HMS Asheldham
The pennant number as seen on the side of the vessel was M2604.
Asheldham displaced 120 ton when empty and 159 tons fully laden.
It's dimensions were 32.5 metre x 6.4 metres x 1.67 metre
Armaments included one 40mm gun and one twin 20mm gun
A crew of 15 were required.
In total 93 Ham class minesweepers were built and all were names after villages whose names ended in ham.
The suffix ham was taken from and Anglo Saxon word which meant Homestead or small village which was felt an ideal name for these small but sturdy vessels.
Paxmans Engineering works at nearby Colchester was commissioned to develop a new engine with a very low magnetic signature for use in minesweeping vessels. The YHA engine that was developed was so successful that it was adopted by the Admiralty as a standard engine and fitted to all of the Ham class of minesweeper.
HMS Asheldham was equipped with three of these engines of which one was used for pulse generation and the other two for propulsion.
The engines provided a top speed of 14 Knots and a range of 2700 miles at 9 knots
By 1959 the Navy felt the need to support emerging Navies of friendly countries by supplying some of it's vessels.
On 1 April 1959 the Asheldham was one of four inshore minesweepers transferred to the newly formed Royal Malaysian Navy where it was renamed the RMN Sri Perlis.
The Asheldham continued to sail the Malaysian waters until 1967 when it was declared surplus again and broken up for scrap.
