HMS Puttenham (M2784)
| Career |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | HMS Puttenham |
| Namesake: | Puttenham |
| Builder: | John I. Thornycroft & Company |
| Launched: | 25 June 1956 |
| Completed: | 9 May 1958 |
| Fate: | Sold 1980 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Ham-class minesweeper |
| Notes: | Pennant number(s): M2784 / IMS84 |
HMS Puttenham (M2784) was a Ham-class inshore minesweeper of the Royal Navy. She was launched in 1956 and entered service in 1958. The 93 ships of the Ham class had names chosen from villages ending in -ham. The minesweeper was named after Puttenham.
In June 1967, HMS Puttenham, equipped with twelve divers under the command of Engineer-Lieutenant Roy Graham, sailed to the Isles of Scilly in search of the wrecks of the great naval disaster in 1707. The wreck of HMS Association, a 90-gun second rate ship of the line, was finally located. Divers first discovered a cannon, and on the third dive, silver and gold coins were spotted.[1][2] More than 2,000 coins and other artefacts were later recovered from the site and auctioned by Sotheby's in July 1969.[3]
HMS Puttenham eventually ended service for the Royal Navy in 1980. She was sold to a private company and changes were later made to her superstructure. She continued serving in Greece as the passenger ferry Eleftheria in recent years until she was finally dismantled in Crete in November 2006, after 50 years at sea.[4]
Further reading
- Blackman, R.V.B. ed. Jane's Fighting Ships (1953)
External links
- A picture of HMS Puttenham while in Fleetwood, Lancashire, taken in 1978
- Pictures of Eleftheria ex HMS Puttenham before and during being scrapped in Crete, 2006.
References
- ↑ Farrell, Nigel, An Island Parish. A Summer on Scilly, Headline Publishing Group, London 2008, p. 205-206, ISBN 978-0-7553-1764-6
- ↑ Interview with Engineer-Lieutenant Roy Graham in December 2005.
- ↑ The HMS Association Treasure Wreck, Scilly Isles
- ↑ Ton Class Association, News 2006, retrieved 2010-02-08
