HMT Elk (1902)

History
Royal Navy
Name	HMT Elk
Builder	Cook, Welton & Gemmell, Beverley
Yard number	329
Launched	21 August 1902
Commissioned	1914
Decommissioned	1918
Recommissioned	1939
Fate	Sunk by mine, 27 November 1940
General characteristics [1]
Type	Naval trawler
Tonnage	181 GRT 70 NRT
Length	33.1 m (109 ft)
Beam	6.4 m (21 ft)
Propulsion	Triple expansion steam engine, 62 hp (46 kW), single screw
Sail plan	Ketch-rigged
Complement	10
Armament	1 × 6-pounder gun

HMT Elk was a 181-ton former fishing trawler built in 1902.^[2] She served in the Royal Navy in World War II, until sunk without loss of life having hit a mine off Plymouth in November 1940.

Ship history[]

Elk was built by Cook, Welton & Gemmell at Beverley, Yorkshire, launched on 21 August 1902, and first operated from Grimsby. During World War I she was hired by the Admiralty and served as a minesweeper from 1914 until 1918. She was then operated commercially under various owners at Grimsby, Hakin and Plymouth. Elk was hired by the Admiralty in November 1939 to serve as a danlayer (laying buoys in channels cleared by minesweepers) and was armed with one 6-pounder gun. HMT Elk was sunk by a mine south-east of Penlee Point, Cornwall on 27 November 1940. There were no casualties.^[1]

The Elk was re-discovered by divers in 1981 upright on a sandy bed at

50°17.800′N 4°10.600′W / 50.296667°N 4.176667°W / 50.296667; -4.176667Coordinates: 50°17.800′N 4°10.600′W / 50.296667°N 4.176667°W / 50.296667; -4.176667 in 30 metres (98 ft) of water with a drop-off in excess of 40 metres (130 ft).

See also[]

• Trawlers of the Royal Navy

References[]

External links[]

• wrecksite.eu : Trawler Elk 1902-1940