Please report any broken links or trouble you might come across to the Webmaster Please take a moment to let us know so that we can correct any problems and make your visit as enjoyable and as informative as possible.

NavSource Online: Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive
Courtesy of Rob

HMS Florizel (J 404)
ex-BAM-26


BAM-26 was built for Great Britain.
BAM-1/Auk Class Minesweeper:

  • Laid down 27 January 1943 as BAM-26 by the Associated Shipbuilders, Seattle, WA
  • Launched 20 May 1943
  • Completed, transferred to Great Britain and named HMS Florizel (J 404), 14 April 1944
  • Returned to U.S. custody in December 1946 and transferred to the State Department, Foreign Liquidation Commission
  • Struck from the Naval Register 13 December 1946
  • Sold in 1947 to a Greek merchant and renamed Aida
  • Converted to a cargo ship in 1952
  • Sold in 1959 and renamed Lasithi
  • Scrapped in 1967 at Messina, Italy.

    Specifications:

  • Displacement 945 t.
  • Length 184' 6"
  • Beam 33'
  • Draft 9' 9"
  • Speed 14.8 kts.
  • Complement 104
  • Armament: One 3"/50 dual purpose gun mount, two twin 40mm gun mounts, two 20mm gun mounts, two depth charge tracks, and five depth charge projectors
  • Propulsion: Two 1,710shp Cooper Bessemer GSB-8 diesel engines, National Supply Co. single reduction gear, two shafts.
    Click on thumbnail
    for full size image    		 Size Image Description Source
    HMS Florizel (J 404)
    BAM-26 154k Seattle, WA
    Crew photo
    Back row, fourth from left, Alfred Clark    		 Rob Clark
    BAM-26 90k c. 1944
    Hull number and radar blocked out by censor
    BAM-26 126k c. April 1945
    Vlissingen, The Netherlands
    Moored outboard of an unidentified minesweeperPhoto courtesy of Jon Sharpe
    M/V Lasithi
    BAM-26 114k Thessaloniki, Greece Rob Clark
    Commanding Officers
    01T/A/Lt.Cdr. James Martin-Smith, RNR14 April 1944 - 5 September 1944
    02A/Cdr. Michael Anthony Ormus Biddulph, DSC, RN5 September 1944 - December 1946
    Courtesy UBoat.net website and Joe Radigan
    There is no DANFS history currently available for Floriziel (J 404)
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    Naval Minewarfare Association
    Association of Minemen
    Back To The Main Photo Index Back To the Mine Warfare Ship Photo Index Back to the Minesweeper (AM) Photo Index
    Comments, Suggestions, E-mail Webmaster
    This page created and maintained by Joseph M. Radigan (of blessed memory) & David Wright
    All Pages © 1996 - 2023, NavSource History, All rights reserved.