HMS Bassingham

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Career
Builder:	Vosper
Launched:	24th June 1952
Completed:	1st October 1953
Pennant number(s):	M2605 IMS05
Fate:	Sold 1966. She was broken up in September-October 1980

HMS Bassingham was one of 93 ships of the Ham class of inshore minesweepers, of which HMS Inglesham (M2601) was the first. Their names were all chosen from villages ending in -ham. The minesweeper was named after Bassingham in Lincolnshire. She was built by Vospers Ltd. of Portsmouth, which later became Vosper-Thorneycroft and was commissioned in October 1953. She displaced 164 tons fully laden and was armed with one 40 mm Bofors gun.

The engines of this class were Paxman Diesels, some of which were built under licence by Ruston and Hornsby of Lincoln. The class was designed to operate in the shallow water of rivers and estuaries. She was 32.5 metres long overall by 6.4 metres beam. Jane's and the Bassingham website are not consistent about the building material. Jane's says the Ham class, numbered in the 2601 series was of wood. According to the web site, Bassingham was of composite wood and "non-metallic material" construction but Jane's 1953 says that the composite vessels were numbered in the 2001 series and named after places ending in -ley (Ley class minesweeper). It seems likely that policy changed after Jane's 1953-4 was published.