Racecourse-class minesweeper

HMS Plumpton
Class overview
Name:	Racecourse class
Operators:	Royal Navy
Succeeded by:	Halcyon class
Built:	1916 & 1918
Completed:	24 Racecourse class 8 Improved Racecourse class
General characteristics
Displacement:	Racecourse class: 810 long tons (823 t) Improved class: 820 long tons (833 t)
Length:	235 ft (72 m)
Beam:	Racecourse class: 29 ft (8.8 m) Improved class: 29 ft 3 in (8.92 m) 58 ft (18 m) at the paddles (both types)
Draught:	6.75–7 ft (2.06–2.13 m)
Propulsion:	Inclined compound. Cylindrical return tube. 1,400 hp (1,000 kW).
Speed:	15 knots (17 mph; 28 km/h)
Range:	156 tons coal
Complement:	50-52 men
Armament:	Racecourse class: 2 × 12-pounder guns Improved class: 1 × 12-pounder gun 1 × 3-inch AA gun

For the class of ships sometimes known as the "Racehorse" class see 24-class sloop

The Racecourse-class minesweepers were 32 ships delivered to the Royal Navy during the First World War. They were built to two related designs as paddlewheel coastal minesweeping sloops under the Emergency War Programme. The vessels were reasonable sea-boats, but lost speed badly in a seaway when the paddle boxes tended to become choked with water. The class is also widely referred to as the Ascot class and Improved Ascot class.

Initial design

The original design was by the Ailsa Shipbuilding Company. The ships were completed between April and October 1916. Launch dates are shown below.

• HMS Ascot: January 1916, Ailsa S.B. Co—first of class, also last ship to be lost in World War I.
• HMS Atherstone: January 1916, Ailsa S.B. Co
• HMS Chelmsford: April 1916, Ailsa S.B. Co
• HMS Cheltenham: June 1916, Ardrossan Co
• HMS Chepstow: April 1916, Ayrshire D.Y. Co
• HMS Croxton: April 1916, Ayrshire D.Y. Co
• HMS <i>Doncaster</i>: June 1916 Ayrshire D.Y. Co
• HMS Eglinton: September 1916, Ayrshire D.Y. Co
• HMS <i>Epsom</i>: May 1916, G. Brown
• HMS <i>Eridge</i>: February 1916, Clyde S.B. Co. Originally fitted to carry seaplanes.
• HMS <i>Gatwick</i>: April 1916, Dundee S.B. Co.
• HMS <i>Goodwood</i>: June 1916, Dundee S.B. Co.
• HMS <i>Haldon</i>: March 1916, Dunlop, Bremner
• HMS <i>Hurst</i>: May 1916, Dunlop, Bremner
• HMS <i>Kempton</i>: Ferguson Bros. Lost in World War I.
• HMS <i>Lingfield</i>: April 1916, Fleming & Ferguson
• HMS <i>Ludlow</i>: Goole Co.—lost in World War I.
• HMS Melton: March 1916, Hamilton. Originally fitted to carry seaplanes.
• HMS Newbury: July 1916, A. & J. Inglis
• HMS Plumpton: McMillan—lost in World War I.
• HMS <i>Pontefract</i>: June 1916, Murdoch & Murray
• HMS <i>Redcar</i>: Ayrshire D.Y. Co.—lost in World War I.
• HMS <i>Sandown</i>: July 1916, Dunlop, Bremner
• HMS <i>Totnes</i>: May 1916, McMillan

On this type the foremast is stepped before the fore bridges and have derricks abeam of the second funnel.

Improved Racecourse type

These paddle minesweepers were designed by the Admiralty, adapted from the Ailsa Company design for the first type. They were completed between January and June 1918. All were built under the Emergency War Programme.

• HMS <i>Banbury</i>: December 1917, Ailsa S.B. Co.
• HMS <i>Harpenden</i>: February 1918, Ailsa S.B. Co.
• HMS <i>Hexham</i>: December 1917, Clyde S.B. Co.
• HMS <i>Lanark</i>: December 1917, Fleming & Ferguson
• HMS <i>Lewes</i>: March 1918, Fleming & Ferguson
• HMS <i>Shincliffe</i>: January 1918, Dunlop, Bremner
• HMS <i>Shirley</i>: Dunlop, Bremner. Sold as a ferry boat, 1919.
• HMS <i>Wetherby</i>: March 1918, Murdoch & Murray.

The foremast on this type is stepped through the chart house, there are two high ventilators abaft fore funnel and no derricks abeam of the second funnel.

Notes and references

External links

• The history of HMS Newbury

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Racecourse class minesweeper.

This page was last edited on 9 July 2018, at 08:10