 | |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name | Linnet |
| Operators |  Royal Navy |
| In commission | 1938–1964 |
| Completed | 3 |
| Lost | 1 |
| Retired | 2 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Minelayer |
| Displacement | 498 tons standard |
| Length | |
| Beam | 27 ft 2 in (8.28 m) |
| Draught | 8 ft 0 in (2.44 m) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 10.5 knots (19.4 km/h) |
| Complement | 24 |
| Armament |
|
TheLinnetclass were aclass of three small coastalminelayers commissioned into theRoyal Navy just before theSecond World War.
TheLinnet class were the largest of a dozen specialized vessels known as "Indicator Loop Mine Layers" built for the Royal Navy immediately before and during the Second World War. These vessels were designed to laycontrolled mines, used in coastal defences, as well asanti-submarine indicator loops. Similar vessels known asmine planters were operated by the US Army during the same era.[1]
Ships of the class had a displacement of 498 tons standard and a length of 145 ft 0 in (44.20 m)between perpendiculars. They were equipped with a single 20 mm gun and two machine guns. They had twotriple expansion engines which allowed the ship to have a maximum speed of 10.5knots (19.4 km/h; 12.1 mph). There was a complement of 24 officers and crew and a total mine capacity of 12.[2]
| Name | Builder | Launched | Fate | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linnet (M69) | Ardrossan Dockyard | 3 May 1938 | Broken up in 1964 | Tender toHMS Vernon |
| Redstart (M62) | Henry Robb | 3 May 1938 | Scuttled on 19 December 1941 | Scuttled inHong Kong to prevent its capture by the Japanese[1] |
| Ringdove (M77) | Henry Robb | 15 June 1938 | Sold in 1950 to Pakistan as apilot vessel | Tender to HMSVernon |