HMSASBloemfontein was anAlgerine-classminesweeper built for theRoyal Navy in Canada duringWorld War II. The ship was originallyHMSRosamund (pennant number: J439) and spent several years clearingminefields in European waters after she was completed in 1945 before she was placed inreserve.Rosamund was purchased bySouth Africa in 1947 and renamed HMSASBloemfontein in 1948.
The ship spent most of its early career in theSouth African Navy training or making good-will visits to foreign countries. She waslaid up in the late 1950s and wasrecommissioned in 1961 to serve as an interimtraining ship until theshore-based training establishment then under construction was completed. This occurred in 1963 andBloemfontein returned briefly to reserve before she was deemed surplus to requirements. The ship was sunk as a target in 1967.
Bloemfontein was ordered on 15 March 1943 from thePort Arthur Shipbuilding Company ofPort Arthur, Ontario, Canada, andlaid down on 26 April 1944 with the name ofRosamund.[3] The ship was the first of her name to serve in the Royal Navy.[4] She waslaunched on 20 December and completed six months later on 10 July 1945.[3] The ship was assigned to clear the coastal waters of Western Europe of minefields laid during the war and did so until she was laid up in 1947 atDevonport Royal Dockyard.Rosamund was purchased by the South African Navy later that year, together with hersister ship,Pelorus. The sisters departed England on 22 November after a refresher course at the minesweeping school atHMSLochinvar,Port Edgar, Scotland. They arrived atCape Town on 24 December, making stops atGibraltar,Freetown andWalvis Bay en route.[5]
Rosamund was rechristened asBloemfontein inEast London during that city's centenary celebrations in mid-1948. In August she made her first supply run toMarion Island. In November of that year, the sisters exercised with the British 3rd Aircraft Carrier Squadron. Later that month, together with thefrigateNatal, they visited ports inPortuguese Mozambique, returning toDurban on 12 December. The sisters were placed in reserve in the late 1950s, after the navy had purchased 10Ton-class minesweepers.Bloemfontein was recommissioned in April 1961 to serve as a stationary training ship inSimon's Town until the navy's training facilitySASSimonsberg was completed in July 1963. The navy decided that the ship was no longer needed and she was stripped of useful equipment before being sunk as a target inFalse Bay by the frigatePresident Kruger and the minesweeperSAS Johannesburg on 5 June 1967.[6]
Du Toit, Allan (1992).South Africa's Fighting Ships: Past and Present. Rivonia, South Africa: Ashanti Publishing.ISBN1-874800-50-2.
Gardiner, Robert; Chumbley, Stephen & Budzbon, Przemysław (1995).Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1947–1995. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press.ISBN1-55750-132-7.
Lenton, H. T. (1998).British & Empire Warships of the Second World War. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press.ISBN1-55750-048-7.
United Kingdom
South Africa
