ALGERINE-Class
Fleet Minesweeper fitted with Turbine
propulsion machinery ordered on 15th
November 1940 from Harland and Wolff,
Belfast. Laid down on
15th March 1941 at the same time as
sister ship ESPIEGLE. She was launched
on 22nd September 1942 as the fifth
RN ship to carry this name, introduced
for a captured French Brig Sloop in 1810
and last borne by a Sloop
built at Sheerness in 1901 and sold in
1925 at Sydney, Australia after service
as a Survey Ship. Her build
was completed on 23rd January 1943, This
warship was adopted by the civil
community of Friern
Barnet, then in Middlesex, after a
successful
WARSHIP WEEK National Savings campaign
in March 1942.
B
a t t l e H o n o u r s
None
H e r a l d i c D a
t a
Badge:
On a Field Blue,
a fan tailed pigeon, proper.
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
type name in Site Search
1
9 4 3
January Contractors
trials and commissioned
for service in 12th Minesweeping
Flotilla.
23rd
Build
completion and
commenced Acceptance Trials.
On completion took
passage to Tobermory for work-up and
preparation for operational
minesweeping duties.
(Note: Ships intended
for use as convoy escorts were subjected
to extensive training
exercises
at Tobermory.
See THE
TERROR OF TOBERMORY by Richard Baker.)
February
After Work-up took passage to Port
Edgar to carry out minesweeping
training.
Commenced minesweeping
training in Forth area
(Note: For details of
minesweeping equipment and background
see THE TORPEDOMEN
by E N
Poland.)
March
Deployed at Port Edgar for
minesweeping training. See above
reference.
Prepared for passage to
Mediterranean for operational service.
April
Passage to Bizerta to join
Flotilla
(Note:
HM Minesweepers CIRCE and ESPIEGLE had
joined earlier to replace ships recently
lost or
damaged in the Mediterranean).
On arrival replaced HMS
ALGERINE which had been withdrawn from
service after damage
during air attack in
December 1942.
Deployed with Flotilla
for convoy defence and patrol off North
Africa coast between Bizerta
and Algiers. For
details see Naval Staff History)
May
Flotilla nominated for joint
operations with 13th Minesweeping
Flotilla for mine clearance to
ensure safe passage
through Galita and Sicilian Channels.
(Operation ANTIDOTE).
9th
Deployed at Bizerta for ANTIDOTE
with the two minesweeping Flotillas.
20th
Sustained major damage when mine
exploded in her minesweeping gear being
towed astern.
Stern structure was
destroyed.
Taken in tow to Bizerta
by HMS CADMUS of Flotilla.
June Ship
withdrawn from
operational service.
P
o s t W a r
N o t e
HMS
FANTOME underwent
temporary repair at Bizerta to enable
her to return under tow to UK but this
was not carried out until
conditions in the Mediterranean made
this practicable.. Since more
minesweepers
of this Class and other types were
becoming available no further repair
work was carried out after arrival and
she
was declared a Constructive Total
Loss. Placed on the Disposal List after
VJ Day this ship was sold to BISCO in
January 1947 for demolition by TW Ward
at Milford Haven where she arrived in
tow on 22n May 1947.
For more about Algerine-class
Minesweepers, see
http://www.minesweepers.org.uk/index.htm