HMS Aberdare (J49)

Aberdare in 1919
History
United Kingdom
Builder:	Ailsa Shipbuilding Company, Troon, Ayrshire, Scotland
Laid down:	1 January 1917
Launched:	29 April 1918
Commissioned:	3 October 1918[1]
Fate:	Sold 13 March 1947
General characteristics
Class & type:	Hunt-class minesweeper, Aberdare sub-class
Displacement:	800 long tons (813 t)
Length:	213 ft (65 m) o/a
Beam:	28 ft 6 in (8.69 m)
Draught:	7 ft 6 in (2.29 m)
Installed power:	2 × Yarrow boilers 2,200 ihp (1,600 kW)
Propulsion:	2 shafts 2 vertical triple-expansion steam engines
Speed:	16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph)
Range:	1,500 nmi (2,800 km; 1,700 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Complement:	74
Armament:	1 × QF 4-inch (102 mm) gun 1 × QF 12-pounder (76.2 mm) anti-aircraft gun

HMS Aberdare was the name ship of her sub-class of the Hunt-class minesweepers built for the Royal Navy during World War I. She survived both World Wars to be scrapped in 1947.

Design and description

The Aberdare sub-class were enlarged versions of the original Hunt-class ships with a more powerful armament. The ships displaced 800 long tons (810 t) at normal load. They measured 231 feet (70.4 m) long overall with a beam of 26 feet 6 inches (8.1 m). They had a draught of 7 feet 6 inches (2.3 m). The ships' complement consisted of 74 officers and ratings.^[2]

The ships had two vertical triple-expansion steam engines, each driving one shaft, using steam provided by two Yarrow boilers. The engines produced a total of 2,200 indicated horsepower (1,600 kW) and gave a maximum speed of 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph). They carried a maximum of 185 long tons (188 t) of coal^[2] which gave them a range of 1,500 nautical miles (2,800 km; 1,700 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph).^[3]

The Aberdare sub-class was armed with a quick-firing (QF) four-inch (102 mm) gun forward of the bridge and a QF twelve-pounder (76.2 mm) anti-aircraft gun aft.^[2] Some ships were fitted with six- or three-pounder guns in lieu of the twelve-pounder.^[3]

Construction and career

HMS Aberdare, named after the eponymous Welsh town, was built by the Ailsa Shipbuilding Company at its shipyard in Troon, Ayrshire. She was launched on 29 April 1918,^[4] and completed on 3 October 1918.^[5]

Aberdare was sent to the Mediterranean Sea on commissioning, joining the British Aegean Squadron.^[6]

In 1943 Aberdare was part of the 2nd M/S Flotilla based at Alexandria. During that year the flotilla swept minefields outside Mersa Matruh and other harbours in Libya, and off Malta and the south coast of Sicily. From January to September 1944 the flotilla was engaged in sweeping an inshore channel from Taranto round the heel of Italy and thence up the Adriatic coast as far north as Ancona.

Notes

1. uboat.net HMS Aberdare
2. Gardiner & Gray, p. 98
3. Cocker, p. 76
4. Dittmar & Colledge, p. 112.
5. Worth, p. 7.
6. "Supplement to the Monthly Naval List, Showing Organisation of the Fleet, Flag Officer' Commands &c.: XV.—Mediterranean". The Navy List. December 1918. p. 22.

References

• Cocker, M. P. (1993). Mine Warfare Vessels of the Royal Navy: 1908 to Date. Shrewsbury, England: Airlife Publishing. ISBN 1-85310-328-4.
• Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8. OCLC 67375475.
• Dittmar, F.J. & Colledge, J.J. (1972). British Warships 1914–1919. Shepperton, UK: Ian Allen. ISBN 0-7110-0380-7.
• Gardiner, Robert & Gray, Randal, eds. (1984). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships: 1906–1921. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-85177-245-5.
• Worth, Jack (1992). British Warships Since 1945: Part 4: Minesweepers. Liskeard, UK: Maritime Books. ISBN 0-907771-12-2.