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NavSource Online: Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive

HMS Elfreda (J 402)
ex-Overseer (AM 321)
ex-HMS Elfreda (BAM 16)


Overseer served the Navies of Great Britain and Turkey.
Auk Class Minesweeper:

  • Laid down 7 September 1942 as HMS Elfreda (BAM 16) by the General Engineering and Dry Dock Co., Alameda, CA
  • Renamed and reclassified Overseer (AM 321), 23 January 1943
  • Launched 25 January 1943
  • Reverted to the name and classification HMS Elfreda (BAM 16), 19 June 1943
  • Completed, delivered and transferred to Great Britain as HMS Elfreda (J 402), 22 December 1943
  • Struck from the Naval Register 13 December 1946
  • Returned to the U. S. Navy custody 30 June 1947
    Naval Vessel Register of 1 January 1949 lists transfer to the State Department, Foreign Liquidation Commission as January 1947
  • Sold to Turkey 13 November 1947 and renamed TCG Çesme (M 505)
  • Reclassified as a Headquarters Ship, A-595 in 1964
  • Struck from the Turkish Navy list in 1974
  • Fate unknown.

    Specifications:

  • Displacement 890 t.
  • Length 221' 2"
  • Beam 32' 2"
  • Draft 10' 9"
  • Speed 18.1 kts.
  • Complement 105
  • Armament: One 3"/50 dual purpose gun mount, two twin 40mm gun mounts, two single 20mm gun mounts, two depth charge tracks and five depth charge projectors
  • Propulsion: Two 1,988shp Baldwin VO8 diesel electric drive engines, Westinghouse single reduction gear, two shafts.
    Click on thumbnail
    for full size image    		 Size Image Description Source
    TCG Çesme (M 505)
    Overseer 63k . Cüneyt Demir
    TCG Çesme (A 595)
    Overseer 63k . Cüneyt Demir
    Overseer 232k c. October 1975
    Izmir, Turkey
    Photo by Tirasso    		 Paolo Marsan
    View the Overseer (AM-321)
    DANFS History entry located on the Haze Gray & Underway Website
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    Naval Minewarfare Association
    Association of Minemen
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