#OTD 1943 overnight the 9thMSF conducted Op KL - a sweep in the Channel which I believe was designed to assess German reactions & to assess utility of our own radio navigation aids. HMS SIDMOUTH (pic) was fitted with a FV1 jammer for the op & the 9thMSF was escorted by MGBs & MLs. Although the operation could have been used as a ‘tester’ ahead of Neptune/Overlord in 1944, the inclusion of jamming equipment is curious as it could have disclosed a capability ‘we’ would have wanted to keep hidden

#OTD 1943 Minesweeping Trawlers HMT EARL KITCHENER & LORD GREY (part of 170th Minesweeping Group) depart Colombo, Sri Lanka for Madras (Chennai) then Calcutta (Kolkata), which is assessed vulnerable to enemy mining. They are fitted with LL (magnetic) and SA (acoustic) sweeps & will arrive at their destination on the 28th. The pic shows a typical minesweeping trawler, with the SA sweep in the ‘stowed’ position above the bows. #Sweepers80 #RN #WW2 #SWW #NavalHistory #Histodons

#OTD 1943 due to reports that new variant mines have been swept in the Straits, a specialist from HMS VERNON is sent to Gibraltar to investigate. Exploitation of recovered mines remains a key element of mine countermeasures, allowing minesweepers & minehunters to adjust settings & tactics …. #RN #WW2 #SWW #NavalHistory @histodons @globalmaritimehistory

#OTD 1943 Three German mines are swept in the Straits of Gibraltar. In Home Waters, aside from influence mines being swept off Yarmouth (5) & Dover (4), local sweepers have inadvertently swept British mines from a defensive field (HS 1) in the Bristol Channel during a skim-sweep to confirm the mines are ‘watching’ at the correct depth #WW2 #SWW #RN #Histodons #NavalHistory

#OTD 1943 Naval authorities at Trinidad - the vessels’ latest staging post - are organising the onward passage of Motor Minesweepers 102, 103, 105, 106 & 107 - built in Nova Scotia boatyards - to Recife & then Freetown (W.Africa). All but MMS 107 will serve in the 120th MSF in the Med. Pic shows a vessel of the type, with the SA Acoustic sweep visible stowed over the bows #WW2 #SWW #RN #NavalHistory @histodons @globalmaritimehistory

On this day in 1943 fast minelayer HMS WELSHMAN (pic) is torpedoed & sunk in the Med with the loss of 152 crew. Due to the impact on future minelaying ops, Admiral (Andrew) Cunningham - commanding in the W. Med - requests Admiralty advice on the availability of minelaying destroyers as replacements. #WW2 #SWW #RN #NavalHistory #Histodons

#OTD 1943 the hard-working ‘Bangors’ of the 9th MSF - having just swept interdiction channels off Dover & Portsmouth - are sent to Harwich for duties under CinC Nore, replacing the paddle sweepers (pic) of the 12th Flotilla. At this stage of the war, with Motor Minesweepers (MMS) and British Yard Minesweepers (BYMS) arriving in increasing numbers, the paddle sweepers were being converted to AA roles, in which capacity (‘Eagle’ ships) some would serve off the Normandy beaches in 1944.

#OTD 1943 duties off Dover now completed, the 9th MSF Bangors are now performing a similar sweeping task off Portsmouth, clearing a channel to allow destroyers & coastal forces to safely transit our minefields to intercept a high value cargo vessel expected soon off the coast of N. France. Op VALUABLE #Sweepers80 #WW2 #SWW #RN #NavalHistory #Histodons

#OTD 1943 Minesweeping trawler HMT CYPRESS is mined off Shoreham; she is beached to avoid sinking. Further North, a frustrated Senior Officer 16thMSF (HMS SHIPPIGAN) (pic © IWM A 19830) asks for more details of the sweeping task his flotilla have been given off Iona following the mining of SS OSTENDE #Sweepers80 #RN #SWW #WW2 #NavalHistory #Histodons

#OTD 1943 Belgian coaster OSTENDE reports being mined in the Sound of Iona. Pic shows her in an earlier incarnation. She is beached in an attempt to save her. ‘Bangors’ QUALICUM & SHIPPIGAN of the newly formed 16th MSF are sailed from Londonderry to start sweeping, supported by M/S Trawlers from Ardrossan #Sweepers80 #WW2 #SWW #NavalHistory @histodons @globalmaritimehistory