In 1939, with the approaching war now obvious, the British Admiralty approved a design of small fleet minesweepers that could double up as escorts. They were to be suitable for mass production and could be built in many yards not normally involved in naval work. This meant some variance in dimensions. The largest group were 180 feet and the shortest of only 162 feet overall. As the preceding Halcyon class were vessels of 245 feet length, it can be seen that the Bangors were quite small. The original program was expanded once war broke out, but thanks to the above flexibility, construction went on unhindered. Most yards started bringing them into service from 1940 to 1942. As part of the diversity of ordering, four ships were to be built in Hong Kong using the Whampoa and Taikoo yards. Some of the equipment had to be supplied from the UK however, so the four units were still under construc-tion when war with Japan broke out. Realizing the Colony was going to fall, orders were given to ensure nothing of worth fell into enemy hands. Such orders are easily given but in the panic of a city under attack, its defenses crumbling, are not so easy to carry out. The attempt was never the less made. HMS Lyemun (ex-Looe) was blown up and even Japanese sources acknowledge it was half demolished. HMS Lantan (ex-Bealieu) suffered the same fate. The other two, HMS Taitam (ex-Portland) and Waglan (Ex-Seaford) had only just been laid down. Because they were basically just keels, it was thought no demolition would be required. IJN constructors poured over the captured dockyards looking for what ever could be used. Lantan was repairable for commercial use and was completed as the Gyosei Maru in 1943 and later the same year was renamed Kagoshima Maru. There seems to be little record of her after that. Lyemun had been launched when only half finished, then blown up, but the resourceful Japanese repaired her damage and finished her construction. As completed, she sported a pair of 4.7-inch guns of unknown origin and could make 13 knots, which was quite good for a Bangor anyway. She then entered service as the Gunboat (Ho-Kan) Nanyo in March of 1943. Her career was short, for on the 23rd of December the same year she was sunk by US aircraft south of Formosa, during one of the Pacific raids. Few details are known about her appearance, but considering how quickly she was put in to service it is unlikely her appearance varied much from the original design. Taitam & Waglan at the Taikoo Yard were a different proposition. Although only the keels had been laid, the rest of the material for their construction had been assembled at the dockyard. IJN constructors realized the ships could be completed to the British plans rather quickly, as long as they did not divert too far from the original design. In the end, modifications were mostly to the external appearance and they came into service looking very much like normal Bangors but with Japanese features. They were classed as "Sokai-Tei" (minesweeper) of the 101 type. The intended 12 pdr forward had been replaced by a 4.7-inch single low angle, open mount, of Japanese origin, probably from an old destroyer. The eventual total of eight 25mm guns was certainly pretty "up-market" compared to their British sisters, which were poorly fitted in comparison. Depth charge capacity was raised to 36 and sweeping gear seems to have been retained but given lower priority than ASW. Both units were fitted with Japanese Type 13 [Type 3 Mk1] "Hanging Lantern" radar. They were also fitted with a large windlass on the forecastle. Machinery was the two shaft reciprocating type originally intendedand with their two boilers they could make 15.8 knots on 2,200 shp which was again quite good. I might mention here that although the Bangors were designed for 15 knots, many units were lucky to reach that due to rushed design and hasty construction. To ensure the profile resembled other Japanese vessels, the ships both had tripod masts fore and aft as well as trunked funnels. They had the typical AA platform before the bridge for twin 25mm guns and as a result rather resembled the later Kaibokan Type D escorts. Rather short and broad compared to their own designs, the ships were none the less considered good vessels and the IJN seems to have been pleased with them. Renamed W101, the ex-Taitam was launched in February 1943 and completed on April 10th 1944. Her service life was short and she was sunk by aircraft from US TF 38 on January 12th 1945, 7 nm SW of Cape Panaran, Indochina. W102, ex-Waglan, was launched in March of 1944 but was only in service a short time before she was badly damaged in February of 1945 and almost sank. The ship struggled home and was repaired, reentering service before August of 1945 when the war ended. W102 was captured by the Allied Occupation Force at Yokosuka. Having been found to be in good condition, the ship was used by the Allied Minesweeping service with a Japanese crew. After being laid up at Yokosuka in 1947 the ship was reclaimed by the RN and handed back in November of the same year. As many of her British-built sisters were already scrapped or on the way to the junkyard, the vessel had no future in the RN so she was scrapped at Uraga early in 1948. Japanese constructors described these little ships as having a broad and wide quarterdeck, ideal for sweeping. Considering that the RN thought they were too crowded, one wonders at the expectations of Japanese minesweeping crews. Certainly their own designs were more like fast escort vessels and were often heavily armed, so space would have been at a premium. One wonders what they would have thought of the excellent Algerine-class minesweepers. Ex-British Bangor MS Displacement: 580 std In class: 53 Propulsion: Steam Recip In Service: 1944 Crew: 60 Size Class: D Weapons: Armor Rtng: 0 F(1)1 3rd Yr 4.7 in/45 (LA) C 6 Model 3 K-gun w/4 Model 3 DC D 2 DC rail w/6 Model 3 DC D Light AA: 6 Type 96 25mm/60 (0.7) Sensors: Type 3 Mk1 radar, Type 93 Model 2 sonar Remarks: W101, W102. Incomplete Bangor-class units Tiatam and Waglan, taken over by Japanese. Carried 36 Model 3 DC total. 1943-44: 80mm/40 replaced with 2 single 25mm, forward 4.7 in replaced by twin 25mm (Lt AA = 1.0) 1944-5: Fitted one twin and three single 25mm (Lt AA = 1.6) Damage and Speed Breakdown: Dam Pts: 0 7 14 21 25 28v Surf Speed: 16 12 8 4 0 Sinks BT Back to The Naval Sitrep #14 Table of Contents Back to Naval Sitrep List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1998 by Larry Bond and Clash of Arms. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com