HMS ''Tongham'' was one of 93 ships of the of inshore

minesweepers A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping. History The earliest known usage of ...

. Their names were all chosen from villages ending in ''-ham''. The minesweeper was named after

Tongham Tongham is a village northeast of the town of Farnham in Surrey, England. The village's buildings occupy most of the west of the civil parish, adjoining the A31 and the A331. The boundaries take in Poyle Park in the east and the replacement to ...

in Surrey. Dry stored ashore at the Gareloch base, and on release used by the RNXS, based at Greenock.

References

*Blackman, R.V.B. ed. ''Jane's Fighting Ships'' (1953) Tongham is now for sale at Foundry Reach Yacht Sales and Services, please view her spec from the link that follows: http://www.foundryreach.co.uk/viewvessel.asp?id=109 Ham-class minesweepers Royal Navy ship names 1955 ships {{UK-minesweeper-stub