HMS Bodenham (M2609)

History
United Kingdom
Name:	HMS Bodenham
Namesake:	Bodenham
Builder:	Brooke Marine
Launched:	21 August 1952
Completed:	23 September 1953
Fate:	transferred to South Yemen 1967
South Yemen
Name:	Al Saqr
Acquired:	1967
Struck:	1984
General characteristics
Class and type:	Ham-class minesweeper
Displacement:	120 long tons (122 t) standard 164 long tons (167 t) full load
Length:	100 ft (30 m) p/p 106 ft 6 in (32.46 m) o/a
Beam:	21 ft 4 in (6.50 m)
Draught:	5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
Propulsion:	2 shaft Paxman 12YHAXM diesels 1,100 bhp (820 kW)
Speed:	14 knots (16 mph; 26 km/h)
Complement:	2 officers, 13 ratings
Armament:	1 × Bofors 40 mm gun or Oerlikon 20 mm cannon
Notes:	Pennant number(s): M2609 / IMS09

HMS Bodenham was one of 93 ships of the Ham-class of inshore minesweepers.

Their names were all chosen from villages ending in -ham. The minesweeper was named after Bodenham in Herefordshire.

Construction and design

HMS Bodenham (originally planned to be named Green Chaffinch) was ordered from Brooke Marine of Lowestoft on 29 September 1950 as part of the first series of Ham-class inshore minesweepers.^[1][2] The ships of the first series of the Ham class were 100 feet (30.5 m) long between perpendiculars and 106 feet 5 inches (32.44 m) overall, with a beam of 21 feet 2 inches (6.45 m) and draught of 5 feet 6 inches (1.68 m).^[3] They had hulls of composite wood-and-aluminium construction and displaced 120 long tons (120 t) standard and 159 long tons (162 t) deep load.^[1] They were propelled by two Paxman diesel engines, with a total of 1,100 brake horsepower (820 kW), giving a speed of 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph). 15 tons of oil were carried, giving an endurance of 2,350 nautical miles (4,350 km; 2,700 mi) at 9 knots (17 km/h; 10 mph).^[1][3] Armament consisted of a single Bofors 40 mm gun or Oerlikon 20 mm cannon, although the ships armed with Bofors guns were usually rearmed with Oerlikons. The ships had a complement of two officers and 13 ratings.^[4]

Bodenham was launched on 21 August 1952,^[5] and was completed on 23 September 1953.^[2]

Service

The Ham class were too small to carry modern minesweeping equipment and in particular, lacked the electrical generating capacity to power acoustic and magnetic sweep gear, so saw little active use with the Royal Navy.^[1] Bodenham served as tender to HMS Vernon between 1954 and 1955, then going into operational reserve at Rosneath, which lasted until 1963.^[6] In 1967, South Yemen became independent from the United Kingdom, and three Ham-class minesweepers (Bodenham, Blunham and Elsenham) were transferred to the newly established nation's navy.^[7][8] Bodenham was renamed Al Saqr on transfer and Jihla in 1975, and was discarded in 1984.^[7]

References

Citations

1. Gardiner and Chumbley 1995, p. 541.
2. Worth 1986, p. 123.
3. Blackman 1962, p. 283.
4. Blackman 1971, p. 368.
5. Colledge and Warlow 2006, p. 43.
6. Worth 1986, p. 126.
7. Gardiner and Chumbley 1995, p. 641.
8. Blackman 1971, p. 280.

Sources

• Blackman, Raymond V.B., ed. Jane's Fighting Ships 1952–1953. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1953.
• Blackman, V.B. Jane's Fighting Ships 1962–63. London: Sampson Low, Marston & Co., Ltd., 1962.
• Blackman, V.B. Jane's Fighting Ships 1971–72. London: Sampson Low, Marston & Co., Ltd., 1971. ISBN 0-354-00096-9.
• Gardiner, Roger and Stephen Chumbley. Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1947–1995. Annapolis, Maryland, USA: Naval Institute Press, 1995. ISBN 1-55750-132-7.
• Worth, Jack. British Warships Since 1945: Part 4 Minesweepers. Liskeard, UK: Maritime Books, 1986. ISBN 0-907771-12-2.