HMS Bassingham
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HMS Bassingham was one of 76 ships of the Ham class of inshore minesweepers, of which Inglesham (M2601) was the first. Their names were all chosen from villages ending in -ham. She was built by Vospers Ltd. of Portsmouth, which later became Vosper-Thorneycroft and was commissioned in October 1953. She displaced 164 tons fully laden and was armed with one 40 mm Bofors gun.
The engines of this class were Paxman Diesels, some of which were built under licence by Ruston and Hornsby of Lincoln. The class was designed to operate in the shallow water of rivers and estuaries. She was 32.5 metres long overall by 6.4 metres beam. Jane's and the Bassingham website are not consistent about the building material. Jane's says the Ham class, numbered in the 2601 series was of wood. According to the web site, Bassingham was of composite wood and "non-metallic material" construction but Jane's 1953 says that the composite vessels were numbered in the 2001 series and named after places ending in -ley (Ley class minesweeper). It seems likely that policy changed after Jane's 1953-4 was published.
She was broken up in September-October 1980 having been decommissioned in about 1966.
Reference
Blackman, R.V.B. ed. Jane's Fighting Ships (1953)External link
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