- 24 class sloop
The 24 class was a class of minesweeping sloops. Derived from the preceding sclass2|Flower|sloop, but designed to appear double-ended. Twenty-four ships to this design (hence the class name) were ordered between December 1916 and April 1917 under the
Emergency War Programme for theRoyal Navy inWorld War I , although two of them were cancelled before launch. All were named after famous racehorses, but they were not named "Racehorse" class as theAdmiralty realised that this could easily be confused in communications with the sclass2|Racecourse|minesweeper of paddle minesweepers, and they officially became the 24 class.Like the Flower class sloops, they were single-screw Fleet Sweeping Sloops used almost entirely for minesweeping, although only ten were completed by the
Armistice in 1918. However, they had identical deckhouses and gunshields at either end of the vessel, with straight stems and sterns. Furthermore four of those completed had the single mast aft of the centrally-located funnel, and the rest had the mast forwards of the funnel.Ships
* — built by
Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson ,Wallsend on Tyne, launched6 June 1918 . Sold12 August 1920 .
* — built byBarclay Curle & Company ,Whiteinch , launched24 September 1918 . Sold12 August 1920 .
* — built by Swan Hunter, launched26 July 1918 . Sold for breaking up1 December 1921 .
* — built byGreenock & Grangemouth Dockyard Company , launched27 April 1918 . Sold15 November 1922 .
* — built by Swan Hunter, launched28 March 1918 . Transferred to RNVR on24 March 1920 .
* — ordered from Osbourne Graham, transferred to Swan Hunter7 June 1918 , then cancelled3 December 1918 .
* — built byBarclay Curle & Company ,Whiteinch , launched2 November 1918 . Sold for breaking up in August 1922.
* — built by Barclay Curle, launched24 August 1918 . Survey ship in 1922. Sold for breaking up15 January 1923 .
* — built by Greenock & Grangemouth Dockyard, launched5 March 1919 . Sold12 August 1920.
* — builtOsbourne Graham & Company ,Sunderland , launched21 September 1918 . Sold6 November 1920 .
* — built byBlyth Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company , launched19 December 1918 . Survey ship in February 1923, renamed "Herald". Scuttled in February 1942 atSelatar but salved by the Japanese Navy and added as IJN "Heiyo" in October 1942. Sunk by mine14 November 1944 .
* — built by Swan Hunter, launched6 June 1919 . Sold25 February 1920 , becoming mercantile "Haim Mazza".
* — built by Swan Hunter, launched22 October 1918 . Sold to break up15 November 1922 .
* — built byBlyth Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company , launched8 June 1918 . Survey vessel in March 1924. Sold6 August 1937 to break up.
* — built by Osbourne Graham, launched4 March 1919 . Sold12 August 1920 but sale was cancelled; re-sold13 October 1922 .
* — built by Swan Hunter, launched10 July 1918 . Sold15 November 1922 .
* — built byGreenock & Grangemouth Dockyard Company , Greenock, launched10 June 1918 . Sold15 November 1922 .
* — built by Barclay Curle, launched6 July 1918 . Sold August 1922.
* — built by Barclay Curle, launched12 April 1918 . Transferred toRoyal Australian Navy in December 1924 and became survey ship HMAS|Moresby|1918|6 April 1925. Escort vessel 1940. Sold for breaking up 1946 at Newcastle, NSW.
* — built by Barclay Curle, launched11 May 1918 . Transferred to RNVR in September 1923, renamed "Irwell", then again renamed "Eaglet" in 1926.
* — built by Greenock & Grangemouth, launched20 September 1918 . Depot ship in October 1919. Sold for breaking up25 June 1930 .
* — built by Osbourne Graham, launched4 December 1918 . Sold12 August 1920 , becoming mercantile "Fanny Mazza".
* — built by Swan Hunter, launched23 September 1918 . Sold for breaking up29 November 1922 .
* — ordered from Swan Hunter, but cancelled3 December 1918 .References
* "British and Empire Warships of the Second World War", H T Lenton, 1998, Greenhill Books, ISBN 978-1-85367-277-4
* "Jane's Fighting Ships of World War I", Janes Publishing, 1919
* "The Grand Fleet, Warship Design and Development 1906-1922", D. K. Brown, Chatham Publishing, 1999, ISBN 978-1-86176-099-9
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