ALGERINE-Class Fleet Minesweeper fitted with Turbine
propulsion machinery ordered on 30th April 1942 from Harland and Wolff, Belfast. Laid down on 24th April 1943 she was launched on 26th October 1943. The seventh major RN ship to carry this name
introduced in 1806 for a Gun Brig. It was last used for a destroyer built
in 1916 and lost in August 1917 after striking a mine in the North Sea. in July 1918. A Drifter hired during WW1
also carried this name when used as a Boom Defence Vessel between 1915 and
1915. The build of this minesweeper was completed on 14th January 1944.
B a t t l e
H o n o u r s
MARTINIQUE 1809 - CRIMEA
1855 - BELGIAN COAST 1917 - NORMANDY 1944
- ATLANTIC 1945 - BURMA 1945
H e r a l d i c D a t a
Badge: On
a Field barry wavy of ten White and Blue.
a drum proper in front of two drumsticks in
saltire
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 type name in Site Search
1 9 4 4
January Contractors trials and commissioned
for service in 7th Minesweeping Flotilla.
14th Build completion and commenced
Acceptance Trials.
On completion took passage
to Tobermory for work-up and preparation for
operational
minesweeping duties.
February After Work-up took passage to Port
Edgar to carry out minesweeping
training prior to
joining Flotilla.
Passage to Harwich to
join HM Minesweepers PLUCKY, PELORUS,
and
PICKLE with HM Minesweepers LENNOX,
LARNE, FANCY
and
RIFLEMAN for operational minesweeping duties as 7th Flotilla.
March Deployed with Flotilla for
minesweeping off Great Yarmouth to ensure
safe
passage of North Sea coastal convoys.
Nominated for service
in Force J for minesweeping support during planned
allied
landings in Normandy (Operation NEPTUNE).
Involved in collision
with HMS FANCY which had to withdrawn from
duty
for repair.
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
PINCHER, RIFLEMAN and PLUCKY
as escort for convoy
of Landing Ships (Tank) during passage from Falmouth
to Gibraltar.
23rd After detection of submarine by HMS
PINCHER, both ships engaged the surfaced U-Boat
with main armament.
Submarine identified as U300 scuttled and was abandoned by crew.
Four officers and 37
ratings were rescued.
(Note: U300 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, PINCHER, 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 BROOM,
the minesweeping part of Operation DRACULA. to
capture Rangoon)
May
1st Carried out minesweeping off
Rangoon during landing operations.
On release from
DRACULA took passage to Trincomalee with Flotilla.
June Nominated for refit and
took passage to South Africa with HMS PICKLE
and HMS CHAMELEON
July On completion of refit
took passage to Colombo to resume Flotilla duties.
Nominated for
minesweeping operations with Flotilla in support of planned
invasion of Malayan
peninsular (Operation ZIPPER).
(Note: The
execution of this operation was delayed at US insistence and
administration problems in UK in respect of the return of service
personnel from South East Asia Command.)
Took part in
preparatory exercise with ships of 6th Minesweeping Flotilla
and 17th
Minesweeping Flotilla (RIN).
(Note: In a
special mine clearance operation off Phuket Island before return
to operational duties,
sister ships HMS SQUIRREL and HMS
VESTAL
of 7th Flotilla were lost after detonating mines.)
August Preparation for ZIPPER in
continuation off Ceylon.
15th Sailed from Colombo with HM
Minesweepers PLUCKY, RIFLEMAN
and PINCHER 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 RECRUIT remained in the
Far East with the Flotilla for minesweeping operations to ensure safe passage of shipping into
ports in the area. After deployments off Penang, in the Banka Straits, off
Malaya, Burma and North Borneo she
returned to UK with the six original sister ships of the Flotilla in August
1946. Paid off in September she
recommissioned in 1947 and during subsequent service was deployed in the Mediterranean for a year
before return to UK to Pay-off. Taken out of Reserve in 1953 she again joined
the 2nd Flotilla in Malta until nominated for reduction to Reserve Status.
Laid-up at Barrow this ship was placed on the Disposal List in 1965 and
sold to BISCO for breaking-up at Barrow by TW Ward. Demolition at Barrow began in September 1965.
For more about Algerine-class Minesweepers, see
http://www.minesweepers.org.uk/index.htm