HMS Wem


HMS Wem was a Hunt-class minesweeper built for the Royal Navy during World War I. Completed in 1919, the ship was sold out of the service in 1921.

Design and description

The Aberdare sub-class were enlarged versions of the original Hunt-class ships with a more powerful armament. The ships displaced at normal load and at full load. They measured long overall with a beam of and a draught of. The ships' complement consisted of 74 officers and ratings.
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 and gave a maximum speed of. They carried a maximum of of coal which gave them a range of at.
The Aberdare sub-class was armed with a quick-firing (QF) gun forward of the bridge and a QF twelve-pounder anti-aircraft gun aft. Some ships were fitted with QF six-pounder () Hotchkiss guns or QF three-pounder () Hotchkiss guns in lieu of the twelve-pounder.

Construction and career

Wem, the first ship of her name in the Royal Navy, was laid down with the name of Walmer by William Simons & Company at their shipyard in Renfrew, Scotland. The ship was renamed on 25 June 1918 and launched on 12 September 1919. She was sold to The Cutch SN Co. on 22 April 1921 and renamed Deshalpur. The ship was broken up about 1927.