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The ''Arabis'' class was the third, and largest, of the five sub-classes of
minesweeping Minesweeping is the practice of the removal of explosive naval mines, usually by a specially designed ship called a minesweeper using various measures to either capture or detonate the mines, but sometimes also with an aircraft made for that ...
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 ...
completed 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 Fr ...
in
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
. They were part of the larger "" shipbuilding project, which were also referred to as the "Cabbage class", or "Herbaceous Borders". The ships were also used outside their minesweeping duties as patrol vessels, tugs, and personnel and cargo transports. The design for the ''Arabis'' class was made at the end of 1914. All 36 British vessels were ordered in July 1915, and were built in three batches, averaging 12 vessels. A further 8 vessels were later built in British shipyards for the
French Navy The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...
. The design was highly appealing, as most shipyards were capable of building them, and construction could be completed in five months. Like the preceding and -class sloops, these were single-screw Fleet Sweeping Vessels (Sloops) with triple hulls at the bows to give extra protection against loss when working. The strength of the hull was demonstrated when ''Valerian'' fought the
1926 Havana–Bermuda hurricane The 1926 Havana hurricane devastated large areas of Cuba and Bermuda in October 1926. The tenth tropical cyclone, eighth hurricane, and sixth major hurricane of the annual hurricane season, the storm formed from a low-pressure area in the s ...
for five hours on 22 October, 1926, before being driven over by a squall and foundering off
Bermuda ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = "Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , es ...
. In his report to the Court Martial held at the
Royal Naval Dockyard, Bermuda HMD Bermuda ( Her/His Majesty's Dockyard, Bermuda) was the principal base of the Royal Navy in the Western Atlantic between American independence and the Cold War. The Imperial fortress colony of Bermuda had occupied a useful position astr ...
, her Captain, Commander W. A. Usher, wrote"


Ships

* — built by Earle's Shipbuilding and Engineering Company,
Kingston upon Hull Kingston upon Hull, usually abbreviated to Hull, is a port city and unitary authority in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber Estuary, inland from the North Sea and south- ...
, launched 5 November 1915. Mined south-west of Ireland 18 March 1917. * — built by Earle's, launched 9 December 1915. Sold for breaking up 30 January 1923. * — built by D. & W. Henderson and Company,
Partick Partick ( sco, Pairtick, Scottish Gaelic: ''Partaig'') is an area of Glasgow on the north bank of the River Clyde, just across from Govan. To the west lies Whiteinch, to the east Yorkhill and Kelvingrove Park (across the River Kelvin), and ...
, launched 6 November 1915. Sunk by German torpedo boats off the Dogger Bank 10 February 1916. * — built by Henderson, launched 21 December 1915. Sold to Denmark 16 June 1920, renamed ''Fylla''. * — built by Henderson, launched 3 February 1916. Sold 30 January 1923. * — built by Barclay Curle and Company,
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 October 1915. Sold 5 February 1920, becoming mercantile salvage vessel ''Semper Paratus''; Italian Navy from 1933 as ''Teseo''. Bombed at Trapani 11 April 1943. * — built by Barclay Curle, launched 25 December 1915. Sold for breaking up 6 September 1922. * — built by Barclay Curle, launched 19 February 1916. Sold for breaking up 15 January 1923. * — built by Barclay Curle, launched 30 March 1916. Lost 19 December 1941 at the fall of Hong Kong. * — built by Lobnitz and Company,
Renfrew Renfrew (; sco, Renfrew; gd, Rinn Friù) is a town west of Glasgow in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. It is the historic county town of Renfrewshire. Called the "Cradle of the Royal Stewarts" for its early link with Scotland's form ...
