HMS ''Franklin'' (J84) was a (officially, "fleet minesweeping sloop") of the British Royal Navy, which was commissioned in 1938 as a

survey ship A survey vessel is any type of ship or boat that is used for underwater surveys, usually to collect data for mapping or planning underwater construction or mineral extraction. It is a type of research vessel, and may be designed for the purpo ...

. She served as such throughout World War II, continuing in that role until decommissioned in 1953.

Service history

The ship was built by the Ailsa Shipbuilding Company, Troon, with engines provided by

Thornycroft Thornycroft was an English vehicle manufacturer which built coaches, buses, and trucks from 1896 until 1977. History In 1896, naval engineer John Isaac Thornycroft formed the Thornycroft Steam Carriage and Van Company which built its firs ...

of Woolston. She was laid down on 17 December 1936 and launched on 22 December 1937. As a survey ship she differed from the others in her class by having a larger bridge, and a surveying chartroom aft. During the war the ship was armed with a single 12-pounder anti-aircraft gun forward. ''Franklin'' was commissioned on 17 August 1938, and carried out surveys off the Thames Estuary. In June 1939 she was sent to survey St. Lewis Inlet, Newfoundland, but in August was ordered home in anticipation of the outbreak of World War II. During the war she carried out surveys around the coast of the UK, mostly in connection with the laying of minefields. In June 1944, under the command of Lt.Cdr.

Edmund George Irving Rear-Admiral Sir Edmund George Irving, (5 April 1910 – 1 October 1990) was a naval hydrographer. Early life Irving was born in Sandakan, British North Borneo to the resident magistrate George Clerk Irving and his wife Ethel Mary Frances Poole ...

, she was deployed off the French coast, following the Normandy landings, surveying ports as they fell to Allied forces. By November she was surveying the entrance to the Scheldt. Following VE Day on 8 May 1945, she carried out wreck and mine clearance surveys in German ports, finally returning to the UK in October 1945. ''Franklin'' remained in service, mainly operating off the eastern coast of England, until decommissioned in January 1953. She was then placed in Reserve, until placed on the Disposal List, and sold for breaking up by Clayton and Davie,

Dunston-on-Tyne Dunston is a western area of the town of Gateshead on the south bank of the River Tyne, in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead, North East England (into which it was absorbed in 1974). Dunston had a population of 18,326 at the 2011 Census. ...

. She was towed to the breaker's yard in February 1956.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Franklin, HMS 1937 ships Ships built in Scotland Survey vessels of the Royal Navy Halcyon-class minesweepers