HMS Bronington laid up at Gilbrook Basin, West Float, Birkenhead
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History | |
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Name | HMS Bronington |
Namesake | Bronington, Wales |
Builder | Cook, Welton & Gemmell, Beverley |
Laid down | 30 May 1951 |
Launched | 19 March 1953 |
Commissioned | 4 June 1954 |
Decommissioned | 30 June 1988 |
Identification | Pennant number: M1115 |
Fate | Sunk at her moorings in March 2016. Still partially sunk. |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Ton-class minesweeper |
Displacement | 440 long tons (450 t) |
Length | 153 ft (46.6 m) |
Beam | 28.9 ft (8.8 m) |
Draught | 8.2 ft (2.5 m) |
Propulsion | 2 × Paxman Deltic 18A-7A diesel engines at 3,000 bhp (2,200 kW) |
Speed | Cruise 13 knots (24 km/h) on one engine. Max 16 knots (30 km/h) on both |
Range | 2,500 nautical miles (4,600 km) at 12 knots (22 km/h) |
Complement | 32 |
Armament | 1 x Bofors 40 mm gun |
HMS Bronington was a Ton-class minesweeper of the Royal Navy, launched on 19 March 1953. This mahogany-hulled minesweeper was one of the last of the "wooden walls" (wooden-hulled naval vessels).
Originally commissioned as HMS Humber on 4 June 1954, the vessel was renamed Bronington in 1959.[1] The vessel was converted into a minehunter at Rosyth Dockyard between 1963 and 1965, and was commissioned to, initially the 5th Minesweeper Squadron, and the 1st Mine Countermeasures Squadron on 5 January 1967.[2]
Charles, Prince of Wales, commanded the vessel between 9 February and 15 December 1976. Subsequently, under the command of his successor, Lieutenant A. B. Gough R. N., it ran aground in the River Avon while departing from Bristol.[3]
After being decommissioned from service, the ship was purchased in January 1989 by the Bronington Trust, a registered charity whose patron is the Prince of Wales.[3] For some time, the ship was berthed in the Manchester Ship Canal at Trafford Park, Greater Manchester, England and was open to visitors for ten years. On 11 July 2002, she became part of the collection of the Warship Preservation Trust and was moored at Birkenhead, Merseyside.[1] After the closure of the Warship Preservation Trust, she remained in storage, formerly alongside the Rothesay-class frigate HMS Plymouth, at Vittoria Dock, Birkenhead, and latterly in the West Float of Birkenhead Docks.
On 17 March 2016, Bronington sank at her moorings.[4]
As of 2022, the ship is still partially submerged. It was reported in May 2022 that the Ministry of Defence’s Salvage and Marine Operations unit would be conducting a training dive in late June to establish the underwater status of the vessel. If the survey is positive and the funding can be raised, she will then be transferred to a shipyard for restoration.[5]