Isles class trawler - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Isles class trawlers were a class of naval trawler

Naval trawler

A naval trawler is a vessel built along the lines of a fishing trawler but fitted out for naval purposes. Naval trawlers were widely used during the First and Second world wars. Fishing trawlers were particularly suited for many naval requirements because they were robust boats designed to work...

used by 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...

, Royal Canadian Navy

Royal Canadian Navy

The history of the Royal Canadian Navy goes back to 1910, when the naval force was created as the Naval Service of Canada and renamed a year later by King George V. The Royal Canadian Navy is one of the three environmental commands of the Canadian Forces...

and Royal New Zealand Navy

Royal New Zealand Navy

The Royal New Zealand Navy is the maritime arm of the New Zealand Defence Force...

during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

.

The type comprised 197 vessels built between 1939 and 1945 in the nearly identical Isles, Dance, Tree and Shakespearian classes. Generally similar to the Castle class naval trawler

Castle class naval trawler

The Castle class minesweeper was a highly sea worthy naval trawler adapted for minesweeping and built to Admiralty specifications. Altogether about 200 were built between 1916 and 1919....

s of 1916-18, though somewhat larger, they were mainly used on minesweeping

Minesweeper (ship)

A minesweeper is a small naval warship designed to counter the threat posed by naval mines. Minesweepers generally detect then neutralize mines in advance of other naval operations.-History:...

and harbour defence duties. Most were armed with one 12-pounder gun

QF 12 pounder 12 cwt naval gun

The QF 12 pounder 12 cwt gun was a common calibre naval gun introduced in 1894 and used until the middle of the 20th century. It was produced by Armstrong Whitworth, Elswick and used on Royal Navy warships, and exported to allied countries...

and three or four 20 mm Oerlikon

Oerlikon 20 mm cannon

The Oerlikon 20 mm cannon is a series of autocannons, based on an original design by Reinhold Becker of Germany, very early in World War I, and widely produced by Oerlikon Contraves and others...

AA guns with 30 depth charges. In the Dance class a 4-inch AA gun was fitted in place of the 12-pdr, and there were six 20 mm Oerlikons in Annet, Bressay, Damsay, Fiaray, Foulness and Lindisfarne. Four of the trawlers were given 'Bird' names when converted to controlled minelayers in 1943-44: Blackbird (M15), Dabchick (M22), Stonechat (M25) and Whitethroat (M03). A total of 23 of these trawlers were lost during the war. Six trawlers were loaned to Canada in 1942-45 and five to Norway in 1943-45.

Postwar, 17 of the trawlers were disarmed as wreck disposal vessels: Bardsey (DV13), Bern (DV4), Caldy (DV5) Coll (DV6), Earraid (DV7), Fetlar (DV8), Flatholm (DV9), Graemsay (DV10), Lindisfarne (DV11), Lundy (DV12), Neave (DV14), Scalpay (DV15), Skomer (DV16), Steepholm (DV17), Switha (DV18), Tiree (DV19), and Trondra (DV20). At least five were employed as danlayer

Danlayer

A danlayer was a type of vessel assigned to minesweeping flotillas during and immediately after World War II. They were usually small trawlers, fitted for the purpose of laying dans...

s (laying and retrieving dan buoys during minesweeping operations): Imersay (J422), Sandray (J424), Shillay (J426), Sursay (J427) and Tocogay (J451). After decommissioning, Switha and Coll were converted to oil tank cleaning vessels for dockyard service in 1949-50.

By 1949 there remained in service of this type 31 trawlers and four controlled minelayers in the Royal Navy, one controlled minelayer in the Royal Canadian Navy, and four trawlers in the Royal New Zealand Navy. An additional 16 were in service in the Italian Navy

Italian Navy

Italian Navy may refer to:* Pre-unitarian navies of the Italian states* Regia Marina, the Royal Navy of the Kingdom of Italy * Italian Navy , the navy of the Italian Republic...

and six in the Portuguese Navy

Portuguese Navy

The Portuguese Navy is the naval branch of the Portuguese Armed Forces which, in cooperation and integrated with the other branches of the Portuguese military, is charged with the military defence of Portugal....

