HMS Selkirk (J18)

History
United Kingdom
Builder	Murdoch & Murray, Port Glasgow
Laid down	5 March 1918
Launched	2 December 1918
Commissioned	17 March 1919
Identification	Pennant number: J18
Motto	"Hold fast"
Honours and awards	North Sea 1939-45 Atlantic 1939-45 Normandy 1944
Fate	Sold 17 May 1947 to Dohmen & Habets, broken up in Liège
Badge	On a field per fess black and white a Buckle, Silver piercing a scallop shell Gold.
General characteristics
Class and type	Hunt-class minesweeper, Aberdare sub-class
Displacement	800 long tons (813 t)
Length	213 ft (65 m) o/a
Beam	28 ft 6 in (8.69 m)
Draught	7 ft 6 in (2.29 m)
Installed power	2 × Yarrow boilers 2,200 ihp (1,600 kW)
Propulsion	2 shafts 2 vertical 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 × 76 mm (3.0 in) anti-aircraft gun

HMS Selkirk was a Hunt-class minesweeper of the Aberdare sub-class built for the Royal Navy during World War I. She was not finished in time to participate in the First World War and survived the Second World War to be sold for scrap in 1947.

The Aberdare sub-class were enlarged versions of the original Hunt-class ships with a more powerful armament. The ships displaced 800 long tons (810 t) at normal load. They had a length between perpendiculars of 220 feet (67.1 m)^[1] and measured 231 feet (70.4 m) long overall. The Aberdares had a beam of 26 feet 6 inches (8.1 m) and a draught of 7 feet 6 inches (2.3 m). The ships' complement consisted of 74 officers and ratings.^[2]

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^[2] which gave them a range of 1,500 nautical miles (2,800 km; 1,700 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph).^[1]

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 (76.2 mm) anti-aircraft gun aft.^[2] Some ships were fitted with six- or three-pounder guns in lieu of the twelve-pounder.^[1]

The ship was named after the Scottish town of Selkirk.

Following a successful Warship Week National Savings campaign in March 1942 she was adopted by the civil community of Thorne, near Doncaster in the West Riding of Yorkshire.^[3]

• Cocker, M. P. (1993). Mine Warfare Vessels of the Royal Navy: 1908 to Date. Shrewsbury, England: Airlife Publishing. ISBN 1-85310-328-4.
• Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.
• Gardiner, Robert & Gray, Randal, eds. (1985). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-85177-245-5.
• Lenton, H. T. (1998). British & Commonwealth Warships of the Second World War. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-048-7.