, launched 24 December 1915. Sold at Bombay in July 1930. * — built by Lobnitz, launched 22 February 1916. Famous for the erroneous attack against an allied submarine, Italian ''Guglielmotti'' (1917). Destroyed one of the towers of Fujairah Fort in 1925 during an anti-slavery campaign. Sold for breaking up 2 July 1932. * — built by
Napier and Miller Napier & Miller Ltd. (also Messrs Napier & Miller) were Scottish shipbuilders based at Old Kilpatrick, Glasgow, Scotland. Company history The company was founded in 1898 at a yard at Yoker. In 1906 it moved to a new site a few miles downriver ...
, Old Kilpatrick, launched 23 December 1915. Sold for breaking up 13 October 1933. * — built by Napier & Miller, launched 26 February 1916. Sunk by German submarine in the Atlantic 23 October 1916. * — built by Greenock & Grangemouth Dockyard Company, launched 23 December 1915. Mined in the Gulf of Finland, 16 July 1919. * HMAS ''Geranium'', built by Greenock & Grangemouth, launched 8 November 1915. Transferred to the
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 o ...
in 1919; dismantled June 1932; sunk as a target 24 April 1935 off Sydney. * — built by
Charles Connell and Company Charles Connell and Company was a Scottish shipbuilding company based in Scotstoun in Glasgow on the River Clyde. History The company was founded by Charles Connell (1822-1894) who had served an apprenticeship with Robert Steele and Co before ...
,
Scotstoun Scotstoun ( gd, Baile an Sgotaich) is an area of Glasgow, Scotland, west of Glasgow City Centre. It is bounded by Garscadden and Yoker to the west, Victoria Park, Jordanhill and Whiteinch to the east, Jordanhill to the north and the River Cl ...
, launched 25 October 1915. Sold in Portugal 10 March 1920, becoming Portuguese warship NRP ''República'' classified as a cruiser, discarded 1943. * — built by Connell, launched 8 January 1916. Broken up 1937. * — built by Connell, launched 2 March 1916. Sold at Hong Kong 7 April 1920 for mercantile use. * — built by William Simons and Company, Renfrew, launched 7 March 1916. Sold to Newfoundland Government in March 1920 under same name; hulked 1924. * — built by Simons, launched 31 May 1916. Sold 22 March 1946, but foundered; raised and broken up at Portchester. * , built by Dunlop Bremner & Company,
Port Glasgow Port Glasgow ( gd, Port Ghlaschu, ) is the second-largest town in the Inverclyde council area of Scotland. The population according to the 1991 census for Port Glasgow was 19,426 persons and in the 2001 census was 16,617 persons. The most rece ...
, launched 23 November 1915. 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 o ...
in 1919; dismantled September 1932; sunk as a target 1 August 1935. * — built by Dunlop and Bremner, launched 26 January 1916. Mined off Galley Head, Ireland 17 March 1917. * — built by
Bow, McLachlan and Company Bow, McLachlan and Company was a Scottish marine engineering and shipbuilding company that traded between 1872 and 1932. History 1872–1914 In 1872 William Bow and John McLachlan founded the company at Abbotsinch, Renfrewshire, where it made s ...
, Paisley, launched 4 April 1916. Sold for breaking up 30 January 1923. * — built by A. McMillan and Sons,
Dumbarton Dumbarton (; also sco, Dumbairton; ) is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde where the River Leven flows into the Clyde estuary. In 2006, it had an estimated population of 19,990. Dumbarton was the ca ...
, launched 21 December 1915. Mined 27 April 1916 near Malta. * — built by
William Hamilton and Company William Hamilton and Company was a British shipyard in Port Glasgow, Scotland. The company was bought by Lithgow Ltd., which later became Scott Lithgow and was nationalised as part of British Shipbuilders in 1977. During the Second World War ...
, Port Glasgow, launched 10 December 1915. Sold for breaking up 29 November 1922. * — built by Hamilton, launched 1 February 1916. Sold to Calcutta Port Commissioners 12 January 1920 under same name. * — built by
Workman, Clark and Company Workman, Clark and Company was a shipbuilding company based in Belfast. History The business was established by Frank Workman and George Clark in Belfast in 1879 and incorporated Workman, Clark and Company Limited in 1880. By 1895 it was the UK ...