. Most of the surviving Royal Navy examples were discarded in the 1950s, but a few remained until the 1960s. Two acquired postwar by the Federal German Navy

German Navy

The German Navy is the navy of Germany and is part of the unified Bundeswehr .The German Navy traces its roots back to the Imperial Fleet of the revolutionary era of 1848 – 52 and more directly to the Prussian Navy, which later evolved into the Northern German Federal Navy...

remained in service as training vessels well into the 1970s, with one, Trave (ex-Dochet), resold to Turkey for further service in 1977.

Builders

(Abbreviated in the tables)

Ardrossan Dockyard Company, Ardrossan, UK
George Brown & Company (Marine) Ltd., Greenock, UK
Cochrane & Sons, Ltd., Selby, UK
Collingwood Shipyards, Collingwood, Ont.
Cook, Welton & Gemmell
Cook, Welton & Gemmell
Cook, Welton and Gemmell was a shipbuilders based in Hull and Beverley, East Riding of Yorkshire. England.The firm was founded in 1883 on South Bridge Road, Hull, on the Humber bank. The founding partners were William James Cook, Charles Keen Welton and William Gemmell...

, Beverley, UK
John Crown & Sons Ltd
John Crown & Sons Ltd
John Crown & Sons Ltd, was a British shipbuilding company founded in 1847 and based on the River Wear, Sunderland.-Ships built by John Crown & Sons Ltd:-See also:* List of shipbuilders and shipyards...

., Sunderland, UK
G.T. Davie & Sons
Davie Shipbuilding
Davie Shipbuilding is a historic shipbuilding company located in Lauzon, Quebec. The facility has undergone restructuring and is currently operating as Davie Yards Incorporated.-History:...

, Lauzon, Quebec
Ferguson Bros. Ltd.
Ferguson Shipbuilders
Ferguson Shipbuilders Limited is a shipyard located in Port Glasgow on the River Clyde in Scotland. It is the last remaining shipbuilder on the lower Clyde, and is currently the only builder of merchant ships on the river - the company's mainstay has long been Roll-on/roll-off ferries.-History:The...

, Port Glasgow, UK
Fleming & Ferguson
Fleming & Ferguson
Fleming and Ferguson was a Scottish marine engineering and shipbuilding company that traded between 1877 and 1969.-1877–1914:W.Y. Fleming and P. Ferguson founded the company in Paisley, Scotland in 1877, making marine steam engines. In 1885 they expanded into shipbuilding by taking over the...

, Paisley, UK
Goole Shipbuilding & Repair Company, Goole, UK
Alexander Hall & Company, Aberdeen, UK
Hall, Russell & Company
Hall, Russell & Company
Hall, Russell & Company, Limited was a shipbuilder based in Aberdeen, Scotland, UK-History:Brothers James and William Hall, Thomas Russell, a Glasgow engineer, and James Cardno Couper founded the company in 1864 to build steam engines and boilers. In 1867 the company built its first ship, the Kwang...

, Aberdeen, UK
A. & J. Inglis, Glasgow, UK
Kingston Shipyards, Kingston, Ont.
John Lewis & Sons, Aberdeen, UK
Midland Shipyards, Midland, Ont.
Henry Robb
Henry Robb
Henry Robb, Limited, known colloquially as Robbs, was a British shipbuilding company based in Leith Docks on the east coast of Scotland. Robbs was notable for building small-to-medium sized vessels, particularly tugs and dredgers.-History:...

Ltd., Leith, UK
Smiths Dock Company
Smiths Dock Company
Smiths Dock Company, Limited, often referred to simply as Smiths Dock, was a British shipbuilding company.-History:The company was originally established by Thomas Smith who bought William Rowe's shipyard at St. Peter's in Newcastle upon Tyne in 1810 and traded as William Smith & Co. The company...

