HMS Bronington

[Keith Tindell]

I see that HMS Bronington, the minesweeper that was skippered by Prince Charles, has sunk in Birkenhead docks, and lies half submerged and abandoned, a fund is being set up to restore her. Always a shame to see an old ship abandoned in that way, would have been better at the brokers than just left, kt

https://hmsbronington.org

[j.sabourn]

#1. Thanks for the info. Keith . For one short period of time worked with her working out of Devonport and remember going on board her by invitation . This was after Prince Charles left her of course . We worked with quite a few minehunters but she was the only one I got a conducted tour of . JS

[Roger Haddock]

Very sorry to hear this sad news, a few years ago when the Radio officers Association had there AGM in Liverpool we had a visit to HMS PLYMOUTH? then popped on board Bronington and had our lunch in the wardroom as guests of the preservation society. I actually got to sit in Prince Charles chair in the ward room and on the Bridge. Not a very fitting end for such a grand old lady i do hope that they can restore her although looking at the pictures she looks as though her days are numbered.

[Ivan Cloherty]

. I actually got to sit in Prince Charles chair in the ward room and on the Bridge. .

That will be drinks for all hands on board this virtual ship Roger, you know you cannot sit in the Captain's chair

[Graham Shaw]

#3 Thanks Roger.Just to say ,as a follower of Tintin and friends I love your surname-so evocative of Captain Haddock,I believe his forename was Archibald.

I've found a vessel called Captain Haddock as well...owner must have been another Tintinophile!

Captain Haddock.jpg1.jpg

[Tony Taylor]

Very sorry to hear this sad news, a few years ago when the Radio officers Association had there AGM in Liverpool we had a visit to HMS PLYMOUTH? then popped on board Bronington and had our lunch in the wardroom as guests of the preservation society. I actually got to sit in Prince Charles chair in the ward room and on the Bridge. Not a very fitting end for such a grand old lady i do hope that they can restore her although looking at the pictures she looks as though her days are numbered.

Must be something serious as they are real heavy duty GRP. So the hull should be sound.

[vic mcclymont]

Tony, she is one the last wooden hulled minesweepers built.
Vic

[j.sabourn]

Vic to the best of my knowledge a minehunter and a minesweeper are two different vessels. The sweeeper usually ex fishing vessel utilises its sweeps to bring mines to the surface where they were usually detonated by gunfire. A minehunters was a highly devised electronic built vessel with the latest sonar arrays built in to find underwater targets and to send divers down if necessary to destroy , the crew on a minehunter in my time was usually between 34 to 40 men. They were also armed with a deck gun and numerous machine guns JS

My period with the Navy 1978 to 1982 we were mostly stationed off the West coast of Scotland , Russian fishing vessels used to congregate there also, most people remarked on all the antenna they carried . The ship was the Seaforth Clansman and at the time we were classed as naval party 1007 and were there to replace the RNs own diving ship which was the second oldest commissioned ship they had, the first being HMS Victory. Anyhow the alien trawlers used to drop listening devices on the bottom in deep water to trace the propellor noise and take copies and to log into their patrol routes. The nukes that is. The minehunters went out and with their sophisticated electronics found these small boxes and guided us on to the target , where we dropped a marker buoy and Moored over the target.we already had divers living in the chambers at that depth of water say 200 metres , so these went down in the diving bell and recovered , and it was all over Rover. This was just one of many jobs we did , apart from consuming large quantities of beer in the small ports up Loch Fyne only able to be got at by the ships liberty boat which I always volunteered to drive . Cheers JS

[Ivan Cloherty]

Tony, she is one the last wooden hulled minesweepers built.
Vic

If I remember rightly she was a 'Coniston Class' minesweeper and I was invited aboard one in the 1956 invasion, to my shame I cannot remember her name, I remember every thing was very informal aboard and all hands including the skipper were very young and we were made very welcome.

[Bill Cameron]

HMS Bronington is a Ton that were replaced by the Hunt class Mine counter measures vessel made of mainly fibreglass, and became knows as the “Tupperware vessels) my eldest son was on HMS Chiddingfold as an RO (t) and joined her as she was being built, even sailed across the Atlantic, where her gun was washed overboard.
The Chiddingfold is now serving in the Persian Gulf after all this time