View source for Linnet-class minelayer

{{Short description|Royal Navy class of minelayer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2016}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2016}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image= HMS Ringdove FL18078.jpg
|Ship caption={{HMS|Ringdove|M77|6}}
}}
{{Infobox ship class overview
|Name=''Linnet''
|Builders=
|Operators={{navy|United Kingdom}}
|Class before=
|Class after=
|Subclasses=
|Cost=
|Built range=
|In service range=
|In commission range=1938–1964
|Total ships building= 
|Total ships planned=
|Total ships completed=3
|Total ships cancelled=
|Total ships active=
|Total ships laid up=
|Total ships lost=1
|Total ships retired=2
|Total ships preserved=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption= 
|Ship type=[[Minelayer]]
|Ship displacement=498 tons standard
|Ship length=*{{convert|145|ft|0|in|m|abbr=on}} ([[Length between perpendiculars|p/p]])
*{{convert|163|ft|9|in|m|abbr=on}} ([[Length overall|o/a]])
|Ship beam={{convert|27|ft|2|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship height=
|Ship draught={{convert|8|ft|0|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship depth=
|Ship hold depth=
|Ship decks=
|Ship deck clearance=
|Ship power=
|Ship propulsion=*Triple expansion engine
*1 shaft
*{{convert|400|hp|abbr=on}}
|Ship sail plan=
|Ship speed={{convert|10.5|kn|km/h}}
|Ship range=
|Ship endurance=
|Ship complement=24
|Ship sensors=
|Ship EW=
|Ship armament=*2 × twin 0.303 in machine guns
*1 × [[Oerlikon 20 mm cannon]] (from 1942)
*12 [[Naval mine|mines]]
|Ship armour=
|Ship notes=
}}
|}

The '''''Linnet ''class''' were a [[ship class|class]] of three small coastal [[minelayer]]s commissioned into the [[Royal Navy]] just before the [[World War II|Second World War]].

==Description==
The ''Linnet'' class were the largest of a dozen specialized vessels known as "Indicator Loop Mine Layers" built for the Royal Navy immediately before and during the Second World War. These vessels were designed to lay [[controlled mines]], used in coastal defences, as well as [[anti-submarine indicator loop]]s. Similar vessels known as [[mine planter]]s were operated by the US Army during the same era.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Walding |first=Richard |title=Royal Navy Harbour Defences - Hong Kong |url=http://indicatorloops.com/hongkong.htm |access-date=1 September 2022 |website=Indicator Loops}}</ref>

Ships of the class had a displacement of 498 tons standard and a length of {{convert|145|ft|0|in|abbr=on|m}} [[Length between perpendiculars|between perpendiculars]]. They were equipped with a single 20 mm gun and two machine guns. They had two [[triple expansion engine]]s which allowed the ship to have a maximum speed of {{convert|10.5|kn|lk=in}}. There was a complement of 24 officers and crew and a total mine capacity of 12.<ref>Cocker, pp. 20-21</ref>

==Ships==
{| class="wikitable"
!Name
!Builder
!Launched
!Fate
!Notes
|-
|{{HMS|Linnet|M69|3}}
|[[MacCrindle Shipbuilding Ltd|Ardrossan Dockyard]]
|3 May 1938
|Broken up in 1964
|Tender to {{HMS|Vernon|shore establishment|6}}
|-
|{{HMS|Redstart|M62|3}}
|[[Henry Robb]]
|3 May 1938
|Scuttled on 19 December 1941
|Scuttled in [[Hong Kong]] to prevent its capture by the Japanese<ref name=":0" />
|-
|{{HMS|Ringdove|M77|3}}
|[[Henry Robb]]
|15 June 1938
|Sold in 1950 to Pakistan as a [[pilot vessel]]
|Tender to HMS ''Vernon''
|}

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
* Jane's Fighting Ships 1939, p.&nbsp;98
* {{Cite book |last=Cocker |first=M.P. |title=Mine Warfare Vessels of the Royal Navy: 1908 to Date |publisher=Airlife Publishing |year=1993 |isbn=1-85310-328-4 |location=Shrewsbury, England}}

{{Linnet class minelayer}}
{{WWII British ships}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Linnet Class Minelayer}}
[[Category:Linnet-class minelayers| ]]
[[Category:Mine warfare vessel classes]]
[[Category:Ship classes of the Royal Navy]]
[[Category:World War II minelayers of the United Kingdom| ]]