The 24 class was a

class Class or The Class may refer to: Common uses not otherwise categorized * Class (biology), a taxonomic rank * Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects * Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used differentl ...

of minesweeping

sloops A sloop is a sailboat with a single mast typically having only one headsail in front of the mast and one mainsail aft of (behind) the mast. Such an arrangement is called a fore-and-aft rig, and can be rigged as a Bermuda rig with triangular sa ...

. They were derived from the preceding , 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 the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, although two of them were cancelled before launch. All were named after famous racehorses (winners of The Derby), but they were not named ''Racehorse'' class as the

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong *Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Traf ...

realised that this could easily be confused in communications with the 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 An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the La ...

in 1918. However, they had identical deckhouses and gun shields 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 forward of the funnel. The symmetrical design was completed with fake anchors at the stern to confuse enemy targeting.

Ships

* — built by Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson,

Wallsend Wallsend is a town in North Tyneside, England, at the eastern end of Hadrian's Wall. It has a population of 43,842 and lies east of Newcastle upon Tyne. History Roman Wallsend In Roman times, this was the site of the fort of Segedunum. This fo ...

on Tyne, launched 6 June 1918. Sold 12 August 1920. * — built by

Barclay Curle & Company Seawind Barclay Curle is a British shipbuilding company. History The company was founded by Robert Barclay at Stobcross in Glasgow, Scotland during 1818.

Whiteinch Whiteinch ( gd, Innis Bhàn) is an area in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated directly north of the River Clyde, between the Partick and Scotstoun areas of the city. Whiteinch was at one stage part of the burgh of Partick, until that ...

, launched 24 September 1918. Sold 12 August 1920. * — built by Swan Hunter, launched 26 July 1918. Sold for breaking up 1 December 1921. * — built by

Greenock & Grangemouth Dockyard Company The Greenock Dockyard Company was a Scottish shipbuilding and ship repair firm located at Greenock, on the River Clyde. History The company was established by J E Scott of Greenock, with the yard at Cartsdyke being taken over in 1879 by Russel ...

, launched 27 April 1918. Sold 15 November 1922. * — built by Swan Hunter, launched 28 March 1918. Transferred to RNVR on 24 March 1920. Sold for breaking up in 1973. * HMS ''Galtee More'' — ordered from Osbourne Graham, transferred to Swan Hunter 7 June 1918, then cancelled 3 December 1918. * — built by

Barclay Curle & Company Seawind Barclay Curle is a British shipbuilding company. History The company was founded by Robert Barclay at Stobcross in Glasgow, Scotland during 1818.

, launched 2 November 1918. Sold for breaking up in August 1922. * — built by Barclay Curle, launched 24 August 1918. Survey ship in 1922. Sold for breaking up 28 June 1937. * — built by Greenock & Grangemouth Dockyard, launched 5 March 1919. Sold 12 August 1920. * — built by

Osbourne Graham & Company Osbourne may refer to: * Osbourne (name), including a list of people with the name * ''The Osbournes'', a reality television program featuring Ozzy Osbourne and family * ''Osbournes Reloaded'', a variety television program also featuring the Osbou ...

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

, launched 21 September 1918. Sold 6 November 1920. * — built by Blyth Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company, launched 19 December 1918. Survey ship in February 1923, renamed ''Herald''. Scuttled in February 1942 at Selatar but salved by the Japanese Navy and renamed ''Heiyo'' in October 1942. Sunk by mine 14 November 1944. * — built by Swan Hunter, launched 6 June 1919. Sold 25 February 1920, becoming mercantile ''Haim Mazza''. * — built by Swan Hunter, launched 22 October 1918. Sold to break up 15 November 1922. * — built by Blyth Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company, launched 8 June 1918. Survey vessel in March 1924. Sold 6 August 1937 to break up. * — built by Osbourne Graham, launched 4 March 1919. Sold 12 August 1920 but sale was cancelled; re-sold 13 October 1922. * — built by Swan Hunter, launched 10 July 1918. Sold 15 November 1922. * — built by

, Greenock, launched 10 June 1918. Sold 15 November 1922. * — built by Barclay Curle, launched 6 July 1918. Sold August 1922. * — built by Barclay Curle, launched 12 April 1918. Transferred to

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of ...

in December 1924 and became survey ship HMAS ''Moresby'' in April 1925. Escort vessel 1940. Sold for breaking up 1946 at Newcastle, NSW. * — built by Barclay Curle, launched 11 May 1918. Transferred to RNVR in September 1923, renamed ''Irwell'', then again renamed ''Eaglet'' in 1926. * — built by Greenock & Grangemouth, launched 20 September 1918. Depot ship in October 1919. Sold for breaking up 25 June 1930. * — built by Osbourne Graham, launched 4 December 1918. Sold 12 August 1920, becoming mercantile ''Fanny Mazza''. * — built by Swan Hunter, launched 23 September 1918. Sold for breaking up 29 November 1922. * HMS ''Sunstar'' — ordered from Swan Hunter, but cancelled 3 December 1918.

References

Bibliography

* ''The Grand Fleet, Warship Design and Development 1906–1922'', D. K. Brown, Chatham Publishing, 1999, * ''Jane's Fighting Ships of World War I'', Janes Publishing, 1919 * {{WWII British ships Mine warfare vessel classes Ship classes of the Royal Navy Sloop classes