BYMS 2019
British Yard Mine Sweeper
BRITISH YARD MINE SWEEPERS
BYMS’s were built in the United States and transferred the Royal Navy under the Lend-lease Programme. “British Yard Mine Sweepers” are so called because they were built to the same design as the US Navy’s “Yard Mine Sweepers”.
Crews for the BYMS’s would sail to the United States, often on the Queen Mary, which could sail unescorted because of her greater speed, to collect their vessel. They would then have the formidable task of sailing their small vessel back across the Atlantic Ocean, often in winter.
BYMS 2019 was the first vessel to enter Syracuse, Sicily after its capture on the 10 July 1943 by British forces on the first night of the invasion, operation Husky. Following this it was used as a base by the Royal Navy.
19th August 1943, while minesweeping off Crotone, Italy BYMS 2019 detonated a mine with the loss of four of her crew. She was beached but damaged beyond repair.
MINE SWEEPING FLOTILLA: 153rd MFS, Mediterranean: 2009, 2019, 2022, 2026, 2027, 2037, 2077, 2171, 2172.
Built by: Bellingham Iron Works, Inc., Bellingham, Washington, USA (West Coast)
Laid down: 26 July 1941.
Launched: 30 May 1942.
Handed over to Royal Navy: 15 August 1942
Sunk by mine, 19th August 1943,
SPECIFICATIONS:
Wooden hull. Length, 130 feet. Beam, 25 feet 6 inches. Depth, 12 feet I inch. Draft, 8 foot 10.5 inches. Displacement 207-215 tons.
Engine: Two 800 bhp General Motors diesel engines.
Speed: 14.6 knots. 10 knots while sweeping. (Eight knots with double Oropesa sweeps)
Range: 2,500 at ten knots.
Compliment: 3 officers and 27 men.
Armament: One 3-inch HA/LA gun and two Oerlikon anti-aircraft guns.
BYMS’s were fitted with a drum on the stern with LL (double L) cables for sweeping magnetic mines, an acustic hammer on the bow for sweeping acustic mines and Oropesa floats for sweeping tethered mines.
All YMS and BYMS were built to the same design, the only variation was in the number of exhaust stacks. Minesweepers 1 to 134 had two sacks, 135 to 480 had one stack, 466 to 479 had no stacks.
MOVEMENTS.
15 August 1942, Completed.
28 Feb 1943, Seattle, Washington, USA, (West Coast)
7 Marck 1943, San Diego, California, USA.
10 April 1943, Cristobal, Panama Canal.
25 April 1943, Trinidad.
21 May 1943, Recife, Brazil.
8 June 1943, Dakar, Senegal, West Africa.
21 June 1943, Gibraltar.
28 June 1943, Malta.
19th August 1943, Sunk by mine, Crotone, Italy.
OFFICERS ON THE NAVY LIST, August 1943.
Tempy. Lieut., T. H. Davies, (In Command.) 12 June 42.
Tempy. Lieut., F. H. Conway, 7 Apr 42.
19 September 1943. BYMS.2019, motor minesweeper, ship loss.
HEALY, John F, Leading Cook, RNPS, LT/MX 85150, killed
HUGHES, Ronald E, Seaman, RNPS, LT/JX 242607, DOW
KLEISER, Joseph R, Engineman, RNPS, LT/KX 130912, killed
TAYLOR, George M, Engineman, RNPS, LT/KX 108020, MPK
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Thank you.
Contact: johntenthousand@yahoo.co.uk
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