,
Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...
, launched 5 February 1916. Sold 20 April 1920, becoming mercantile ''Lila'', ended up in China as gunboat ''Hai Chow''. Sunk by Japanese aircraft at Canton 7 October 1937. * — built by Workman, Clark, launched 3 April 1916. Sold for breaking up 15 December 1922. * — built by
Swan Hunter and Wigham Richardson Swan Hunter, formerly known as Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson, is a shipbuilding design, engineering, and management company, based in Wallsend, Tyne and Wear, England. At its apex, the company represented the combined forces of three powe ...
, Wallsend on Tyne, launched 9 November 1915. Sold for breaking up 9 April 1923. * — built by Swan Hunter, launched 6 December 1915. Sunk by German submarine in the Mediterranean 1 March 1916. * — built by Richardson, Duck and Company, Thornaby-on-Tees, launched 22 November 1915. It was hit by a torpedo from on 4 July 1916. It was the last coal powered ship in the Royal Navy. Sold for breaking up 17 December 1947. * — built by Ropner and Sons, Stockton on Tees, launched 21 December 1915. Sold for breaking up 4 May 1934. * — built by Charles Rennoldson and Company,
South Shields South Shields () is a coastal town in South Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the south bank of the mouth of the River Tyne. Historically, it was known in Roman times as Arbeia, and as Caer Urfa by Early Middle Ages. According to the 20 ...
, launched 21 February 1916. Foundered off Bermuda in the
1926 Havana–Bermuda hurricane The 1926 Havana hurricane devastated large areas of Cuba and Bermuda in October 1926. The tenth tropical cyclone, eighth hurricane, and sixth major hurricane of the annual hurricane season, the storm formed from a low-pressure area in the s ...
, on 22 October 1926. * — built by Blyth Shipbuilding and Dry Dock, Blyth, launched 9 November 1915. Sold for breaking up 13 October 1933. * — built by Irvine's Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company, West Hartlepool, launched 8 November 1915. Sold for breaking up 28 August 1931. * — built by Irvine's, launched 7 December 1915. Sold for breaking up 18 January 1931. Six vessels were ordered in January 1916, and another two in September 1916, all to this design from British shipyards for the French Navy, and all were delivered to France in 1916 or (the last pair) 1917: * ''Aldébaran'', built by Barclay Curle, launched 19 May 1916,Gardiner and Gray 1985, p. 213. and commissioned 3 July 1916. Served in Mediterranean in First World War and overseas post war. Stricken 13 October 1934 at Saigon and sold for scrap 15 January 1935.Roche 2005, p. 13/46. * ''Algol'', built by Barclay Curle, launched 17 June 1916, and commissioned 1 August 1916. Served in Mediterranean in First World War, and operated off Syria in 1921 and in the Far East. Scrapped Saigon 1935.Roche 2005, p. 15/46. * ''Altair'', built by Hamilton, laid down 28 February 1916, launched 6 July 1916 and commissioned 14 September 1916. Served in Mediterranean in First World War, and in Black Sea 1919. Deployed in Far East from 1920, and served as Survey ship off French Indo-China from 193. Sold for Scrap at Saigon 1940.Roche 2005, p. 18/46. * ''Antares'', built by Hamilton, laid down 8 March 1916, launched 4 September 1916 and commissioned 30 October 1916. Served in Mediterranean in First World War, and overseas post war. Converted to Survey ship at Saigon 1935 but sold for scrap 1936.Roche 2005, p. 27/46. * ''Bellatrix'', built by Henderson, launched 29 May 1916. Deleted 1933. * ''Rigel'', built by Henderson, launched 6 July 1916. Sunk by German submarine off Algiers 2 October 1916. * ''Cassiopée'', built by Barclay Curle, launched 10 February 1917. Deleted 1933. * ''Regulus'', built by Barclay Curle, launched 19 March 1917. Deleted 1935.


Footnotes


References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Arabis Class Sloop Sloop classes Ship classes of the French Navy