Shakespearian-class trawler

The Shakespearian-class trawler was a series of anti-submarine naval trawlers of the Royal Navy. Ships in the class had a displacement of 545 long tons (554 t), a top speed of 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) and a crew of 40 men. The trawlers were armed with a QF 12-pounder [76 mm (3.0 in)] gun, three 20 mm Oerlikon anti-aircraft guns and thirty depth charges. The class was nearly identical to the Isles-class trawlers, of which they are usually considered a subclass. Coriolanus, Horatio and Laertes were lost during the war. Othello, was transferred to Italy in 1946 and Rosalind to Kenya, also in 1946. By the end of that year, only Hamlet and Macbeth remained in service with the Royal Navy; both were sold in 1947.

HMT Coriolanus
Class overview
Name	Shakespearian class
Builders	Cochrane & Sons, Selby Cook, Welton & Gemmell, Beverley Goole Shipbuilding & Repair Co., Goole Hall, Russell & Company, Aberdeen A. & J. Inglis, Glasgow
Operators	Royal Navy
Built	1940–1941
In commission	1940–1947
Completed	12
Lost	3
General characteristics
Type	Naval trawler
Displacement	545 long tons (554 t)
Length	164 ft (50 m)
Propulsion	Reciprocating engine, 1 shaft
Speed	12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Complement	40
Armament	1 × 12 pounder [76 mm (3.0 in)] gun 3 × Oerlikon 20 mm AA guns 30 × depth charges

Ships in class

• Built by Cochrane & Sons, Selby, UK
  • Celia – Launched 1940, sold 1946
  • Coriolanus – Launched 1940, war loss 1945
  • Fluellen – Launched 1940, sold 1946
• Built by Cook, Welton & Gemmell, Beverley, UK
  • Hamlet – Launched 24 July 1940, sold 1947
  • Horatio – Launched 1940, war loss 1943
  • Juliet – Launched 1940, sold 1946
  • Laertes – Launched 1940, war loss 1942
• Built by Goole Shipbuilding & Repair Co., Goole, UK
  • Macbeth – Launched 3 October 1940, sold 1947
  • Ophelia – Launched 1940, sold 1946
• Built by Hall, Russell & Company, Ltd., Aberdeen, UK
  • Othello – Launched 1941, transferred to Italy 1946 as DR 310
• Built by A. & J. Inglis, Ltd., Glasgow, UK
  • Romeo – Launched 1941, sold 1946
  • Rosalind – Launched 3 May 1941, transferred to Kenya 1946, joined Royal East African Navy 1952, redeployed to Madagascar 1964

See also

• Operation Dervish
• Trawlers of the Royal Navy

References

• Robert Gardiner (ed. dir.), Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946, p. 66. London: Conway Maritime Press, 1980.
• Francis E. McMurtrie and Raymond V.B. Blackman (eds.), Jane's Fighting Ships 1949–50, pp. 102, 217. New York: The McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., 1949.
• Antony Preston (ed.), Jane's Fighting Ships of World War II, p. 77. New York: Military Press, 1989. This is mainly a reprint of Jane's Fighting Ships 1946–47 with some materials from earlier editions.

External links

• Shakespearian class ships at uboat.net
• Naval trawlers at battleships-cruisers.co.uk