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MMS.59, J 559. Built by J & G Forbes & Co. Ltd. Sandhaven, England. Commissioned 12 Sep 1941.
15th June 1942. MMS 59 detonated a mine and was out of action for 1 month.
Like many of the Wildfire III, Queenborough minesweepers, MSS 59 took part in the D-day landings and “Operation Calendar Two” clearing the vital waterway of the Scheldt Estuary of mines and opening up the port of Antwerp to resupply Allied troops.
OFFICERS from Navy List December 1942
(Rank. Name, Date joined ship.)
Temp. Lieutenant. RNVR. J. C. Cramer-Parry, 11 Jul 1942
Temp. Sub Lieutenant. RNVR. F Wilton. 25 Aug 41.
OFFICERS from Navy List June 1943
Temp. Lieutenant. RNVR. F. L. Coggin, 1 Jan 1943
Temp. Sub Lieutenant. RNVR. P. Harvatt. 18 July 41.
OFFICERS from Navy List June 1944
Not on this list.
MMS 59
Motor Minesweeper MMS 59 would have looked the same as her sister ship, MMS 192. Note, the Acoustic “hammer” on the bow in the up position used to sweep for acoustic mines and the drum on the stern for the LL cables used to detonate magnetic mines.
Watch these short videos about the Wildfire III Minesweepers.
Minesweepers: https://youtu.be/aTsYiZFzv5M
D-day minesweepers: https://youtu.be/ZjlA5LxCAsg
Clearing the Scheldt: https://youtu.be/8ELsc9T3Lbw
The Relief of Holland: https://youtu.be/GghYEFHmOfY
Motor Minesweeper's were purpose built, wooden, shallow draft, minesweepers with both SA and LL sweeping capabilities. SA is Sweep Acoustic, a device similar to a Kanga Hammer which makes a loud thumping noise which exploded the acoustic mine. LL (double L) is a pair of electric cables which are towed parallel to each other on floats and emit a strong electric pulse which generates a magnetic field which detonated the magnetic mine.
Four Hundred and two Motor Minesweeper were built for the Royal Navy between 1940 and 1945.
Admiralty type; 1 to 118 and 123 to 313
Displacement 165 Tons
Length: 105 Feet (32 metres)
Beam: 23 Feet (7 metres)
Draft: 9 feet 6 inches. (2.9 Metres)
Engine: Diesel. 500 BHP.
Speed: 12.65 Miles per hour. (11 knots)
Complement: 20 Officers and men.
Armament: Two 20 mm Anti-aircraft guns
Two machine guns.