A motor minesweeper is a small
minesweeper
A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping.
History
The earliest known usage of ...
, powered by an
internal combustion engine
An internal combustion engine (ICE or IC engine) is a heat engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer (usually air) in a combustion chamber that is an integral part of the working fluid flow circuit. In an internal comb ...
, very often of wooden construction, designed to locate and destroy
mines in
coastal waters
A coast (coastline, shoreline, seashore) is the land next to the sea or the line that forms the boundary between the land and the ocean or a lake. Coasts are influenced by the topography of the surrounding landscape and by aquatic erosion, su ...
and
harbor
A harbor (American English), or harbour (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be moored. The term ''harbor'' is often used interchangeably with ''port'', which is ...
s. Many navies have used such ships.
Motor minesweepers include:
*
Auxiliary motor minesweepers (YMS), small wood-hulled minesweepers commissioned by the United States Navy for service during World War II, originally designated yard minesweepers (YMS)
** s, a class of auxiliary minesweepers established for the United States Navy in 1941, some of which were transferred to the United Kingdom or Canada during World War II
** or ''Bluebird''-class minesweepers, auxiliary motor minesweepers built for the United States Navy throughout the 1950s until 1978. The first ship of the class was to be USS ''Adjutant'', but the first ship commissioned was ''Bluebird'', where the US ships got their class name.
* s, wooden motor minesweepers built in the US for the (UK)
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
from 1941 to 1943
* s, inshore minesweepers known as the "Type 1" of the British Royal Navy, and also operated by other navies
* , an auxiliary minesweeper that served in the
Royal Canadian Navy
The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; , ''MRC'') is the Navy, naval force of Canada. The navy is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of February 2024, the RCN operates 12 s, 12 s, 4 s, 4 s, 8 s, and several auxiliary ...
from 1939 and sank with all hands in a storm in 1940
* s, a series of six inshore minesweepers of the
Finnish Navy
The Finnish Navy ( , ) is one of the branches of the Finnish Defence Forces. The navy employs 2,300 people and about 4,300 conscripts are trained each year. Finnish Navy vessels are given the ship prefix "FNS", short for "Finnish Navy ship", but ...
* s, a class of coastal minesweepers built for the Royal Navy
*
R boat
The R boats (''Räumboote'' in German, literally "clearing boats", meaning minesweepers) were a group of small naval vessels built as minesweepers for the ''Kriegsmarine'' (German navy) before and during the Second World War. They were used for ...
s, minesweepers for the ''
Kriegsmarine
The (, ) was the navy of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official military branch, branche ...
'' (German navy) before and during the Second World War. The name comes from .
* s, a class of minesweepers built for the
Soviet Navy
The Soviet Navy was the naval warfare Military, uniform service branch of the Soviet Armed Forces. Often referred to as the Red Fleet, the Soviet Navy made up a large part of the Soviet Union's strategic planning in the event of a conflict with t ...
between 1954 and 1956, designated ''Project 265'' in the Soviet Union
{{set index
Minesweepers
Mine warfare vessel classes