Halcyon-class minesweeper

There were twenty-one Halcyon Class Ships which served with the Royal Navy during World War Two. They saw varied service as minesweepers (the purpose for which they were originally designed), convoy escorts and survey ships. They served in Home Waters, the Arctic, the Mediterranean, the Atlantic and the North Sea. The Halcyons were at Dunkirk (rescuing 14,000 troops), spent many months in North Russia (making 78 ocean crossings between them while escorting convoys and making numerous shorter local trips to see convoys on their way or safely home) and helped to 'clear the way' in Italy and Normandy. Nine ships were lost in action and 578 crew died. The site contains a collection of stories, reports and anecdotes that have been gathered from many sources and brought together to create a comprehensive chronological account of the history of each ship. Names and details of crew members have been included whenever they have been found.Any contributions you could make to this site, especially if you are a relative of a crew member, would be most welcome. Please contact me (Source: Naval Video Time Capsules – The Hazards of Russian Convoys. 4.8MB, running time 1 minute 50 seconds, Windows Media Player required) Now that Nazi Germany has been defeated I wish to send you all on behalf of His Majesty’s Government a message of thanks and gratitude. The work you do is hard and dangerous. You rarely get and never seek publicity; your only concern is to do your job, and you have done it nobly. You have sailed in many seas and all weathers... This work could not be done without loss, and we mourn all who have died and over 250 ships lost on duty. No work has been more vital than yours; no work has been better done. The Ports were kept open and Britain breathed. The Nation is once again proud of you. Site optimised for page size 1024 x 768 Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 Please report any problems with the operation of this site to the webmaster