The Ghost-class minesweepers were a group of eight British Royal Navy mine sweepers built during World War II, designed to clear naval mines left behind by enemy ships after battle. The design was based on the earlier Flower-class corvettes but with several key modifications.

Armament

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* 1 x 4-inch (102mm) QF AA gun

* 2 x 0.303in Lewis guns or Oerlikon 20 mm for close-in anti-aircraft defense

Propulsion

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* One vertical triple-expansion steam engine, three horizontal triples in some ships.

* Three shafts; two 6-8 tonnes per hour (7.5–9 tonnes/h) boilers with one reserve.

Performance Characteristics

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* Speed: 14 knots (26 km/h)

* Range: 4,500 nautical miles (8,300km), 11 days

Minesweeping

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The Ghost-class was designed to clear mines left behind by enemy ships. They were equipped with an array of mine-clearing gear including:

* Mark IIIA minesweepers carried one Magnetic Minesweeper Mk II and two Depth Charges Mk VI.

* Mark VIs had one Magnetic Mineswepper Mk IV, three depth charge throwers for 24 x depth charges each.

Service History

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The Ghost-class ships saw extensive service during World War II. They were part of several flotillas including:

* 32nd minesweeping flotilla (1943-1946)

* 11th minesweeping squadron

Notable Ships

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Some notable vessels in the class include:

* HMS Cain (J104): Participated in Operation Neptune, the Normandy landings.

* HMS Ghost (J105)

Ghost 32 11.5 commands