HMS Barnstaple

File:Lady Cynthia (steamship) circa 1938..jpg Lady Cynthia circa 1938
History
Royal Navy EnsignUnited Kingdom
Builder	Ardrossan Dry Dock & Shipbuilding Company
Launched	20 March 1919
Fate	Sold 1 December 1921; renamed Lady Cynthia; broken up 1957
General characteristics
Class & type	Hunt class minesweeper (1916), Aberdare sub-class
Displacement	800 long tons (813 t)
Length	213 ft (64.9 m) o/a
Beam	28 ft 6 in (8.7 m)
Draught	7 ft 6 in (2.3 m)
Installed power	2 × Yarrow boilers 2,200 ihp (1,600 kW)
Propulsion	2 shafts; 2 triple-expansion steam engines
Speed	16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph)
Range	1,500 nmi (2,800 km; 1,700 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Complement	74
Armament	1 × QF 4-inch (102 mm) gun 1 × 12 pdr (76 mm (3 in)) anti-aircraft gun

HMS Barnstaple was a Hunt-class minesweeper built for the Royal Navy during World War I.

Design and description

The Aberdare sub-class were enlarged versions of the original Hunt-class ships with a more powerful armament. The ships displaced 750 long tons (760 t) at normal load and 930 long tons (940 t) at full load. They measured 231 feet (70.4 m) long overall with a beam of 28 feet 6 inches (8.7 m) and a draught of 7 feet 6 inches (2.3 m). 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 2,200 indicated horsepower (1,600 kW) and gave a maximum speed of 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph). They carried a maximum of 185 long tons (188 t) of coal which gave them a range of 1,500 nautical miles (2,800 km; 1,700 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph).

The Aberdare sub-class was armed with a quick-firing (QF) four-inch (102 mm) gun forward of the bridge and a QF twelve-pounder (3-inch (76.2 mm)) anti-aircraft gun aft. Some ships were fitted with QF six-pounder (2.2-inch (57 mm)) Hotchkiss guns or QF three-pounder (1.5-inch (37 mm)) Hotchkiss guns in lieu of the twelve-pounder.

Construction and career

Barnstaple, the first ship of her name in the Royal Navy, was built by the Ardrossan Dry Dock & Shipbuilding Company at their shipyard in Ardrossan. The ship was launched on 20 March 1919. She was sold on 1 December 1921. She served as Lady Cynthia after major modifications as a coastal steamship with the Union Steamship Company of British Columbia, Canada from 1925 to 1957.

See also

• Barnstaple