Puneet Varma (Editor)

Isles class trawler

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Built
  
1939–1945

Type
  
Naval trawler

Lost
  
23

Isles-class trawler

Operators
  
Royal Navy  Royal Canadian Navy  Royal New Zealand Navy  Portuguese Navy  Marina Militare

Subclasses
  
German Navy Type 139 patrol trawler

Completed
  
197 in four subclasses Isles (145) Dance (20) Shakespearian (12) Tree (20)

The Isles-class trawlers were a class of naval trawler used by the Royal Navy, Royal Canadian Navy and Royal New Zealand Navy during World War II.

Contents

The type comprised 197 vessels built between 1939 and 1945 in the nearly identical Isles, Dance, Tree and Shakespearian classes. Generally similar to the Castle class naval trawlers of 1916-18, though somewhat larger, they were mainly used on minesweeping and harbour defence duties. Most were armed with one 12-pounder gun (76mm) and three or four 20 mm Oerlikon AA guns with 30 depth charges. In the Dance class a 4-inch AA gun (102 mm) was fitted in place of the 12-pdr, and there were six 20 mm Oerlikons in Annet, Bressay, Damsay, Fiaray, Foulness and Lindisfarne. Four of the trawlers were given 'Bird' names when converted to controlled minelayers in 1943-44: Blackbird (M15), Dabchick (M22), Stonechat (M25) and Whitethroat (M03). A total of 23 of these trawlers were lost during the war. Six trawlers were loaned to Canada in 1942-45 and five to Norway in 1943-45.

Postwar, 17 of the trawlers were disarmed as wreck disposal vessels: Bardsey (DV13), Bern (DV4), Caldy (DV5) Coll (DV6), Earraid (DV7), Fetlar (DV8), Flatholm (DV9), Graemsay (DV10), Lindisfarne (DV11), Lundy (DV12), Neave (DV14), Scalpay (DV15), Skomer (DV16), Steepholm (DV17), Switha (DV18), Tiree (DV19), and Trondra (DV20). At least five were employed as danlayers (laying and retrieving dan buoys during minesweeping operations): Imersay (J422), Sandray (J424), Shillay (J426), Sursay (J427) and Tocogay (J451). After decommissioning, Switha and Coll were converted to oil tank cleaning vessels for dockyard service in 1949-50.

By 1949 there remained in service of this type 31 trawlers and four controlled minelayers in the Royal Navy, one controlled minelayer in the Royal Canadian Navy, and four trawlers in the Royal New Zealand Navy. An additional 16 were in service in the Italian Navy and six in the Portuguese Navy. Most of the surviving Royal Navy examples were discarded in the 1950s, but a few remained until the 1960s. Two acquired postwar by the Federal German Navy remained in service as training vessels well into the 1970s, with one, Trave (ex-Dochet), resold to Turkey for further service in 1977.

Builders

  • Ardrossan Dockyard Company, Ardrossan, UK
  • George Brown & Company (Marine) Ltd., Greenock, UK
  • Cochrane & Sons, Ltd., Selby, UK
  • Collingwood Shipyards, Collingwood, Ontario, Canada
  • Cook, Welton & Gemmell, Beverley, UK
  • John Crown & Sons Ltd., Sunderland, UK
  • G.T. Davie & Sons, Lauzon, Quebec, Canada
  • Ferguson Bros. Ltd., Port Glasgow, UK
  • Fleming & Ferguson, Paisley, UK
  • Goole Shipbuilding & Repair Company, Goole, UK
  • Alexander Hall & Company, Aberdeen, UK
  • Hall, Russell & Company, Aberdeen, UK
  • A. & J. Inglis, Glasgow, UK
  • Kingston Shipyards, Kingston, Ontario
  • John Lewis & Sons, Aberdeen, UK
  • Midland Shipyards, Midland, Ontario, Canada
  • Henry Robb Ltd., Leith, UK
  • Smiths Dock Company Ltd., South Bank-on-Tees, UK

    • Royal Navy

  • The following 21 trawlers may be described as comprising the Repeat Isles class:
  • Calvay, built by Cook, Welton & Gemmell; launched 1943; sold 1946
  • Canna, built by Cochrane & Sons; launched 1940; war loss 1942
  • Cava, built by Fleming & Ferguson; launched 1941; sold 1946
  • Coll, built by Ardrossan Dockyard Co.; launched 7 April 1942; later wreck disposal vessel (DV6); converted to oil fuel tank cleaning vessel 1949-50
  • Colsay, built by Cook, Welton & Gemmell; launched 1943; war loss 1944
  • Dabchick (ex-Thorney), built by Cook, Welton & Gemmell; launched 9 March 1943; converted 1943 to controlled minelayer (M22); still in service 1949
  • Orsay, built by Cochrane & Sons; launched January 1945; still in service 1949
  • Rona, built by Cochrane & Sons; launched February 1945; still in service 1949
  • Sandray, built by Cook, Welton & Gemmell; launched 5 October 1944; still in service 1949 as danlayer (J424)
  • Scaravay, built by Cook, Welton & Gemmell; launched 1944; sold 1946
  • Sheppey (ex-Raasay), built by Cook, Welton & Gemmell; launched 1943; sold 1946
  • Shillay, built by Cook, Welton & Gemmell; launched 18 November 1944; still in service 1949 as danlayer (J426)
  • Stonechat, built by Cook, Welton & Gemmell; completed 1944 as controlled minelayer (M25); still in service 1949
  • Sursay, built by Cook, Welton & Gemmell, launched 16 December 1944; still in service 1949 as danlayer (J427)
  • Tahay, built by Cook, Welton & Gemmell; launched 31 December 1944; still in service 1949
  • Tocogay, built by Cook, Welton & Gemmell; launched 7 February 1945; still in service 1949 as danlayer (J451)
  • Trodday, built by Cook, Welton & Gemmell; launched 3 March 1945; still in service 1949
  • Vaceasay, built by Cook, Welton & Gemmell; launched 17 March 1945; still in service 1949
  • Vallay, built by Cook, Welton & Gemmell; launched 10 April 1945; still in service 1949
  • Whitethroat, built by Cook, Welton & Gemmell; launched 6 September 1944; completed in 1944 as controlled minelayer (M03); still in service 1949
  • Wiay, built by Cook, Welton & Gemmell; launched 26 April 1944; still in service 1949

    • References

    Isles-class trawler Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA


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