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Ocean boarding vessels (OBVs) were merchant ships taken over by theRoyal Navy during the Second World War for the purpose of enforcing wartimeblockades by intercepting and boarding foreign vessels.
| Ship | Date launched/ completed | Date requisitioned/ commissioned | History |
|---|---|---|---|
| HMS Ariguani | 1926 | Converted to "Catapult Armed Ship". Used for convoy escort | |
| HMS Camito | June 1915 | 26 September 1940 | Torpedoed and sunk 6 May 1941[1] |
| HMSCavina | August 1940 | July 1942 | Converted from abanana boat. Returned toElders & Fyffes[2] |
| HMS Corinthian | Rescued survivors ofDuchess of Atholl October 1942[3] Rescued survivors ofRMS Empress of Canada 14 March 1943.[4] | ||
| HMS Crispin | 1935 | August 1940 | Sunk 4 February 1941 after torpedo attack previous day[5] |
| HMSEmpire Audacity | 29 March 1939 | 11 November 1940 | Former German shipHannover captured 7/8 March 1940 and put into British service. Commissioned as Ocean boarding vessel in November 1940 but sent for conversion toescort aircraft carrier in January 1941. |
| HMS Fratton | 28 September 1925 | August 1940 | The cross channel steamer was requisitioned by the Admiralty as a Barrage Balloon Vessel, converted to Ocean Boarding Vessel in 1943. She was sunk off Normandy by aNeger manned torpedo 18 August 1944.[6] |
| HMS Hilary | 17 April 1931 | 21 January 1941 | FormerHilary; restored as a merchantman 15 April 1942; recommissioned as aninfantry landing and headquarters ship 1943; returned to civilian service after the war in 1945; scrapped 1959. |
| Inanda | 1925 | 11 August 1940 | Bombed and sunk on 7 September 1940. Salvaged and converted to cargo shipEmpire Explorer, never saw service as an ocean boarding vessel. Torpedoed and sunk in July 1942. |
| Inkosi | 1937 | 11 August 1940 | Bombed and sunk on 7 September 1940. Salvaged and converted to cargo shipEmpire Chivalry, never saw service as an ocean boarding vessel. Sold postwar and renamedPlanter. Scrapped 1958. |
| HMS Lady Somers[7] | 1929 | Requisitioned by Admiralty in 1940. Sunk by Italian submarineMorosini in N Atlantic, 15 July 1941. | |
| HMS Largs | 1938 | 1941 | French shipCharles Plumier in 1938; seized by Royal Navy; returned to France 1945; sold to a Greek company and renamedPleias 1964; scrapped 1968 |
| HMS Malvernian[7] | 1937 | Abandoned after being bombed, North Atlantic, 19 July 1941 | |
| HMS Manistee | 1920 | 1940 | Sailed with Atlantic convoy OB 288. Sunk 24 February 1941, no survivors |
| HMS Marsdale | Participated in locating German supply ships afterBismarck had been sunk | ||
| HMS Maplin | 1932 | FormerlyErin. Converted to Fighter catapult ship 1940. | |
| HMS Patia | 1922 | Converted toFighter catapult ship in 1940. Sank after attacked by German aircraft 1941 | |
| HMS Registan[8] | 1930 | 13 September 1940 | Bombed offCape Cornwall 27 May 1941; repaired and returned to merchant use November 1941; sunk 29 September 1942[9] |