NAVYPEDIA

Ships

Name	No	Yard No	Builder	Laid down	Launched	Comp	Fate
Acute (ex-Alert)	J106	1135	Harland & Wolff, Belfast	7/1941	14.4.1942	7/1942	sold 11.1964
Alarm	J140	1133	Harland & Wolff, Belfast	3/1941	5.2.1942	5/1942	CTL 2.1.1943
Albacore	J101, 1948- M01	1134	Harland & Wolff, Belfast	7/1941	2.4.1942	6/1942	sold 9.1963
Algerine	J213	1132	Harland & Wolff, Belfast	3/1941	22.12.1941	3/1942	sunk 15.11.1942
Brave	J305		Blyth	4/1942	4.2.1943	8/1943	RNVR vessel Satellite 1951, sold 11.1958
Cadmus	J230	1136	Harland & Wolff, Belfast	7/1941	27.5.1942	9/1942	to Belgium 1.1950 (Georges Lecointe)
Chamaeleon	J387, 1948- M387		Harland & Wolff, Belfast	8/1943	6.5.1944	9/1944	sold 4.1966
Cheerful	J388, 1948- M88		Harland & Wolff, Belfast	8/1943	22.5.1944	10/1944	sold 9.1963
Circe	J214	1137	Harland & Wolff, Belfast	7/1941	27.6.1942	10/1942	RNVR vessel 1956, sold 12.1966
Espiegle	J216, 1948- M216	1138	Harland & Wolff, Belfast	2/1942	12.8.1942	12/1942	sold 1967
Fancy	J308		Blyth	2/1942	12.8.1942	12/1942	to Belgium 8.1951 (A. F. Dufour)
Fantome	J224	1139	Harland & Wolff, Belfast	2/1942	22.9.1942	1/1943	CTL 20.5.1943
Hare	J389, 1948- M389		Harland & Wolff, Belfast	11/1943	20.6.1944	11/1944	to Nigeria 1959 (Nigeria)
Jewel	J390, 1948- M390		Harland & Wolff, Belfast	11/1943	20.7.1944	12/1944	sold 4.1967
Liberty	J391		Harland & Wolff, Belfast	11/1943	22.8.1944	1/1945	to Belgium 11.1949 (Adrien de Gerlache)
Rattler, 6.1943 - Loyalty	J217	1142	Harland & Wolff, Belfast	4/1942	9.12.1942	4/1943	sunk 22.8.1944
Lysander		1212	Harland & Wolff, Belfast	1942	---	---	cancelled 4.1943
Mariner		1213	Harland & Wolff, Belfast	1942	---	---	cancelled 4.1943
Marmion		1214	Harland & Wolff, Belfast	---	---	---	cancelled 4.1943
Mary Rose		1215	Harland & Wolff, Belfast	---	---	---	cancelled 4.1943
Moon		1216	Harland & Wolff, Belfast	---	---	---	cancelled 4.1943
Providence		1217	Harland & Wolff, Belfast	---	---	---	cancelled 4.1943
Regulus		1218	Harland & Wolff, Belfast	---	---	---	cancelled 4.1943
Mutine	J227	1140	Harland & Wolff, Belfast	11.1941	10.10.1942	2.1943	sold 12.1966
Onyx	J221, 1948- M221	1141	Harland & Wolff, Belfast	11.1941	27.10.1942	3.1943	sold 4.1967
Pickle	J293, 1948- M293		Harland & Wolff, Belfast	1/1943	3.8.1943	10/1943	to Ceylon 4.1959 (තනමින් [Parakrama])
Pincher	J294, 1948- M294		Harland & Wolff, Belfast	1/1943	19.8.1943	11/1943	sold 3.1962
Plucky	J295, 1948- M295		Harland & Wolff, Belfast	4/1943	29.9.1943	12/1943	sold 3.1962
Ready	J223	1143	Harland & Wolff, Belfast	4/1942	11.1.1943	5/1943	to Belgium 7.1951 (Jan van Haverbeke)
Recruit	J298, 1948- M298		Harland & Wolff, Belfast	4/1943	26.10.1943	1/1944	sold 9.1965
Rifleman	J299, 1948- M299		Harland & Wolff, Belfast	4/1943	25.11.1943	2/1944	accommodation ship 1970
Rinaldo	J225, 1948- M225	1144	Harland & Wolff, Belfast	9/1942	20.3.1943	6/1943	sold 8.1961
Rosario	J219	1145	Harland & Wolff, Belfast	9/1942	3.4.1943	7/1943	to Belgium 1.1953 (De Moor)
Spanker	J226	1146	Harland & Wolff, Belfast	9/1942	20.4.1943	8/1943	to Belgium 2.1953 (De Brouwer)
Squirrel	J301		Harland & Wolff, Belfast	8/1943	20.4.1944	8/1944	sunk 24.7.1945
Vestal	J215	1147	Harland & Wolff, Belfast	1/1943	19.6.1943	9/1943	sunk 26.7.1945

