BYMS 2153
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.
stacks. Minesweepers 1 to 134 had two sacks, 135 to 480 had one stack, 466 to 479 had no stacks.
MINE SWEEPING FLOTILLA: 180th MSF: 2153 (sent to SE Asia 1945)
Built by: Campbell Machine Co., San Diego, California, USA, (West Coast).
Laid down: 7 August 1942.
Launched: 31 July 1943.
Handed over to Royal Navy: 23 November 1943.
Returned to USA: 3 July 1946.
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.
23 November 1943, completed.
24 March 1944, Balboa, Panama Canal.
29 March 1944, Cristobal, Panama Canal.
7 to 15 April 1944, Bermuda.
22 to 27 April 1944, Horta, Azores.
2 to 6 May 1944, Falmouth.
7 May 1944, Brixham.
7 to 17 May 1944, Needles.
18 May 1944, Dover.
15 Dec 1944, Brightlingsea.
17 March 1945, Aberdeen.
26 to 30 March, 1945, Swansea.
31 March to 6 April 1945, Falmouth.
13 to 14 April,1945 Gibraltar.
21 April to 7 May 1945, Malta.
10 to 13 May 1945, Port Said, Egypt.
19 to 23 May 1945, Aden, Yemen.
30 May to 8 June 1945, Bombay, India.
3 July 1946, returned to USA.
OFFICERS ON THE NAVY LIST, June 1943.
Not on Navy Lists.
OFFICERS ON THE NAVY LIST, June 1944.
Tempy. Skipper Lieut., J. H. Ellis DSC. 23 Nov 43. (In Command)
Tempy. Skipper, E. Blogg, 23 Nov 43.
OFFICERS ON THE NAVY LIST, July 1945.
Tempy. Skipper Lieut., J. H. Miller (act) 3 Nov 44
Skipper, J. Logan, 7 Feb 45.
Tempy. Skipper, J. Murray, 20 Jul 44.
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