Ltd., South Bank-on-Tees, UK

Royal Navy

Ship	Builder	Laid Down	Launched	Comm'd	Fate
	Cook, Welton & Gemmell		1943		Sold 1946
	Cook, Welton & Gemmell		25 March 1943		Still in service 1949 - believed to be the last coal-burner to fly the White Ensign
	Collingwood Shipyards		1942		Transferred to RCN as .
	Cook, Welton & Gemmell		1940		Sold 1946
	Collingwood Shipyards		1942		Transferred to RCN as
	Cook, Welton & Gemmell		1940		Sold 1946
	Fleming & Ferguson		17 July 1943		Still in service 1949 as wreck disposal vessel (DV13)
	Cook, Welton & Gemmell		1943		Sold 1946
	Cook, Welton & Gemmell		2 May 1942		Still in service 1949 as wreck disposal vessel (DV4)
	Ferguson Bros.		1944		Sold 1946
(ex-Sheppey)	Cook, Welton & Gemmell		20 February 1943		Converted to controlled minelayer (M15) 1943: still in service 1949
	Cook, Welton & Gemmell		1942		Sold 1946
	Cook, Welton & Gemmell		1940		War loss 6 September 1941
	Cook, Welton & Gemmell		1942		Transferred to Portugal 1943 as Sam Miguel (P1)
	Cook, Welton & Gemmell		8 April 1943		Still in service 1949
	Goole S.B. & R. Co.		1941		Transferred to Italy 1946 as DR 301
	Goole S.B. & R. Co.		1941		Sold 1946
	Collingwood Shipyards		1942		Transferred to RCN as .
	John Lewis & Sons		1943		Still in service 1949 as wreck disposal vessel (DV5)
	Collingwood Shipyards		1942		War loss 16 Mar 1943.
	Cochrane & Sons		1940		Sold 1946
	Cook, Welton & Gemmell		1943		Sold 1946
	Cochrane & Sons		1940		To Italy 1946 as DR 302
	George Brown & Co.		27 June 1942		Still in service 1949
	G.T. Davie & Sons		1942		Acquired by Federal German Navy postwar and renamed Trave (A51) as a Type 139 patrol trawler Type 139 patrol trawler The Type 139 patrol trawler was a class of vessel used as a training ship by the Federal German Navy. Both vessels in the class were originally built for the Royal Navy in 1942 as Isles class naval trawlers.-History:... ; sold to Turkey in 1977
(ex-Gruna)	John Crown & Sons		18 Dec 1941		Later wreck disposal vessel (DV7); sold 1948
	Cochrane & Sons		1941		Loaned to Norway as Tromöy (i) 1943-44; sold mercantile 1946
	Cook, Welton & Gemmell		1942		To Italy 1946 as DR 306
	Cook, Welton & Gemmell		1942		To Italy 1946 as DR 314
	Fleming & Ferguson		1942		To Portugal 1943 as P8
	Cochrane & Sons		1941		Sold 1946
	Cook, Welton & Gemmell		1943		Sold 1946
	Cochrane & Sons		July 1941		Still in service 1949 as wreck disposal vessel (DV8)
	Goole S.B. & R. Co.		1942		Sold 1946
	John Crown & Sons		1942		To Italy 1946 as DR 305
	Cook, Welton & Gemmell		8 May 1943		Later wreck disposal vessel (DV9); sold 1948
	G.T. Davie & Sons		1942		Acquired by Federal German Navy postwar and renamed Eider (A50) as a Type 139 patrol trawler Type 139 patrol trawler The Type 139 patrol trawler was a class of vessel used as a training ship by the Federal German Navy. Both vessels in the class were originally built for the Royal Navy in 1942 as Isles class naval trawlers.-History:...
	Cochrane & Sons		1941		War loss 6 Nov 1941.
	Cochrane & Sons		1941		To Italy 1946 as DR 313
	John Lewis & Sons		23 March 1942		Still in service 1949
	Cook, Welton & Gemmell		1944		Sold 1946
	Ardrossan Dockyard Co.		1942		War loss 4 Aug 1944.
	Cook, Welton & Gemmell		1943		War loss 5 July 1944
	G.T. Davie & Sons		1942		Sold 1947
	Cochrane & Sons		1943		Sold 1946
	Ardrossan Dockyard Co.		30 December 1943		Still in service 1949
	Ardrossan Dockyard Co.		3 August 1942		Still in service 1949 as wreck disposal vessel (DV10)
	Cochrane & Sons		1943		To Italy 1946 as DR 309
	John Lewis & Sons		1943		Sold 1946
	John Crown & Sons		1943		To Portugal 1943 as P7
	Cook, Welton & Gemmell	30 April 1943	5 August 1943	30 October 1943	Sold mercantile 1946; renamed Henken 1947 and Arab Trader 1949; wrecked north of Mombasa 13 April 1951
