Sister ship HMS Barglow. Photo. www.wikipedia.org
Completed: 1941
Displacement: 730 tons
Length: 151 ft
Beam: 30 ft
Draught: 10 ft
Propulsion: Diesel single screw
Speed: 14 kts
Complement: 40
Armament: 1 x 3"/50 caliber dual purpose gun, 3 x 20mm mounts
A boom defence vessel was a type of small auxiliary ship. A net layer's primary function was to lay and maintain steel anti-torpedo or anti-submarine nets. Nets could be laid around an individual ship at anchor, or around harbors or other anchorages. Net laying was potentially dangerous work, and net laying seamen were experts at dealing with blocks, tackles, knots and splicing.
As the war progressed, net layers were pressed into a variety of additional roles including salvage, troop and cargo transport, buoy maintenance, and service as tugboats. HMS Barford was based at Freetown in the task of protecting the harbor entrance.