Technical data

Displacement standard, t	940 - 980
Displacement full, t	1225 - 1265
Length, m	68.6
Breadth, m	10.8
Draught, m	3.12 - 3.20 deep load (3.58 by screws)
No of shafts	2
Machinery	2 sets geared steam turbines, 2 Admiralty 3-drum boilers
Power, h. p.	2000
Max speed, kts	16.5
Fuel, t	oil 235
Endurance, nm(kts)	6000(12)
Armament	1 x 1 - 102/45 QF Mk V, 4 х 1 - 20/70 Oerlikon Mk II/IV or 4 x 2 - 20/70 Oerlikon Mk II/IV (more often), 4 DCT, 2 DCR (92 in ASW role), mechanical, magnetic, acoustic minesweeping gear Hare, Jewel, Liberty: 1 x 1 - 102/45 QF Mk V, 4 x 1 - 40/56 Bofors Mk III, 4 DCT, 2 DCR (92 in ASW role), mechanical, magnetic acoustic minesweeping gear
Electronic equipment	completed 1942-1943: type 271 or type 272 radar, type 128 sonar completed 1943-1945: type 271 or type 272, type 291 (some) radars, type 128 sonar
Complement	85 - 138

Standard scale images

Project history

After ordering of small minesweepers of Bangor class, Admiralty returned to the larger ship close to Halcyon class, but with smaller L/B ratio (6.4 against 7.3). On request of the Admiralty, new minesweepers should, besides the developed minesweeping equipment (sweeps for acoustic, magnetic and contact mines) to carry strong enough anti-submarine armaments. Actually, Algerine class could solve the same tasks, as Flower class corvette, and in days of war minesweepers of this class very often were attracted for escort service performance. However such universality has been bought in literal sense by expensive price: the building of one Algerine class minesweeper managed more expensively, than two corvettes of Flower class. Nevertheless, in Canadian Navy they fulfilled a role of escort ships and did not carry the minesweeping equipment. On usual practice, the ships had machinery as with geared turbines (are known as Algerine type 1940), and with vertical triple expansion steam engine (Algerine type 1941).

In total 48 ships were built by British yards (29 with turbines and 19 with VTE). The order for 4 ships with turbines and on 5 with VTE have been cancelled. From 62 ships built by Canadian yards, 19 were ordered by RN, 15 intended for the USN on "reverse" lend-lease (in the end of 1943 of the USA, already satisfied the "minesweeping" hunger, cancelled an order on 6 of them, eventually "cancelled" and "ordered" have got to RN). From 28 ships intended for Canadian Navy under the agreement between the governments of UK and Canada 16 were transferred to Royal Navy in exchange for 4 corvettes of Flower class and 12 of Castle class. The order for 6 ships for Canadians was cancelled.

Modernizations

early 1950s, Espiegle, Mutine: - 1 x 1 - 102/45, 4 x 2 - 20/70; + 4 x 1 - 40/60 Mk 7, 1 x 3 - 305 Squid Mk 3 ASWRL, type 147B sonar

Naval service

Algerine was sunk 15.11.1942 by Italian submarine Ascianghi at coast of Algeria. Loyalty was sunk 22.8.1944 by German submarine U480 in La Manche. Squirrel was lost 24.7.1945 on a mine. Vestal was sunk by Japanese aircraft (kamikaze) 26.7.1945.

Alarm was badly damaged by German aircraft 2.1.1943, never repaired, and stricken in 1943. Fantome 30.5.1943 was damaged by mine, never repaired and stricken in 1945.

Thanks for Wolfgang Stoehr, who found five additional incomplete ships of this class and corrected the information on this page.