Fish-class trawler

The Fish class of Admiralty trawlers was a small class of naval trawlers built for the British Royal Navy during the Second World War.

HMS Grayling
Class overview
Name	Fish class
Builders	Cochrane & Sons, Selby
Operators	Royal Navy
Subclasses	Corncrake type minelayer
Built	1940–1943
In commission	1942–1945
Completed	10
Lost	2
General characteristics [1]
Type	Naval trawler
Displacement	590 long tons (599 t)
Length	161.6 ft (49.3 m)
Beam	25.2 ft (7.7 m)
Draught	13.3 ft (4.1 m)
Propulsion	Reciprocating engine, 1 shaft
Speed	11.25 knots (20.84 km/h; 12.95 mph)
Complement	35
Armament	1 × 12 pdr gun 3 × Oerlikon 20 mm AA guns 40 × depth charges

The vessels were intended for use as minesweepers and for anti-submarine warfare, and the design was based on a commercial type, the 1929 Gulfoss by Cochrane & Sons, of Selby.^[2] The purpose of the order was to make use of specialist mercantile shipyards to provide vessels for war use by adapting commercial designs to Admiralty specifications.

In 1940 the Royal Navy ordered ten such vessels from Cochrane. All saw active service, and two were lost in incidents.

Corncrake-type minelayer

Two vessels, Mackerel and Turbot, were converted for use as controlled minelayers while still under construction. Upon completion they were renamed Corncrake and Redshank, respectively.^[1][3]

Ships

Name	Hull number	Built	Fate	Notes
Bonito	T231	15 February 1942
Bream	T306	30 March 1943
Corncrake (ex Mackerel)	M82	7 December 1942	Foundered due to weather 25 January 1943 in the North Atlantic	Corncrake-type minelayer[3]
Grayling	T243	4 July 1942
HMS Grilse	T368	29 June 1943
Herring	T307	10 April 1943	Lost 22 April 1943 in North Sea collision	Corncrake-type minelayer[3]
Mullet	T311	14 November 1942
Pollock	T347	20 July 1943
Redshank (ex Turbot)	M31	10 January 1943
Whiting	T232	9 March 1942

See also

• Trawlers of the Royal Navy