Ham Class Minesweepers
The ships of the Ham class of minesweepers have names were all chosen from villages ending in -ham. HMS Inglesham was the first of the ships of the Ham-class of inshore minesweepers. The parent firm that was responsible for supervising construction was Samuel White of Cowes, Isle of Wight. The class consisted of 93 ships, launched between 1954 and 1959. HMS Inglesham was the first. New boats continued to commission through to 1959. Of wooden construction 100-106ft long with twin Paxman Diesel engines they had a speed of 14kts and a crew of fifteen.
They were built in three slightly different sub-groups, the first sub-group, the 26-group, is distinguished by pennant numbers 26xx, and the second and third sub-groups, the 27-group, are distinguished by pennant numbers 27xx. The 26-group was of wood and non-ferrous metal composite construction and the 27-group was of all-wood construction. The third sub-group is distinguished by a prominent rubbing strake around the hull and slightly larger dimensions. The vessels displaced 164tons fully laden and were armed with one 40 mm Bofors or 20 mm Oerlikon gun. They were 32.5 metres (107 ft) long overall with a 6.4-metre (21 ft) beam. The construction was of wood to minimise magnetic signature. The crew complement was 15, rising to 22 in wartime. The engines of this class were Paxman diesels, some of which were built under licence by Ruston and Hornsby of Lincoln.
