ALGERINE-Class
Fleet Minesweeper fitted with Turbine
propulsion machinery ordered on 30th
April 1942 from Harland and Wolff,
Belfast. Laid down on 11th January
1943 at the same time as sister ship
PICKLE she was launched on 19th August
1943. The seventh RN ship to carry this
name, introduced in 1797 for a Gunboat.
It was last used for a destroyer built
in 1910 and wrecked in July 1918 on the
Seven Stones. Her build was completed
on 12th November 1943 and she had been
adopted by the civil community of
Swadlingcote, Derbyshire in place of
sister ship HMS NIGER which was lost in
July 1942 when she struck a mine off
Iceland. The community had made the
original adoption following a successful
WARSHIP WEEK National Savings
campaign in March 1942.
B
a t t l
e H o n o u r s
ATLANTIC 1943 - NORMANDY 1944 -
BURMA
1945
H
e r a l d i c D a t a
Badge:
On a Field White
a lobster proper.
a
sprig of three oak
leaves, Gold
D
e t a i l s
o f W a r S e
r v i c e
(for
more ship information,
go
to
Naval History Homepage
and
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1
9 4 3
November
Contractors trials and commissioned for
service in 7th Minesweeping
Flotilla on formation.
12th
Build completion and commenced
Acceptance Trials.
On completion took
passage to Tobermory for work-up and
preparation for
operational
minesweeping duties.
December After
Work-up took passage to Port
Edgar to carry out minesweeping
training.
Commenced minesweeping
training in Forth area.
1
9 4 4
January
Deployed in Forth area for
minesweeping training.
February
Passage to Harwich to join HM
Minesweepers PELORUS, PICKLE, FANCY,
LARNE, LENNOX, RECRUIT
and RIFLEMAN to form 7th Minesweeper]
Flotilla.
March
Deployed with Flotilla for
minesweeping of east coast to ensure
safe passage of
coastal convoys.
Nominated for service
in Force J for minesweeping support
during planned
allied landings in
Normandy (Operation NEPTUNE).
April
8th
Passage to Portsmouth with ships of
Flotilla to join Force J in Solent.
12th
Deployed for minesweeping off
Portsmouth.
20th
Deployed in Thames Estuary with
Flotilla.
29th
Returned to resume service with
Force J at Portsmouth for exercises
prior to
landings.
May
Nominated with Flotilla for
clearance of Channel 8 to beach head
areas.
(Note: An Isles Class
Danlayer, A Motor Minesweeper and three
Motor
Launches
were allocated for duty with the
Flotilla for laying of
markers
and to provide assistance during
NEPTUNE.)
Deployed with Flotilla
for exercises including nigh sweeping
and major
exercise FABIUS III in
Bracklesham Bay.
(Note: During FABIUS
III Flotilla came under E-Boat attack.)
Returned to Solent ion
completion to prepare for NEPTUNE.
For details of naval
activities prior to and during NEPTUNE
see LANDINGS
IN NORMANDY, June 1944
(HMSO) and OPERATION NEPTUNE by K
Edwards.
June
4th
Operation delayed for 24 hours.
5th
Sailed from Portsmouth with
Flotilla for clearance of Channel 8
ahead of first
Assault convoys.
6th
After arrival off JUNO Beach
deployed for local minesweeping and for
widening approach
Channels.
(Note: During Assault
Phase continued minesweeping off
Normandy and
later
during Build-up Phase was part of TROUT
Defence Line for
anti
submarine patrol. Deployed for convoy
escort and returned to
Portsmouth
for refuelling and replenishment.)
July
Retained in Forward Area for
minesweeping after termination of
NEPTUNE.
to
(Note: During this period
enemy minelaying and torpedo attacks
were carried
August
in
French coastal waters. See references
and HOLD THE NARROW
SEA by P
Smith.)
September
On release from Channel duties
transferred to Harwich for minesweeping
in
Nore Command and escort
of convoys to Scheldt area.
(Note: During final
months of 1944 extensive enemy attacks
were being made
by midget
submarines and E-Boats which both also
were used for
minelaying
operations.
17th
Deployed with Flotilla for Air Sea
Rescue duties during Arnhem airborne
landings (Operation
MARKET GARDEN)
October
Nore Command duties with Flotilla
in continuation.
November
Transferred to Plymouth Command with
Flotilla and took passage to
Falmouth for
anti-submarine patrol duties.
(Note: SCHNORKEL
fitted U-Boats were being deployed in SW
Approaches
at convoy
focal areas and level of escort and
patrol was increase to
meet this
threat.)
