HMS Algerine (J213)
HMS "Algerine" was the lead ship of her namesake class of minesweepers built for the Royal Navy during World War II, the s. Initially assigned to the North Sea, she was transferred to lead the 12th Minesweeping Flotilla. The Flotilla were posted to the Mediterranean to assist with Operation Torch. In 1942, after a successful mine clearing operation off Bougie, she was torpedoed by the , causing "Algerine" to sink, leaving only eight survivors. Description. "Algerine" displaced at standard load and at deep load. The ship had an overall length of , a beam of and a draught of  . She was powered by Parsons geared steam turbines, driving two shafts, which gave a maximum speed of . The ship mounted one single 4-inch (102 mm) Mk V gun. "Algerine" had four single mounts for Oerlikon 20 mm autocannon, and she was fitted with two depth charge rails, and four depth charge throwers. Career. "Algerine" was laid down on 15 March 1941, by Harland & Wolff, Belfast, and launched on 22 December 1941. She was the eighth ship of the Royal Navy to be named . After being completed, the ship was commissioned on 24 March 1942, and adopted by Sittingbourne due  to a Warship Week campaign. "Algerine" joined the 9th Minesweeping Flotilla in May 1942 and began action in minesweeping, escorting, and patrolling duties on the east side of England. She was proposed as leader for the 12th Minesweeping Flotilla, which would participate in action abroad. Her sister ships from the 9th Flotilla, and , joined her, as did , and . In October, she was put forward to go to the Mediterranean to assist Operation Torch, but her departure was delayed due to repair work. The other four ships in her flotilla left for Gibraltar as escorts to a convoy. Four days after  the other ships left, "Algerine" escorted convoy KMF1 to Oran. Fate. In early November, she helped recover the escort destroyer off Algiers after "Cowdray" was damaged by an aerial attack. On 15 November, "Algerine" and "Alarm" were positioned off Bougie, clearing mines. The mission had been successful, with 46 mines cleared; but, "Algerine" was torpedoed by the Italian , commanded by Lieutenant commander Rino Erler. The submarine had first fired two torpedoes at the middle ship in the trio, then fired another two torpedoes at the last ship, "Algerine": "Algerine" suffered heavy casualties and sank. The auxiliary anti-aircraft ship rescued  32 men, of whom only 8 survived, internal wounds killing 24. The survivors had been on a Carley raft. The final death toll was 84. "Algerine"s wreck lies at on the northern coast of Algeria.