Halcyon class minesweeper
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Halcyon Class minesweepers were oil-fired Fleet minesweepers built for the Royal Navy between 1933 and 1939, they numbered 21 in total.
War Service
Halcyons served in Home waters, at Dunkirk, on Arctic convoy duty, and in the Mediterranean.Home Waters
On 3rd February, 1940 HMS Sphinx (Cdr. J.R.N. Taylor, RN) was sweeping an area 15 miles north of Kinnaird Head when attacked by enemy aircraft. A bomb pierced the fo'c'sle deck and exploding destroying the fore part of the ship. She remained afloat and was taken in tow by HMS Halcyon but steadily flooded and capsized and sank. The wreck was later washed ashore north of Lybster and was sold for scrap. The Commanding Officer and forty of the men were killed in the explosion.Dunkirk
HMS Skipjack (Lt.Cdr. F.B. Proudfoot, RN) was attacked and sunk by a force of German dive-bombers off La Panne, Belgium on 1st June, 1942. On board Skipjack were between 250 and 300 soldiers just rescued from the Dunkirk beaches during Operation Dynamo.Arctic Convoys
Halcyons were pressed into service as anti-submarine escorts; this task slowly decreasing as the ships specifically designed for this task, such as Flower class corvettes, came off the slips. Halcyons accompanied most of the Arctic Convoys, serving both as minesweepers and anti-submarine escorts. Several spent extended periods working out of Soviet naval bases in Northern Russia, such as Murmansk. Four Halcyons were lost during this period:- HMS Gossamer, having escorted the very first Arctic Convoy, attacked a German U-boat while escorting Convoy PQ-11, and helped rescue the crew of HMS Edinburgh. Gossamer dive-bombed and sunk on 26th June, 1942 in the Kola Inlet.
- HMS Niger was lost off Iceland on 5th July, 1942 while escorting Convoy PQ-13, when part of the convoy wandered into a British minefield.
- HMS Leda was torpedoed and sunk in the Greenland Sea on 29th September, 1942 while escorting Convoy QP-14.
- On 31st December, 1943 during the Battle of the Barents Sea, HMS Bramble was attacked by the German surface raider Admiral Hipper on while escorting Convoy JW51B. After sustaining serious damage, Bramble was finished off by the German destroyer Eckholdt.
Mediterranean
HMS Hebe and HMS Speedy served in the Mediterranean as part of the 14th/17th Minesweeper Flotilla based in Malta. The minesweepers saw action during the Malta Convoys, Operation Torch, and Operation Corkscrew. Hebe was lost to a mine off Bari, Italy on 22nd November, 1943.Blue on Blue
HMS Britomart (Lt. Cdr. Nash, MBE, RNR) and HMS Hussar (Lt.Cdr. A.J. Galvin, DSC, RNR) were sunk by RAF Typhoons in a "friendly fire" incident on 27th August, 1944 off Cap d'Antifer, Le Havre. HMS Salamander was badly damaged astern in the same incident and she was eventually scrapped without repair. HMS Jason was attacked during the same incident but escaped major damage.Ships in Class
There were 21 ships in the Halcyon class, built in three batches. Apart from the use of oil-firing, the principle differences between the Halcyons and the earlier Pangbourne class minesweepers were the greater size (> 800 tons), better armament, and the fitting of ASDIC.First batch
Displacement: 815 tons Dimensions: 245 x 33½ x 6¾ ft Machinery: 2-shaft Reciprocating engine (V.C.); 1,770 IHP = 16½ knots Armament: 1x 4-inch gun, 1x 4-inch A.A., 4x .5-inch A.A. (1x4) Complement: 80
- HMS Halcyon (J.42)
- HMS Harrier (J.71)
- HMS Hussar (J.82)
- HMS Niger (J.73)
- HMS Salamander (J.86)
- HMS Skipjack (J.38)
- HMS Speedwell (J.87)
Second batch
Displacement: 835 tons Dimensions: 245 x 33½ x 7¼ ft Machinery: 2-shaft geared turbines; 1,750 SHP = 17 knots Armament: 1x 4-inch gun, 2x 4-inch A.A. (2x1), 4x .5-inch A.A. (1x4) Complement: 80
- HMS Franklin (J.84)
- HMS Gleaner (J.83)
- HMS Gossamer (J.63)
- HMS Hazard (J.24)
- HMS Hebe (J.24)
- HMS Jason (J.99)
- HMS Leda (J.93)
- HMS Seagull (J.85)
- HMS Sharpshooter (J.68)
Third batch
Displacement: 875 tons Dimensions: 245 x 33½ x 8ft Machinery: 2-shaft geared turbines; 1,750 SHP = 17 knots Armament: 1x 4-inch gun, 2x 4-inch A.A. (2x1), 4x .5-inch A.A. (1x4) Complement: 80
- HMS Bramble (J.11)
- HMS Britomart (J.22)
- HMS Scott (J.79)
- HMS Speedy (J.17)
- HMS Sphinx (J.69)
Sources
- Warships of World War II, by H. T. Lenton & J. J. Colledge, pub. Ian Allen Ltd.
External Links
- [Halcyon class minesweepers] - uboat.net
- [HMS Bramble "BBC People's War"] - www.bbc.co.uk
- [HMS Hussar "BBC People's War"] - www.bbc.co.uk
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