Minesweepers to Minehunters : The Changing History of
The HMAS Curlew and The HMAS Snipe
Minesweeper to Minehunter
Ton Class, Royal Australian Navy
The RAN purchased six Ton Class Minesweepers from Britain in 1961; two
of the minesweepers were built as minehunters, but functioned as
minesweepers until the late 1960s when they were converted to
minehunters.

HMAS Curlew decommissioned in December 1966 and was converted to a
minehunter at Garden Island Dock, Sydney, and recommissioned in 1968.
HMAS Snipe decommissioned the day before in 1968 and went into
dockyard hands to be converted to a minehunter. Both operated together
as minehunters from late 1969 until Snipe decommissioned in 1983 and
Curlew in 1991.

The conversion entailed fitting a high definition, short range sonar, the A/S
193 into the dome space, rudders were replaced with active rudders and
the ship was steered with a joystick via a computer instead of the traditional
wheel. The crew was made up of 3 officers and 28 other ranks with 5 being
Clearance Divers. Tons converted for minehunting had their influence
minesweeping systems removed but retained their Oropesa mechanical
sweeps.
HMAS Curlew
The operation of clearing mines entailed locating the mine using the
sonar, maneuvering the ship with the active rudders to keep it
stationary while divers were sent in an inflatable boat using radar
ranging to a position directly over the mine where they either placed an
underwater charge by diving down or winched an explosive device to a
position alongside the mine.
HMAS Snipe
HMAS Snipe propellers and Active Rudders
HMAS Curlew Wheel house
INFO SPOT:
The Navy News has a
nice piece regarding
Cyclone Tracy and the role
the Navy played in helping
with the rescue and
recovery operations,
including the roles of the
Mine hunters HMAS Snipe
and Curlew.
HMAS Curlew in 1968
All Text and Photographs copyright  
and used with the kind permission
of Phil Bensted who kindly wrote
this piece for us regarding the
change from Minesweeper to
Minehunters.
Phil Bensteds' main site can be
found
at:http://users.qld.chariot.net.au/~d
ialabull/index.html
In May and June 1975 the minehunters HMAS Curlew and HMAS Snipe, using
their A/S 193 sonar, together with the minesweeper HMAS Ibis surveyed the
approaches to Darwin and the harbour itself, locating trawlers sunk during
Cyclone Tracy, and other navigational hazards. Both ships surveyed the
approaches to all major ports in Australia, surveyed the recommended
passages through the Great Barrier Reef and helped with the location and
recovery of an RAAF F111 which crashed into the sea in New Zealand.
               anchor colour to base colour here
THE
ROYAL AUSTRALIAN NAVY
16th MINESWEEPING SQUADRON
copyright (c) sixteenthnavalsquadaus.org 2004-2010 all rights reserved
RAN 16th Minesweeping  Squadron Association.
site conception and editorial content copyright (c) RG Clarey,JL Clarey & C Collins.
2004-2010 all rights reserved,