ALGERINE-Class
Fleet
Minesweeper ordered from Port Arthur
Shipyard with machinery provided by
The Montreal Locomotive Works on
15th March 1943 The ship was
laid down
on 15th May 1944 and launched on
13th December that year as
the first RN ship to bear this name
although it was in use by the Royal
Australian Navy for an auxiliary
Survey
Ship. Her build was completed on
29th October 1945.
B
a t t l e H
o n o u r s
None
was awarded for service during WW2.
H
e r a l d i c
D a t a
On
a Field barry wavy of ten white and
blue on a
roundel
blue
an estoile white.
D
e t a i l s
o f W a r
S e r v i c e
(for
more ship information,
go
to
Naval History Homepage
and
type name in Site Search
1
9 4 5
October Contractor's
trials and
commissioned for service.
Nominated
for service
with 3rd Minesweeping Flotilla.
29th
Build completion date.
November Carried
out Acceptance trials.
Prepared for
Atlantic passage.
December
Passage
to UK to join Flotilla.
1
9 4 6
January
Joined Flotilla at Rosyth
and worked-up for operational
service.
February
On completion deployed for
mine-clearance duties in North Sea
and.
to
NW
Approaches
based at Port Edgar and Londonderry
October
(Note: Other ships in
Flotilla included HM Fleet
Minesweepers CHEERFUL, MANDATE,
MARVEL,
MYRMIDON, MYSTIC, NERISSA and ONYX.
These
were sister ships.
November
Flotilla redesignated 1st
Minesweeping Flotilla
to
Mine clearance duties
in Home waters in continuation.
December
1
9 4 7
Home waters
Mine Clearance duties with 1st
Flotilla in continuation.
Nominated for
reduction to Reserve status on
completion of
Home waters mine clearance.
1
9 4 8
Reduced
to Reserve at Devonport and
laid-up in Reserve Fleet at
Devonport.
F
i n a l P h a s e
HMS
POLARIS remained in
Reserve until placed on the Disposal
List
in 1956. The ship was sold to TW
Ward for demolition in 1956 and
arrived at the breaker’s yard
in Briton
Ferry on 26th September that
year in
tow.
For more about Algerine-class
Minesweepers, see
http://www.minesweepers.org.uk/index.htm