Kempton 1916
| Name | No | Yard No | Builder | Laid down | Launched | Comp | Fate |
| ordered 9.1915 | |||||||
| Ascot | T16 | 297 | Ailsa, Troon | 1915 | 26.1.1916 | 4/1916 | sunk 10.11.1918 |
| Eridge | T60 | 320 | Clyde SB, Glasgow | 1915 | 23.2.1916 | 4.1916 | sold 3.1922 |
| Chepstow | T19 | Ayrshire, Irvine | 1915 | 29.2.1916 | 6/1916 | sold 11.1927 | |
| Melton | T94 | 316 | Hamilton, Glasgow | 1915 | 16.3.1916 | 6-12/1916 | sold 8.1927, 1939-1945 - Auxiliary AA vessel Queen of Thanet |
| Plumpton | T32 | 465 | McMillan, Dumbarton | 1915 | 20.3.1916 | 6/1916 | CTL 19.10.1918 |
| Atherstone | T09 | 298 | Ailsa, Troon | 1915 | 4.4.1916 | 6/1916 | sold 8.1927, 1939 - 1945 - Auxiliary AA vessel Queen of Kent |
| Croxton | T20 | 459 | Ayrshire, Irvine | 1915 | 7.4.1916 | 6/1916 | sold 3.1922 |
| Gatwick | T10 | Dundee SB | 1915 | 18.4.1916 | 7/1916 | sold 3.1922 | |
| Lingfield | T24 | 435 | Fleming & Ferguson, Paisley | 1915 | 29.4.1916 | 6-12/1916 | sold 5.1923 |
| Ludlow | 192 | Goole SB | 1915 | 1.5.1916 | 9/1916 | sunk 29.12.1916 | |
| Pontefract | TC2 | 263 | Murdoch & Murray, Glasgow | 1915 | 2.5.1916 | 7.1916 | sold 9.1922 |
| Epsom | T59 | 97 | George Brown, Greenock | 1915 | 4.5.1916 | 7.1916 | sold 3.1922 |
| Kempton | 222 | Ferguson, Glasgow | 1915 | 3.6.1916 | 7/1916 | sunk 24.6.1917 | |
| Chelmsford | T21 | 299 | Ailsa, Troon | 1915 | 14.6.1916 | 8/1916 | sold 11.1927 |
| Doncaster | T56 | 460 | Ayrshire, Irvine | 1915 | 15.6.1916 | 8.1916 | sold 3.1922 |
| Newbury | T26 | 313 | Inglis, Glasgow | 1915 | 3.7.1916 | 9.1916 | sold 3.1922 |
| Eglinton | T02 | 443 | Ayrshire, Irvine | 1915 | 9.9.1916 | 10.1916 | sold 7.1922 |
| ordered 10.1915 | |||||||
| Haldon | T62 | 293 | Dunlop Bremner, Glasgow | 1915 | 29.3.1916 | 6/1916 | sold 12.1921 |
| Cheltenham | T54 | 276 | Ardrossan SB | 1915 | 12.4.1916 | 7.1916 | sold 10.1927 |
| Hurst | T66 | 294 | Dunlop Bremner, Glasgow | 1915 | 6.5.1916 | 7.1916 | sold 3.1922 |
| Goodwood | T22 | Dundee SB | 1915 | 15.6.1916 | 10.1916 | sold 7.1922 | |
| ordered 1.1916 | |||||||
| Totnes | T53 | 466 | McMillan, Dumbarton | 1915 | 17.5.1916 | 7.1916 | sold 3.1922 |
| Sandown | T68 | 295 | Dunlop Bremner, Glasgow | 1915 | 6.7.1916 | 9.1916 | sold 3.1922 |
| Redcar | 444 | Ayrshire, Irvine | 1915 | 31.7.1916 | 12/1916 | sunk 24.6.1917 | |
|
Displacement normal, t |
810 |
|
Displacement full, t |
|
|
Length, m |
74.9 |
|
Breadth, m |
17.7 max 8.84 oa |
|
Draught, m |
2.13 |
|
No of shafts |
2 paddle wheels |
|
Machinery |
1 DCE, 2 cylindrical boilers |
|
Power, h. p. |
1500 |
|
Max speed, kts |
14.5 |
|
Fuel, t |
coal 156 |
| Endurance, nm(kts) | |
|
Armament |
2 x 1 - 57/40 6pdr Hotchkiss Mk I, 2 x 1 - 40/39 2pdr QF Mk II, mechanical minesweeping gear Eridge, Melton: 2 x 1 - 57/40 6pdr Hotchkiss Mk I, 2 x 1 - 40/39 2pdr QF Mk II, mechanical minesweeping gear, aircraft flying-off platform |
|
Complement |
50 |
Project history: As a result of the success of hired paddlers as minesweepers the Admiralty ordered a design based on Ailsa SB's Glen Usk. They were named after race courses. The design included provision for two seaplanes, to help spot minefields from the air, but only Eridge and Melton had derricks and platforms fitted, and seaplanes were never used. They were completed between April and December 1916.
Modernizations: none.
Naval service: Ascot was torpedoed by German submarine UB67 off the Faeroes 10 November 1918. Kempton was mined on 24 June 1917 while rescuing survivors of Redcar (also mined on the same day) off Dover. Ludlow was mined off the Shipwash Shoal 29 December 1916. Plumpton was beached on the Belgian coast 19 October 1918 after being mined; she was subsequently BU where she lay. Atherstone and Melton both returned to RN service in 1939-45, as AA ships Queen of Kent and Queen of Thanet. During the war the paddle 'sweepers' served with the Auxiliary Patrol, Fishery flag pendants superior to Admiralty Nos 881-904. Post-war they served in the Mine Clearance Service, bearing 'T' pendant numbers.
Many thanks to Wolfgang Stöhr for additional information on this page.
Eridge
© Ivan Gogin, 2008-10