HMS Wilton (M1116) was a prototype coastal minesweeper/minehunter for the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

. She was the first warship in the world to be constructed from glass-reinforced plastic

Glass-reinforced plastic

Fiberglass , is a fiber reinforced polymer made of a plastic matrix reinforced by fine fibers of glass. It is also known as GFK ....

. Her design was based upon the existing Ton class minesweeper

Ton class minesweeper

The Ton class were coastal minesweepers built in the 1950s for the Royal Navy, but also used by other navies such as the South African Navy and the Royal Australian Navy...

s, and she was fitted with equipment recovered from the scrapped HMS Derriton. The use of GRP gave the vessel a low magnetic signature against the threat of magnetic mines.

Wilton was unofficially known as HMS Tupperware, HMS Indestructible, and "The Plastic Duck" or "Plastic Pig".

External links

• Photos at flickr.com

HMS Wilton was retired by the Royal Navy in 1994; she ended up in store until being sold in August 2001, when she was fitted out as the new home of the Essex Yacht Club at Leigh-on-Sea on the Thames Estuary.