The ''Basset'' class of

Admiralty trawler Naval trawlers were purpose-built or requisitioned and operated by the Royal Navy (RN), mainly during World Wars I and II. Vessels built to Admiralty specifications for RN use were known as Admiralty trawlers. All trawlers operated by the RN, r ...

s was a class of

trawlers Trawler may refer to: Boats * Fishing trawler, used for commercial fishing * Naval trawler, a converted trawler, or a boat built in that style, used for naval purposes ** Trawlers of the Royal Navy * Recreational trawler, a pleasure boat built tra ...

built for the British

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 ...

prior to the outbreak of

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The vessels were intended for use as mine-sweepers and for anti-submarine warfare, and the design was based on commercial types, adapted for naval use. The purpose of the order was to make use of specialist mercantile shipyards to provide vessels for war use by adapting commercial designs to Admiralty specifications. Orders were placed at shipyards in Britain, Canada and India for the

, the

Royal Canadian Navy The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; french: Marine royale canadienne, ''MRC'') is the Navy, naval force of Canada. The RCN is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of 2021, the RCN operates 12 frigates, four attack s ...

and the

Royal Indian Navy The Royal Indian Navy (RIN) was the naval force of British India and the Dominion of India. Along with the Presidency armies, later the Indian Army, and from 1932 the Royal Indian Air Force, it was one of the Armed Forces of British India. Fr ...

Royal Navy

Two vessels, ''Basset'' and ''Mastiff'', were built by

Henry Robb Henry Robb, Limited, known colloquially as Robbs, was a Scottish shipyard, shipbuilding company based at Leith, Leith Docks in Edinburgh. Robbs was notable for building small-to-medium sized vessels, particularly tugboat, tugs and dredgers. Hist ...

, of

Leith Leith (; gd, Lìte) is a port area in the north of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith. In 2021, it was ranked by '' Time Out'' as one of the top five neighbourhoods to live in the world. The earliest ...

. The main difference between them was that ''Basset'' had coal-fired, and ''Mastiff'' had oil-fired, engines.Conway p65 With the onset of war, ''Bassett'' served as the prototype for a series of Admiralty trawlers, of which a total of 180 were built during the conflict using a variety of naming schemes. The first 20 vessels were ordered under the 1939 programme (the

Tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

class), 30 vessels under the 1939 War Emergency programme in two groups (20

Dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

class, and 10

Shakespearian William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

class), and a further 130 over the next four years (the

Western Isles The Outer Hebrides () or Western Isles ( gd, Na h-Eileanan Siar or or ("islands of the strangers"); sco, Waster Isles), sometimes known as the Long Isle/Long Island ( gd, An t-Eilean Fada, links=no), is an island chain off the west coas ...

(or, simply, Isles) class).

Royal Canadian Navy

Four vessels were built for the Royal Canadian Navy at various yards; these ships had strengthened hulls to cope with pack ice conditions and were also known as the . A further 16 vessels were ordered from Canadian shipyards in the war years, also bearing Canadian names. These were for the Royal Navy, though eight of these were transferred on completion to the Royal Canadian Navy. These are usually referred to as Canadian s.

Royal Indian Navy

A total of 50 vessels were ordered from Indian yards (including two for the Ceylon Government) though in the event more than half were cancelled.Elliott p404 Twenty-two were completed during the war; another 25 were cancelled and four were destroyed before completion when invading Japanese forces in 1942 over-ran their shipyards in Burma. These vessels bore the names of Indian cities, but are variously referred to as Indian ''Basset'' class or Indian Isles class trawlers.

Ships

Royal Navy

*''Basset'' (T68) *''

Mastiff A mastiff is a large and powerful type of dog. Mastiffs are among the largest dogs, and typically have a short coat, a long low-set tail and large feet; the skull is large and bulky, the muzzle broad and short (brachycephalic) and the ears dro ...

'' (T10), mined 20 November 1939 in the Thames estuary

Royal Canadian Navy (''Fundy''-Class Minesweepers)

*'' Comox'' (J64) *'' Fundy'' (J88) *'' Gaspe'' (J94) *'' Nanoose'' (J35)(ex ''Nootka'')

Royal Indian Navy

*''

Agra Agra (, ) is a city on the banks of the Yamuna river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, about south-east of the national capital New Delhi and 330 km west of the state capital Lucknow. With a population of roughly 1.6 million, Agra is ...

'' (T254) *'' Ahmedabad'' (T264) *''Amritsar'' (T261) *''Baroda'' (T249) *''Berar'' (T256) *''Calcutta'' (T339) *''Cochin'' (T315) *''Cuttack'' (T251) *''Karachi'' (T262) *''Lahore'' (T253) *''Lucknow'' (T267) *''Madura'' (T268) *''Multan'' (T322) *''Nagpur'' (T269) *''Nasik'' (T258) *''Patna'' (T255) *''Peshawar'' (T263) *''Poona'' (T260) *''Quetta'' (T332) *''Rampur'' (T212) *''Shillong'' (T250) *''Travancore'' (T312)

Citations

References

* Conway : ''Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946'' (1980) * Elliott, Peter: ''Allied Escort Ships of World War II'' (1977) {{WWII British ships Naval trawlers of the United Kingdom Ship classes of the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

Royal Canadian Navy

Royal Indian Navy

Ships

Royal Navy

Royal Canadian Navy (''Fundy''-Class Minesweepers)

Royal Indian Navy

See also

Citations

References