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Quick facts for kids 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 |
| Type |
Naval trawler |
| Tonnage |
|
| 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. 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.
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; -4.176667 in 30 metres (98 ft) of water with a drop-off in excess of 40 metres (130 ft).
