The ''Acacia'' class was a

class Class or The Class may refer to: Common uses not otherwise categorized * Class (biology), a taxonomic rank * Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects * Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used differently ...

of twenty-four

sloops A sloop is a sailboat with a single mast typically having only one headsail in front of the mast and one mainsail aft of (behind) the mast. Such an arrangement is called a fore-and-aft rig, and can be rigged as a Bermuda rig with triangular ...

that were ordered in January 1915 under the Emergency War Programme for the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...

in World War I as part of the larger which were also referred to as the "Cabbage class", or "Herbaceous Borders". They were ordered in two batches, twelve ships on 1 January and another twelve on 12 January, and all were launched within about four or five months, and delivered between May and September 1915. They were used almost entirely for minesweeping until 1917, when they were transferred to escort duty. They were single-screw fleet sweeping vessels (sloops) with triple hulls at the bows to give extra protection against loss when working.

Ships

* — built by

Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson Swan Hunter, formerly known as Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson, is a shipbuilding design, engineering, and management company, based in Wallsend, Tyne and Wear, England. At its apex, the company represented the combined forces of three powe ...

Wallsend Wallsend is a town in North Tyneside, England, at the eastern end of Hadrian's Wall. It has a population of 43,842 and lies east of Newcastle upon Tyne. History Roman Wallsend In Roman times, this was the site of the fort of Segedunum. This ...

on Tyne, launched 15 April 1915. Sold 6 September 1922. * — built by Swan Hunter, launched 13 May 1915. Sold for breaking up 6 September 1922. * — built by

Earle's Shipbuilding Earle's Shipbuilding was an engineering company that was based in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England from 1845 to 1932. Earle Brothers The company was started in Hull in 1845 by two brothers, Charles and William Earle. The firm was made u ...

& Engineering Co,

Kingston upon Hull Kingston upon Hull, usually abbreviated to Hull, is a port city and unitary authorities of England, unitary authority in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber Estuary, inland from ...

, launched 1 May 1915. Mined 4 July 1917 in the Mediterranean. * — built by

Scotts Shipbuilding and Engineering Company Scotts Shipbuilding and Engineering Company Limited, often referred to simply as Scotts, was a Scottish shipbuilding company based in Greenock on the River Clyde. In its time in Greenock, Scotts built over 1,250 ships. History John Scott fou ...

Greenock Greenock (; sco, Greenock; gd, Grianaig, ) is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council area in Scotland, United Kingdom and a former burgh within the historic county of Renfrewshire, located in the west central Lowlands of ...

, launched 24 July 1915. Sold for breaking up 26 May 1930. * — built by Scotts, launched 17 August 1915. Sold for breaking up 22 February 1935. * — built by Barclay Curle & Company,

Whiteinch Whiteinch ( gd, Innis Bhàn) is an area in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated directly north of the River Clyde, between the Partick and Scotstoun areas of the city. Whiteinch was at one stage part of the burgh of Partick, until that ...

, launched 21 April 1915. Sold for breaking up 2 July 1932. * — built by Barclay Curle, launched 19 May 1915. Sold for breaking up 15 January 1923. * — built by Barclay Curle, launched 30 March 1915, to guardship 1942, base ship 1943, sold for breaking up 7 September 1946. * — built Barclay Curle, launched 1 May 1915. Sold for breaking up 7 October 1930. * — built by Lobnitz & Company,

Renfrew Renfrew (; sco, Renfrew; gd, Rinn Friù) is a town west of Glasgow in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. It is the historic county town of Renfrewshire (historic), Renfrewshire. Called the "Cradle of the House of Stewart, Royal Stewarts" ...

, launched 29 April 1915. Sold 6 September 1922. * — built by Lobnitz, launched 2 June 1915. Sold 26 January 1920, becoming mercantile ''Principe d'Asturias''. * — built by

Charles Connell and Company Charles Connell and Company was a Scottish shipbuilding company based in Scotstoun in Glasgow on the River Clyde. History The company was founded by Charles Connell (1822-1894) who had served an apprenticeship with Robert Steele and Co before ...

Scotstoun Scotstoun ( gd, Baile an Sgotaich) is an area of Glasgow, Scotland, west of Glasgow City Centre. It is bounded by Garscadden and Yoker to the west, Victoria Park, Jordanhill and Whiteinch to the east, Jordanhill to the north and the River Cly ...

