for new propulsion technologies. Shoulton was among the vessels assigned to salvage operations following the Aer Lingus Flight 712 crash off Rosslare. In 1977, Shoulton took part in the naval review marking the Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II and was paid off on 23 November 1979. The ship was sold for scrap in 1981 and broken up at broken up in Blyth.
HMS Hodgeston was a Ton-class minesweeper which saw service with the Royal Navy during the Cold War. Built by Fleetlands Shipyard, she was launched on 6 April 1954 and broken up in 1988.
HMCS Mulgrave was a Bangor-class minesweeper that served with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. Entering service in 1942, the minesweeper took part in the Battle of the Atlantic and the invasion of Normandy. While sweeping for naval mines off France in 1944, the vessel hit one. The ship was towed back to port where Mulgrave was declared a constructive total loss. Laid up until the end of the war, the minesweeper was broken up in 1947.
The Foca class, or simply F, was the first naval class of submarines operated by the Brazilian Navy. It consisted of the F1, F3 and F5 submarines designed by Italian naval engineer Cesare Laurenti and built in La Spezia, Italy. The name Foca comes from the Portuguese vessel of the class. The class was part of Brazil's 1906 naval program to acquire warships to modernize its navy. The submarines were acquired to serve as a training and maintenance platform for the crews, with few naval actions during the 19 years they were active. The navy incorporated the class on 17 July 1914 and, as a result, expanded its naval structure to house these new vessels, such as the creation of the first naval school for submariners and the incorporation of ships designed to support submarines only.
