The Dance class of

World War II 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 ...

were armed trawlers of 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 ...

. They were used for

anti-submarine An anti-submarine weapon (ASW) is any one of a number of devices that are intended to act against a submarine and its crew, to destroy (sink) the vessel or reduce its capability as a weapon of war. In its simplest sense, an anti-submarine weapo ...

(A/S) and

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 ...

work and were nearly identical to the , of which they are usually considered a subclass. One Dance-class trawler (''Sword Dance'') was a war loss, and one (''Saltarelo'') was transferred to Portugal in 1945. Four were transferred to Italy in 1946: ''Gavotte'', ''Hornpipe'', ''Minuet'' and ''Two Step''. None remained in service with the Royal Navy by the end of 1946.

Ships in class

*Built by the Ardrossan Dockyard Company,

Ardrossan Ardrossan (; ) is a town on the North Ayrshire coast in southwestern Scotland. The town has a population of 10,670 and forms part of a conurbation with Saltcoats and Stevenston known as the 'Three Towns'. Ardrossan is located on the east shore ...

, UK ** – Launched 1940, sold 1946 ** – Launched 1940, sold 1946 *Built by Cochrane & Sons, Ltd. Selby, UK ** – Launched 1940, sold 1946 ** – Launched 1940, sold 1946 *Built by

Cook, Welton & Gemmell Cook, Welton & Gemmell was a shipbuilder based in Hull and Beverley, East Riding of Yorkshire. England. They built trawlers and other small ships. History Founding and move to Beverley The firm was founded in 1883 on South Bridge Road, Hu ...

, Beverley, UK ** – Launched 1940, transferred to Italy 1946 as ''DR 312'' ** – Launched 1940, transferred to Italy 1946 as ''DR 316'' *Built by

Ferguson Brothers (Port Glasgow) Ltd. Ferguson Marine (Port Glasgow) Limited is a shipbuilding company whose yard, located in Port Glasgow on the Firth of Clyde in Scotland, was established in 1903. It is the last remaining shipbuilder on the lower Clyde and is currently the only ...

, Port Glasgow, UK ** – Launched 1940, sold 1946 ** – Launched 1941, transferred to Italy 1946 as ''DR 307'' *Built by Goole Shipbuilding & Repair Company, Goole, UK ** – Launched 1940, sold 1946 ** – Launched 1940, sold 1946 *Built by Hall, Russell & Company, Ltd., Aberdeen, UK ** – Launched 1941, sold 1946 ** – Launched 1941, sold 1946 *Built by A. & J. Inglis, Ltd., Glasgow, UK (part of

Harland and Wolff Harland & Wolff is a British shipbuilding company based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It specialises in ship repair, shipbuilding and offshore construction. Harland & Wolff is famous for having built the majority of the ocean liners for the W ...

) ** – Launched 1940, sold 1946 ** – Launched 1940, sold 1946 *Built by Henry Robb, Ltd., Leith, UK ** – Launched 6 August 1940, transferred to Portugal 1945 as ''Salvador Correia'' ** – Launched 1940, war loss 5 July 1942 *Built by Smith's Dock Company, Ltd., South Bank-on-Tees, UK ** – Launched 1940, sold 1946 **, ex-''Tarantella'' – Launched 1941, transferred to Italy 1946 as ''DR 308'' ** – Launched 1941, sold 1946 ** – Launched 1941, sold 1946

References

*Robert Gardiner (ed. dir.), ''Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946'', p. 66. London: Conway Maritime Press, 1980. *Francis E. McMurtrie and Raymond V.B. Blackman (eds.), ''Jane's Fighting Ships 1949–50'', pp. 217, 258. New York: The McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., 1949 {{WWII British ships Mine warfare vessel classes Minesweepers of the Italian Navy Minesweepers of the Portuguese Navy Patrol vessels of the Italian Navy Patrol vessels of the Portuguese Navy Ship classes of the Royal Navy

Ships in class

See also

References