(ex-Boreray)	Cook, Welton & Gemmell		1943		Sold 1946
	Cook, Welton & Gemmell		1944		Sold 1946
	Cook, Welton & Gemmell		1944		Sold 1946
	Cook, Welton & Gemmell		1944		Sold 1946
	Cook, Welton & Gemmell		17 August 1942		To Portugal 1943 as Terceira (P3)
	Cochrane & Sons		1944		Sold 1946
	Cochrane & Sons		April 1944		Sold 1947
	G.T. Davie & Sons		1942		Sold 1946
	Cook, Welton & Gemmell		1941		War loss 21 Jun 1945
	Cook, Welton & Gemmell		1941		Sold 1946
	Cook, Welton & Gemmell		1941		Sold 1946
	Ferguson Bros.		1942		Sold 1946
	Cochrane & Sons		August 1944		Still in service 1949 as danlayer Danlayer A danlayer was a type of vessel assigned to minesweeping flotillas during and immediately after World War II. They were usually small trawlers, fitted for the purpose of laying dans... (J422)
	Cook, Welton & Gemmell		1941		Sold 1946
	John Lewis & Sons		1941		Loaned to Norway as Karmöy 1944-45; sold mercantile 1946
	Kingston Shipyards		1942		Transferred to RCN as .
	Smith's Dock Co.		1941		Sold 1946
	Ardrossan Dockyard Co.		1941		War loss 7 Jan 1943
	Ferguson Bros.		1941		Loaned to Norway as Oksöy 1944-45; sold mercantile 1946
	Ardrossan Dockyard Co.		1941		Sold 1946
	Cook, Welton & Gemmell		1943		Sold 1946
	Cook, Welton & Gemmell		17 June 1943		Still in service as wreck disposal vessel (DV11)
	Cochrane & Sons		1944		Sold 1946
	Kingston		1942		Transferred to RCN as .
	Cochrane & Sons		1943		Sold 1946
	Cook, Welton & Gemmell		29 August 1942		Still in service 1949 as wreck disposal vessel (DV12)
	Midland Shipyards		1942		Transferred to RCN as .
	Cook, Welton & Gemmell		1943		Sold 1946
	Cook, Welton & Gemmell		1943		Sold 1946
	Ardrossan Dockyard Co.		1944		Loaned to Norway as Tromöy (ii) 1944-45, sold mercantile 1946
	Goole S.B. & R. Co.		1942		To Italy 1946 as DR 311
	Cook, Welton & Gemmell		1941		Sold 1946
	Cook, Welton & Gemmell		16 July 1942		Still in service 1949 as wreck disposal vessel (DV14)
	A. Hall & Co.		1942		War loss 22 October 1943
	Cochrane & Sons		30 October 1943		Still in service 1949
	A. & J. Inglis		1943		Sold 1946
	Cook, Welton & Gemmell		1941		Sold 1946
	Midland Shipyards		1942		Sold 1946
	Midland Shipyards		1942		Sold 1946
	Cochrane & Sons		1941		Sold 1946
	Cook, Welton & Gemmell		1943		Sold 1946
	Goole S.B. & R. Co.		1941		Sold 1946
	Goole S.B. & R. Co.		February 1942		To Portugal 1945 as Baldaque da Silva
	Cochrane & Sons		1941		War loss 8 Dec 1943
	Cook, Welton & Gemmell		2 June 1942		Later wreck disposal vessel (DV15); sold 1948
	Cochrane & Sons		1941		Sold 1946
	Goole S.B. & R. Co.		1941		Loaned to Norway as Jelöy 1944-45; sold mercantile 1946
	Cook, Welton & Gemmell		1943		Sold 1946
	John Lewis & Sons		17 June 1943		Still in service 1949
	Henry Robb		17 March 1943		Still in service 1949
	Cochrane & Sons		1941		Sold 1946
	John Lewis & Sons		1943		Sold 1946
	A. Hall & Co.		1942		Sold 1946
	Henry Robb		1942		Sold 1946
	John Lewis & Sons		15 July 1943		Still in service 1949 as wreck disposal vessel (DV17)
	Hall, Russell & Co.		1941		To Italy 1946 as DR 315
	A. & J. Inglis		1942		War loss 5 Feb 1943
	A. & J. Inglis		3 April 1942		Later wreck disposal vessel (DV18); converted to oil fuel tank cleaning vessel 1949-50
	Midland Shipyards		1942		Sold 1946
	Goole S.B. & R. Co.		6 September 1941		Still in service 1949 as wreck disposal vessel (DV19)
	John Lewis & Sons		4 October 1941		Still in service 1949 as wreck disposal vessel (DV20)
	Cook, Welton & Gemmell		1942		Sold 1946
	Ferguson Bros.		1942		To Italy 1946 as DR 303
	Cochrane		1943		Sold 1946
	Henry Robb		1943		War loss 6 Jan 1944.
	John Lewis & Sons		1941		Sold 1946
	Cook, Welton & Gemmell		15 February 1940		To Portugal 1943 as Santa Maria (P4)

