Abdiel-class minelayer

HMS Apollo in August, 1945
Class overview
Name:	Abdiel class
Operators:	Royal Navy
In service:	1941
In commission:	1941 - 1972
Completed:	6
Active:	0
Lost:	3
Retired:	3
General characteristics
Type:	Minelayer
Displacement:	2,650 tons standard 3,415 tons full (1938 group) / 3,475 tons (WEP group)
Length:	400 ft 6 in (122.07 m) (p/p) 418 ft (127 m) (o/a)
Beam:	40 ft (12 m)
Draught:	11 ft 3 in (3.43 m) 14 ft 9 in (4.50 m) (full)
Propulsion:	4 × Admiralty 3-drum water-tube boilers Parsons geared steam turbines 2 shafts 72,000 shp (54,000 kW)
Speed:	(39.75 knots (73.62 km/h), (38 knots (70 km/h) (full)
Range:	1,000 nmi (1,900 km) at 38 knots (70 km/h)
Complement:	242
Armament:	(1938 group) 6 × QF 4-inch (100 mm) Mark XVI guns on twin mounts HA/LA Mk.XIX 4 × QF 2-pounder (40 mm) Mk.VIII on quadruple mount Mk.VII 8 × 0.5-inch (12.7 mm) Vickers machine guns on quadruple mount Mk.I (later up to 12 × 20 mm Oerlikons on single mounts P Mk.III or twin mounts Mk.V) 156 mines (WEP group) 4 × QF 4 in Mark XVI on twin mounts HA/LA Mk.XIX 4 (Apollo) / 6 (Ariadne) × 40 mm Bofors on twin mounts "Hazemeyer" Mk.IV Up to 12 × 20 mm Oerlikons on single mounts P Mk.III or twin mounts Mk.V (later up to 6 × 40 mm Bofors on single mounts Mark V "Boffin" 156 mines

The Abdiel class were a class of six fast minelayers commissioned into the Royal Navy and active during the Second World War. They were also known as the Manxman class and as "mine-laying cruisers".

These ships were armed with a wide variety of defensive weapons from 0.5-inch (12.7mm) machine guns to the 4-inch (100 mm) main armament. They were also equipped with a wide array of radars, along with their normal complement of mines. They were easily mistaken for destroyers.

Half the class was lost through enemy action during the Second World War; the others saw post-war service, and the last example was scrapped in the early 1970s.

The Royal Navy ordered the first four ships in 1938, with a further two acquired as part of the War Emergency Programme. They were specifically designed for the rapid laying of minefields in enemy waters, close to harbours or sea lanes. As such they were required to be very fast and to possess sufficient anti-aircraft weaponry to defend themselves if discovered by enemy aircraft.

A large load of up to 150 mines was required to be carried under cover, therefore a long, flushdecked hull with high freeboard was required. The mines were laid through doors in the sterns; the ships carried their own cranes for loading.
In size these ships were almost as long as a cruiser but laid out much like a large destroyer but the three straight funnels were an instant identifying feature. Top speed was specified as 40 knots (74 km/h). To achieve this they were given a full cruiser set of machinery and with an installed output of 72,000 shaft horsepower (54,000 kW) on two shafts, they made 39.75 knots (73.62 km/h) light and 38 knots (70 km/h) deep load. To put this into perspective, the contemporary Town-class cruisers had 80,000 shp (60,000 kW) and a full load displacement of 12,980 tons, just short of four times that of the Abdiels.

The ships were initially to be armed much as destroyers, with three twin CP Mark XIX mounts for the QF 4.7-inch (120 mm) Mark XII gun (which had a maximum elevation of only 40°) in 'A', 'B' and 'X' positions, a quadruple "multiple pom-pom" mounting Mark VIII for the QF 2-pounder Mark VIII and a pair of quadruple 0.5 inch Vickers machine guns.

...
Wikipedia