HMS Pelorus (J291)
![]() HMS Pelorus at anchor, 1943
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History | |
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Name | Pelorus |
Namesake | Pelorus Jack |
Ordered | 1 January 1942 |
Builder | Renfrew, Scotland |
Laid down | 8 October 1942 |
Launched | 18 June 1943 |
Commissioned | 7 October 1943 |
Decommissioned | May 1946 |
Identification | Pennant number: J291 |
Fate | Sold to the South African Navy, 1947 |
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Namesake | Pietermaritzburg |
Acquired | Purchased from the Royal Navy, 1947 |
Renamed | Pietermaritzburg, 21 January 1948 |
Stricken | 1991 |
Nickname(s) | PMB |
Fate | Scuttled , 12 November 1994 |
General characteristics (as built) | |
Class and type | Algerine-class minesweeper |
Displacement |
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Length | 225 ft (68.6 m) o/a |
Beam | 35 ft 6 in (10.8 m) |
Draught | 12 ft 3 in (3.7 m) |
Installed power |
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Propulsion |
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Speed | 16.5 knots (30.6 km/h; 19.0 mph) |
Range | 5,000 nmi (9,300 km; 5,800 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) |
Complement | 85 |
Sensors and processing systems | |
Armament |
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HMS Pelorus (pennant number: J291) was an Algerine-class minesweeper built for the Royal Navy (RN) during World War II. Upon completion, the ship became the flotilla leader of the 7th Minesweeper Flotilla, clearing mines off the east coast of England. In June 1944, the flotilla was assigned to sweep one of the beaches during the Normandy landings until she struck a mine the following month. After her repairs were completed, Pelorus was reassigned to the English Channel and the 6th Minesweeping Flotilla. The flotilla was transferred to the Indian Ocean in 1945 and spent some time escorting convoys. They participated in Operation Collie, a bombardment of Japanese positions in the Nicobar Islands, in July and then swept the Strait of Malacca and the approaches to Singapore in August.
After the war, she was sold to the South African Navy and renamed HMSAS Pietermaritzburg. The ship was later converted into a midshipmans' training ship during the early 1960s. She served as a barracks ship from 1968 to 1991 when Pietermaritzburg was listed for disposal. The ship was scuttled as an artificial reef off the South African coast in 1994.
Description
Pelorus displaced 1,030 long tons (1,047 t) at
During the war the two single Oerlikon mounts on the
Construction and career
Pelorus was named after
The flotilla sailed for the Far East on 8 April 1945 and was assigned convoy escort duties on arrival. On 2 July, they swept the approaches to the Nicobar Islands during Operation Collie and destroyed 167 mines. As the Pacific War was ending on 15 August, they swept the Strait of Malacca and the approaches to Singapore. Together with the
In 1947 the ship was sold to the South African Navy, together with her sister ship, Rosamund, and departed England on 22 November after a refresher course at the minesweeping school at HMS Lochinvar, Port Edgar, Scotland. The sisters arrived at Cape Town on 24 December, making stops at Gibraltar, Freetown and Walvis Bay en route. She was rechristened by the mayor of the city, A. E. Hirst, on 21 January 1948. The navy had originally intended to rename the ship Maritzburg, but decided to use the city's full name after protests. In November of that year, the sisters exercised with the British 3rd Aircraft Carrier Squadron. Later that month, together with the frigate Natal, they visited ports in Portuguese Mozambique, returning to Durban on 12 December. While serving as a midshipmans' training ship, Pietermaritzburg became the largest South African warship to visit Knysna in September 1953. The ship and her sister were placed in reserve for a time in the late 1950s.[8]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/76/Adam_on_PMB_stairs.jpg/220px-Adam_on_PMB_stairs.jpg)
Pietermaritzburg re-commissioned as a dedicated training ship on 30 August 1962.
Pietermaritzburg was scuttled on 12 November 1994 to make an artificial reef at Miller's Point near Simon's Town. The wreck settled upright on the sand at a maximum depth of 22 metres (72 ft). It has begun to collapse and the interior is much less accessible than it used to be.[citation needed] The wreck and surrounding 300 metres (980 ft) was declared a South African National Heritage Site on 23 August 2013[11] after legal salvage efforts in 2012 had badly damaged the wreck.[10]
Citations
- ^ a b Lenton, p. 261
- ^ a b du Toit, p. 182
- ^ Gardiner, Chumbley & Budzbon, p. 336
- ^ du Toit, p. 184
- ^ a b Moore, p. 280
- ^ a b c d du Toit, p. 183
- ^ Lenton, p. 263
- ^ du Toit, pp. 183–84
- ^ du Toit, p. 186
- ^ a b "The Wreck of the SAS Pietermaritzburg". www.sahra.org.za. SAHRA. Retrieved 26 October 2016.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "National Heritage Resources Act (25/1999): Declaration as a National Heritage Site" (PDF). Government Gazette. 578 (36776). 23 August 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 December 2013. Retrieved 30 August 2013.
References
- ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.
- ISBN 1-874800-50-2.
- Gardiner, Robert; Chumbley, Stephen & Budzbon, Przemysław (1995). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1947–1995. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-132-7.
- Lenton, H. T. (1998). British & Empire Warships of the Second World War. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-048-7.
- Moore, John, ed. (1974). Jane's Fighting Ships 1974–75. London: Macdonald and Jane's. ISBN 0-531-02743-0.