, launched 12 May 1915. Sold May 1920 in Portugal, becoming Portuguese warship NRP ''Carvalho Araújo'', classified as a cruiser, discarded 1959. * — built by C Connell & Co, launched 10 June 1915. Hulked as

RNVR The Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) is one of the two volunteer reserve forces of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. Together with the Royal Marines Reserve, they form the Maritime Reserve. The present RNR was formed by merging the original Ro ...

drill ship in

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

1935, lost in February 1942 at the

fall of Singapore The Fall of Singapore, also known as the Battle of Singapore,; ta, சிங்கப்பூரின் வீழ்ச்சி; ja, シンガポールの戦い took place in the South–East Asian theatre of the Pacific War. The Empire of ...

. * — built by

Napier & Miller Napier & Miller Ltd. (also Messrs Napier & Miller) were Scottish shipbuilders based at Old Kilpatrick, Glasgow, Scotland. Company history The company was founded in 1898 at a yard at Yoker. In 1906 it moved to a new site a few miles downriver at ...

Old Kilpatrick Old Kilpatrick ( sco, Auld Kilpaitrick, gd, Cille Phàdraig meaning "Patrick's church"), is a village in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland. It has an estimated population of 4,820. It belonged to the parish of Old Kilpatrick which itself was only a ...

, launched 11 May 1915. Sold for breaking up in March 1922. * — built by

Archibald McMillan & Son Archibald is a masculine given name, composed of the Germanic elements '' erchan'' (with an original meaning of "genuine" or "precious") and '' bald'' meaning "bold". Medieval forms include Old High German and Anglo-Saxon . Erkanbald, bishop ...

Dumbarton Dumbarton (; also sco, Dumbairton; ) is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde where the River Leven flows into the Clyde estuary. In 2006, it had an estimated population of 19,990. Dumbarton was the ca ...

, launched 12 June 1915. Sunk by German submarine in the English Channel, 4 May 1917. * — built by

Greenock & Grangemouth Dockyard Company The Greenock Dockyard Company was a Scottish shipbuilding and ship repair firm located at Greenock, on the River Clyde The River Clyde ( gd, Abhainn Chluaidh, , sco, Clyde Watter, or ) is a river that flows into the Firth of Clyde in Scotl ...

, Greenock, launched 2 April 1915. Sold for breaking up 15 December 1922. * — built by Barclay Curle, launched 16 June 1915. Depot ship October 1923, renamed ''Vulcan II''; renamed ''Adamant II'' in 1930. Sold for breaking up 25 June 1930. * — built by Scotts, launched 26 June 1915. Sold for breaking up 2 July 1932. * — built by Barclay Curle, launched 13 July 1915. Transferred to

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of ...

in July 1919, dismantled July 1932, sunk as target off Sydney 1 August 1935. * — built by

Bow, McLachlan and Company Bow, McLachlan and Company was a Scottish marine engineering and shipbuilding company that traded between 1872 and 1932. History 1872–1914 In 1872 William Bow and John McLachlan founded the company at Abbotsinch, Renfrewshire, where it made s ...

, launched 27 May 1915. Sold 26 January 1920, becoming mercantile ''Principe de Piamonte''. * — built by Bow, MacLachlan & Co, launched 16 July 1915. Sold for breaking up 18 November 1922. * — built by

William Simons & Company William is a masculine given name of Norman French origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conq ...

, launched 29 June 1915. Sold for breaking up 9 April 1923. * — built by D. & W. Henderson & Company,

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated pop ...

, launched 28 May 1915. Sold 27 January 1921 to Rangoon Port Commissioners, and renamed ''Lanbya''. Resold 1923 to Osaka Shosen(O.S.K), and renamed ''Yashima Maru''. Breaking up maybe 1953 . * — built by

Dunlop Bremner & Company Dunlop, Bremner & Company was a shipyard at Port Glasgow on the River Clyde, in Scotland, which was purchased by Lithgows in 1919 but continued to trade under its own name until 1926. The company's Inch Yard was responsible for building both ci ...

Port Glasgow Port Glasgow ( gd, Port Ghlaschu, ) is the second-largest town in the Inverclyde council area of Scotland. The population according to the 1991 census for Port Glasgow was 19,426 persons and in the 2001 census was 16,617 persons. The most rece ...

, launched 27 May 1915. Sold for breaking up 22 February 1935.

References

* ''British and Empire Warships of the Second World War'', H T Lenton, 1998, Greenhill Books, * ''Jane's Fighting Ships of World War I'', Janes Publishing, 1919 * ''The Grand Fleet, Warship Design and Development 1906-1922'', D. K. Brown, Chatham Publishing, 1999,

External links

* OldWeather.org transcription of ships' logbooks available for , , , , , , and . {{Flower class sloop Ship classes of the Royal Navy Sloop classes