Motor Minesweeper (Royal Navy)

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MMS 187 of the Belgian Navy (MMS-1 class)
Launch of the MMS 15 . The wooden construction is clearly visible

The British Royal Navy called a motor minesweeper a type of minesweeper that was procured in large numbers in the two variants MMS-1 class and MMS-1001 class during World War II .

Characteristics

Deployment of the electric clearing equipment

The boats were simple wooden constructions that were built in various small shipyards. They were laid out so straightforward that they could be operated by reservists.

They were powered by a diesel engine of around 500 hp, which gave them a speed of 10 to 11 knots. Their engine power was insufficient to tow a conventional mine clearing gear . Therefore, they were only equipped with a light clearing device against acoustic and magnetic mines and, which essentially consisted of an electric clearing cable. The boats were equipped with light anti-aircraft weapons for self-protection.

MMS-1 class

The MMS-1 class (also MMS-110-ft class ) was developed after the outbreak of World War II. They were built in Great Britain , Canada , Israel and in British overseas territories and were delivered from 1941 onwards. The class included 402 boats. With a length of 34.75 m and a width of 7 m, they displaced 165 ts and ran a speed of 11 knots. They had a crew of 20 and were armed with two heavy machine guns. The boats were numbered MMS-1 to MMS-402.

MMS-1001 class

MMS 1022 and a sister boat of the MMS 1001 class with the clearing device deployed

At the end of 1942 the Royal Navy decided to phase out the series and to procure similarly equipped but somewhat larger and seaworthy boats of the MMS 1001 class (also MMS 140 ft class ). The 90 boats of this class were built in Great Britain and Canada and delivered from 1943. With a length of 42.70 m and a width of 7.9 m, they displaced 255 ts. With the same engine as the MMS-1 class and a considerably larger displacement, they only ran a speed of 10 knots. They had a crew of 21 and were armed with two 20 mm anti-aircraft guns. The boats were numbered MMS-1001 to MMS-1090.

Whereabouts

General

The former MMS 173 as the Norwegian sailing yacht Lady Mack

Of the 492 boats built, a greater number were given to various other navies, including 74 to Scandinavia alone. Because the boats were only suitable for military use to a limited extent, many were converted into fishing vessels and coasters to reinforce the fishing and merchant fleets, which were decimated in World War II. Most ships reached the end of their economic useful life in the late 1950s. Few of them like the Norwegian yacht Lady Mack have survived to this day.

Belgium

The Belgian Navy received in 1946 by the Royal Navy eight boats MMS-1 class that already during the war Royal Navy Section Belge belonged and Belgian crews had. The boats made an important contribution to the demining of the Belgian port approaches. They were retired between 1953 and 1955.

MMS in German services

Six boats of the MMS-1 class, which had been sold to Belgium via France and used in fishing there, reached Germany in the early 1950s. These are boats built in Canada whose build numbers can no longer be determined. Instead of names, the boats in the Maritime Border Protection and in the Federal Navy only had names consisting of letters and numbers.

Sea border protection

The 1951 established German Seegrenzschutz acquired the six boats in Belgium, where they were no longer profitable because of the small cargo hold capacity for fishing and pads . After the takeover, they were repaired and rebuilt in German shipyards. They received slightly more powerful engines of 600 hp. They were also prepared to accommodate light guns that were installed in 1953.

After the renovation, they were put into service as large guard boats . They formed the 3rd flotilla stationed in Kiel.

Federal Navy

Former MMS-1 class minesweepers in service with the German Navy in 1957

In 1956, the entire material of the maritime border protection was taken over into the German Navy . The MMS were converted into class 339 school boats for various naval schools and initially combined in the Baltic Sea School Squadron . The armament was expanded to include a boat. After the school squadron was dissolved in 1958, they were directly subordinated to the schools for which they were used. The boats were gradually retired until 1974.

literature

  • Fritz Poske: The sea border protection 1951-1956. Reminder - report - documentation . Koblenz / Bonn 1982, ISBN 3-7637-5410-5
  • Siegfried Breyer, Gerhard Koop: The ships, vehicles and planes of the German Navy from 1956-1976 , Bonn 1978, ISBN 3-7637-5155-6

Web links

Commons : MMS class  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c MMS-110-ft at Skipet.no , accessed on September 7, 2018
  2. ↑ MMS-1001-Klasse at Skipet.no , accessed on September 11, 2018
  3. ↑ a b Neptunus 96/1 p. 2 ff. (French) accessed on September 30, 2018
  4. ^ Siegfried Breyer, Gerhard Koop: The ships, vehicles and planes of the German Navy from 1956-1976 , Bonn 1978, ISBN 3-7637-5155-6

Remarks

  1. ↑ The MMS-1001 class is sometimes referred to as MMS-126ft class . It is derived from the length of the boats in the waterline of 126 ft, while the term 140 ft refers to the total length
  2. ↑ In various German publications these boats are wrongly referred to as type BYMS. BYMS is understood to mean the boats of the YMS class built in Great Britain , which differ significantly from the MMS class in terms of size and equipment