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withdrawn from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