W-102 | Trackpads Warship Archive

Albatros W 102 photo from L'Aerophile November 1932https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k6553668c?rk=64378;0 · Public domainImage source

ClassBangor class

NavyImperial Japanese Navy

CountryJapan

Builder / shipyardTaikoo Dockyard, Hong Kong

Laid down1941-07-12

Launched1943-03-20

Completed1944-09-28

Overview

IJN minesweeper W-102 is documented as the same physical Hong Kong Bangor hull begun for British service and captured incomplete in 1941. The hull had been ordered or laid down under the earlier construction name Seaford / Waglan.

W-102 is associated with Japan and Imperial Japanese Navy. It belonged to Bangor class, so the class page provides the shared design history while this page concentrates on the individual ship.

Construction and identity

The available construction record identifies W-102 as built by Taikoo Dockyard, Hong Kong, laid down on 1941-07-12, launched on 1943-03-20, and completed on 1944-09-28.

The ship's documented identity includes alternate or later names HMS Seaford, HMS Waglan, Seaford, and Waglan and service with Imperial Japanese Navy.

Service history

Captured incomplete at Hong Kong; completed and commissioned by the IJN as minesweeper W-102.

The ship's configuration should be interpreted through the documented class and the dates attached to this individual vessel; equipment should not be assumed to have remained unchanged throughout service.

Class context: Bangor class

The Bangor class was a British wartime minesweeper program designed for rapid mass production in smaller yards. Machinery shortages produced an unusually diverse class: diesel, high-speed reciprocating, slow-speed reciprocating, and turbine-powered groups shared the same operational purpose but differed materially in dimensions, displacement, and machinery.

As a member of Bangor class, W-102 shared the class's documented design framework and intended roles of Minesweeping, Convoy escort, Anti submarine warfare, Coastal escort, and Patrol. Individual refits, transfers, and wartime changes belong to this ship only when separately documented.

Later service and disposition

The recorded final status is unknown.

W-102 matters as an individual career within Bangor class, allowing class-wide design history to be separated from this ship's own construction, identities, service, and fate.

Class relationship

This ship is recorded as a member of Bangor class. Shared design history belongs on the class page; this page concentrates on the individual hull where evidence is available.