The following 21 trawlers may be described as comprising the Repeat Isles class:
- HMS Calvay, built by Cook, Welton & Gemmell; launched 1943; sold 1946
- HMS Canna, built by Cochrane & Sons; launched 1940; war loss 1942
- HMS Cava, built by Fleming & Ferguson; launched 1941; sold 1946
- HMS Coll, built by Ardrossan Dockyard Co.; launched 7 April 1942; later wreck disposal vessel (DV6); converted to oil fuel tank cleaning vessel 1949-50
- HMS Colsay, built by Cook, Welton & Gemmell; launched 1943; war loss 1944

} (ex-Thorney), built by Cook, Welton & Gemmell; launched 9 March 1943; converted 1943 to controlled minelayer (M22); still in service 1949

- HMS Orsay, built by Cochrane & Sons; launched January 1945; still in service 1949
- HMS Rona, built by Cochrane & Sons; launched February 1945; still in service 1949
- HMS Sandray, built by Cook, Welton & Gemmell; launched 5 October 1944; still in service 1949 as danlayer
  Danlayer
  A danlayer was a type of vessel assigned to minesweeping flotillas during and immediately after World War II. They were usually small trawlers, fitted for the purpose of laying dans...
  
  (J424)
- HMS Scaravay, built by Cook, Welton & Gemmell; launched 1944; sold 1946
- HMS Sheppey (ex-Raasay), built by Cook, Welton & Gemmell; launched 1943; sold 1946
- HMS Shillay, built by Cook, Welton & Gemmell; launched 18 November 1944; still in service 1949 as danlayer (J426)
- HMS Stonechat, built by Cook, Welton & Gemmell; completed 1944 as controlled minelayer (M25); still in service 1949
- HMS Sursay, built by Cook, Welton & Gemmell, launched 16 December 1944; still in service 1949 as danlayer (J427)
- HMS Tahay, built by Cook, Welton & Gemmell; launched 31 December 1944; still in service 1949
- HMS Tocogay, built by Cook, Welton & Gemmell; launched 7 February 1945; still in service 1949 as danlayer (J451)
- HMS Trodday, built by Cook, Welton & Gemmell; launched 3 March 1945; still in service 1949
- HMS Vaceasay, built by Cook, Welton & Gemmell; launched 17 March 1945; still in service 1949
- HMS Vallay, built by Cook, Welton & Gemmell; launched 10 April 1945; still in service 1949

}, built by Cook, Welton & Gemmell; launched 6 September 1944; completed in 1944 as controlled minelayer (M03); still in service 1949

- HMS Wiay, built by Cook, Welton & Gemmell; launched 26 April 1944; still in service 1949

Royal Canadian Navy

Builder	Laid Down	Launched	Commissioned	Paid Off	Fate
Collingwood Shipyards		1942	Formerly HMS Anticosti (T274)		Sold 1946
Collingwood Shipyards	14 October 1941	13 April 1942	Formerly HMS Baffin (T275)	20 Aug 1945	Sold mercantile 1947; renamed Niedermehnen 1952
Collingwood Shipyards		1942	Formerly HMS Cailiff (T276)		Sold 1946
Kingston Shipyards		1942	Formerly HMS Ironbound		Sold 1946
Kingston Shipyards		1942	Formerly HMS Liscomb		Sold 1946
Midland Shipyards		1942	Formerly HMS Magdalen		Sold 1946
Midland Shipyards		1942			Sold 1946
Collingwood Shipyards		1942			Sold 1946

Royal New Zealand Navy

Builder	Launched	Fate
John Lewis & Sons	10 July 1941	Still in service 1949
Cook, Welton & Gemmell	25 May 1941	Still in service 1949
Goole S.B. & R. Co.	12 July 1941	Still in service 1949
Cook, Welton & Gemmell	26 June 1941	Still in service 1949

Builders

Royal Navy

Royal Canadian Navy

Royal New Zealand Navy

See also