HMS Carstairs

For other ships with the same name, see HMS Dryad.

HMS Caerleon was a Hunt-class minesweeper built for the Royal Navy during World War I. Completed in 1919, the ship was sold for scrap in 1935.

History
United Kingdom
Builder	Bow, McLachlan and Company, Paisley, Scotland
Launched	19 April 1919
Fate	Sold 26 April 1935 to Thos. W. Ward, Grays
General characteristics
Class & type	Hunt-class minesweeper Aberdare sub-class
Displacement	800 long tons (813 t)
Length	213 ft (64.9 m) o/a
Beam	28 ft 6 in (8.7 m)
Draught	7 ft 6 in (2.3 m)
Installed power	2 × Yarrow boilers 2,200 ihp (1,600 kW)
Propulsion	2 shafts; 2 triple-expansion steam engines
Speed	16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph)
Range	1,500 nmi (2,800 km; 1,700 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Complement	74
Armament	1 × QF 4-inch (102 mm) gun 1 × 12 pdr (76 mm (3 in)) anti-aircraft gun

Design and description

The Aberdare sub-class were enlarged versions of the original Hunt-class ships with a more powerful armament. The ships displaced 750 long tons (760 t) at normal load^[1] and 930 long tons (940 t) at full load.^[2] They measured 231 feet (70.4 m) long overall with a beam of 28 feet 6 inches (8.7 m) and a draught of 7 feet 6 inches (2.3 m). The ships' complement consisted of 74 officers and ratings.^[1]

The ships had two vertical triple-expansion steam engines, each driving one shaft using steam provided by two Yarrow boilers. The engines produced a total of 2,200 indicated horsepower (1,600 kW) and gave a maximum speed of 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph). They carried a maximum of 185 long tons (188 t) of coal^[1] which gave them a range of 1,500 nautical miles (2,800 km; 1,700 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph).^[3]

The Aberdare sub-class was armed with a quick-firing (QF) four-inch (102 mm) gun forward of the bridge and a QF twelve-pounder (3-inch (76.2 mm)) anti-aircraft gun aft.^[1] Some ships were fitted with QF six-pounder (2.2-inch (57 mm)) Hotchkiss guns or QF three-pounder (1.5-inch (37 mm)) Hotchkiss guns in lieu of the twelve-pounder.^[3]

Construction and career

Carstairs, the first ship of her name in the Royal Navy, was built by Bow, McLachlan and Company at their shipyard in Paisley, Scotland with the name Cawsand. The ship was renamed Carstairs in 1918 and launched on 18 April 1919. She was renamed Dryad on 4 January 1924, but returned to Carstairs on 15 August. The ship was sold on 26 April 1935 to Thos. W. Ward in Grays, Essex, to be broken up.^[4]

See also

• Carstairs, South Lanarkshire