Name HMS Puttenham Completed 9 May 1958 Class and type Ham-class minesweeper | Namesake Puttenham Fate Sold 1980 Launched 25 June 1956 | |
Notes Pennant number(s) M2784 / IMS84 Builder John I. Thornycroft & Company | ||
HMS Puttenham (M2784) was a Ham-class inshore minesweeper of the Royal Navy. She was launched in 1956 and entered service in 1958. The 93 ships of the Ham class had names chosen from villages ending in -ham. The minesweeper was named after Puttenham.
In June 1967, HMS Puttenham, equipped with twelve divers under the command of Engineer-Lieutenant Roy Graham, sailed to the Isles of Scilly in search of the wrecks of the great naval disaster in 1707. The wreck of HMS Association, a 90-gun second rate ship of the line, was finally located. Divers first discovered a cannon, and on the third dive, silver and gold coins were spotted. More than 2,000 coins and other artefacts were later recovered from the site and auctioned by Sotheby's in July 1969.
HMS Puttenham eventually ended service for the Royal Navy in 1980. She was sold to a private company and changes were later made to her superstructure. She continued serving in Greece as the passenger ferry Eleftheria in recent years until she was finally dismantled in Crete in November 2006, after 50 years at sea.