HMS Squirrel (J301)

HMS Squirrel was a turbine-powered Algerine-class minesweeper built for the Royal Navy during the Second World War. She was scuttled after striking a mine in 1945.

Design and description
The turbine-powered ships displaced 850 LT at standard load and 1125 LT at deep load. The ship measured 225 ft long overall with a beam of 35 ft. The turbine group had a draught of 11 ft. The ships' complement consisted of 85 officers and ratings.

The ships had two Parsons geared steam turbines, each driving one shaft, using steam provided by two Admiralty three-drum boilers. The engines produced a total of 2000 shp and gave a maximum speed of 16.5 kn. The ships carried a maximum of 660 LT of fuel oil that gave them a range of 5000 nmi at 10 kn.

The Algerine class was armed with a QF 4 in Mk V anti-aircraft gun and four twin-gun mounts for Oerlikon 20 mm cannon. The latter guns were in short supply when the first ships were being completed and they often got a proportion of single mounts. By 1944, single-barrel Bofors 40 mm mounts began replacing the twin 20 mm mounts on a one for one basis. All of the ships were fitted for four throwers and two rails for depth charges.

Construction and career
She was launched in 1944. Squirrel took part in minesweeping operations off the west coast of the Malay Peninsula on 24 July 1945. The operations were supported by the British East Indies Fleet, which defeated a Japanese kamikaze attack on HMS Ameer (D01) at the time. Squirrel hit a mine off Phuket Island during the attack, and caught fire. After a half hour the flames were beyond control and she was abandoned. Survivors were rescued by HMIS Punjab. She was scuttled by gunfire two hours later. Seven men were lost in the attack.