HMS Mersham (M2709)
Minesweeper of the Royal Navy / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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HMS Mersham was a Ham-class minesweeper of the Royal Navy. All ships of the class were named after villages ending in -ham. The minesweeper was named after Mersham in Kent.[citation needed] Constructed at Appledore, in Devon, Mersham was launched in April 1954 and completed in January 1955. In April 1955, the ship was transferred to the French Navy and in French service, was known by its pennant number, M773, until it was renamed Violette in 1964. Throughout the 1950s and early 1960s, the vessel undertook minesweeping duties from Brest in Brittany, before being laid up in 1965. In 1974, the ship was transferred to the Gendarmerie and undertook patrol duties until finally being decommissioned in 1987.
History | |
---|---|
United Kingdom | |
Name | HMS Mersham |
Namesake | Mersham |
Builder | P.K. Harris |
Launched | 5 April 1954 |
Completed | 14 January 1955 |
Fate | Transferred to France, 1955 |
France | |
Name | Violette |
Acquired | 1955 |
Stricken | 1987 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Ham-class minesweeper |
Displacement |
|
Length | 106 ft 6 in (32.46 m) |
Beam | 22 ft (6.7 m) |
Draught | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) |
Propulsion | 2 shaft Paxman 12YHAXM diesels, 1,100 bhp (820 kW) |
Speed | 14 knots (26 km/h) |
Complement | 2 officers, 13 ratings |
Armament | 1 × Bofors 40 mm L/60 gun / 20 mm Oerlikon gun |
Notes | Pennant number(s): M2709 / IMS46 |