December
Nominated for foreign service with
and taken in hand for refit
1
9 4 5
January
Under refit and on completion
prepared for passage to Colombo to join
the
East Indies Fleet for
minesweeping duties during planned
landings.
February
Passage to rejoin ships of Flotilla
in Channel.
17th
Deployed with HM Minesweepers
RECRUIT, RIFLEMAN and PLUCKY
as escort for convoy
of Landing Ships (Tank) during passage
from Falmouth
to Gibraltar.
23rd
Detected submarine which later
surfaced. Engaged with surface gunfire
in
which HMS RECRUIT
also took part. Submarine scuttled and
was abandoned
by crew. Four
officers and 37 ratings were rescued by
ships of the convoy
escort
(Note: Submarine
was identified as U300 and had been
damaged in earlier
attack
on Convoy USG2. For details see U-BOATS
DESTROYED
by P Kemp and
HITLER’S U-BOAT WAR by C Blair.)
Later landed rescued
German survivors at Gibraltar.
March
Passage to Red Sea.
April
Passage in Indian Ocean.
14th
At Colombo with HM Minesweepers
PLUCKY, RECRUIT, CHAMELEON,
VESTAL, PICKLE (SO)
and RIFLEMAN.
Took
passage with
Flotilla to Trincomalee to commence
Fleet duties.
24th
Deployed with Flotilla and Indian
37th Minesweeping Flotilla as Force 63
for
minesweeping prior
to planned landings in Rangoon.
(Operation
DRACULA.)
May
1st
Carried out minesweeping off Rangoon
during landing operations.
On release from
DRACULA took passage to Trincomalee with
Flotilla.
June
Deployed with Flotilla at Trincomalee
to prepare for planned minesweeping
off Phuket Island
(Operation LIVERY)
July
19th
Sailed from Trincomalee with HM
Minesweepers PLUCKY, RIFLEMAN,
VESTAL and SQUIRREL
for LIVERY.
(Note: Cover was
provided by HM Battleship NELSON, HM
Cruiser
SUSSEX. HM
Escort Aircraft Carriers AMEER and
EMPRESS
screened
by four destroyers of East Indies Fleet.
Dan laying was
carried
out by RIN minesweepers.)
24th
HMS SQUIRREL damaged by detonation of
mine and had to be sunk after
rescue of survivors.
Seven of ship’s company were killed.
26th
Came under air attack by suicide
aircraft after completion of LIVERY.
HMS VESTAL was
seriously damaged and also had to be
sunk.
20 of ship’s company
were lost.
(Note:
For details of LIVERY see
WAR WITH JAPAN (HMSO) and
THE
FORGOTTEN FLEET by J Winton.)
Took return passage to
Trincomalee.
August Deployed
at Trincomalee to prepare
for planned landings in Malaya
(Operation ZIPPER)
(Note: This operation
was delayed by several factors including
the
return of
service personnel to UK and US
insistence on timing
of
landings to suit their overall policies.
See references.)
Passage to Colombo
15th
Sailed from Colombo with HM
Minesweepers PLUCKY, RIFLEMAN
and
RECRUIT to join Force 155
comprised also of 6th Minesweeping
Flotilla and RIN
minesweepers.
30th
Carried out minesweeping operations to
clear approaches to Penang prior
to entry of HMS
NELSON, HM Cruisers CLEOPATRA and
SUSSEX,
September
4th
Deployed in Malacca Straits for mine
clearance of entry into Singapore by
Eastern Fleet ships
prior to formal surrender of Japanese
forces in Malaya.
P
o s t W a r
N o t e s
HMS
PINCHER remained in the Far East with
the
Flotilla for minesweeping operations to
ensure safe passage of shipping into
ports in the
area. She returned to UK with the
remaining ships of the Flotilla in July
1946, Paid off in September for
reduction to Reserve this ship was
laid-up at Harwich. In 1951 she
recommissioned for service in the 4th
Minesweeping Squadron based at Portland
and during 1953 joined the Fisheries
Protection Squadron. Following a refit
in 1955 she resumed Fishery Protection
duties including service off Iceland.
Paid-off again in 1955 she laid-up at
Chatham before being moved to Portsmouth
in 1956. After being placed on the
Disposal List in 1960 she was hulked and
used as a Fender until sold to BISCO
for demolition by Clayton and Davie at
Dunston where she arrived in tow at the
Breaker’s yard on 7th March 1962.
For more about Algerine-class
Minesweepers, see
http://www.minesweepers.org.uk/index.htm