World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

This article refers to the entire M-class; it is not about an individual vessel.

ww2dbaseThe German Navy classified all of its standard minesweepers into the M-class umbrella designation.

ww2dbase36 vessels were of WW1-vintage, classified as the M1915 and M1916 sub-classes.

ww2dbaseThe preparation for war led to the first new sub-class in 20 years, M1935, which were versatile vessels that served not only as minesweepers, but also as convoy escorts, anti-submarine ships, and minelayers. Two major drawbacks with the M1915 sub-class was the expensive price tag for construction, and the usage of oil-fired boilers, which, with hindsight, would be suffering from fuel shortages. A total of 69 ships of this sub-class were built between 1937 and 1941. 34 of them were lost during the war.

ww2dbaseThe M1940 sub-class represented a simpler design that was less expensive to build. Coal-fired boilers were used to diversify the fuel source. 127 ships were built between 1941 and 1944, and 63 of them would be lost during WW2.

ww2dbaseThe M1943 sub-class was further simplified from its predecessor by introducing pre-fabricated parts. There were a further four sub-variants for minesweeping, anti-submarine warfare, torpedo warfare, and torpedo training. Only 18 M1943 ships were built.

ww2dbaseAfter the war, surviving M-class ships were turned over to the United States, United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union as reparations. Many of them, especially those now under British ownerships, were used in their intended role to remove mines along the European coast. A few were later turned over to France and Norway, while two ships were turned over to Italy. Between 1956 and 1957, 11 of them were returned to the Germans to join the West German Navy.

ww2dbaseIn the early 1950s, Romania built 4 minesweepers based on the M1940 sub-class design, known as Democratia-class minesweepers and named DB-13 through DB-16. Spain built 14 ships of the M1940 sub-class design, which it designated the Guadiaro-class; 7 of them were later modernized and remained in operation for more than 30 years.

M-class Minesweeper Interactive Map

M-class Minesweeper Operational Timeline

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