History
United Kingdom
Builder	Joseph R Eltringham, South Shields
Launched	2 July 1919
Fate	Sold 18 March 1922 to the Coaster Construction Co.
General characteristics
Class & type	Hunt-class minesweeper (1916), Aberdare sub-class
Displacement	800 long tons (813 t)
Length	213 ft (64.9 m) o/a
Beam	28 ft 6 in (8.7 m)
Draught	7 ft 6 in (2.3 m)
Installed power	2 × Yarrow boilers 2,200 ihp (1,600 kW)
Propulsion	2 shafts; 2 triple-expansion steam engines
Speed	16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph)
Range	1,500 nmi (2,800 km; 1,700 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Complement	74
Armament	1 × QF 4-inch (102 mm) gun 1 × 12 pdr (76 mm (3 in)) anti-aircraft gun

HMS Cheam was a Hunt-class minesweeper built for the Royal Navy during World War I. Completed in 1919, the ship was sold for scrap in 1922.

The Aberdare sub-class were enlarged versions of the original Hunt-class ships with a more powerful armament. The ships displaced 750 long tons (760 t) at normal load^[1] and 930 long tons (940 t) at full load.^[2] They measured 231 feet (70.4 m) long overall with a beam of 28 feet 6 inches (8.7 m) and a draught of 7 feet 6 inches (2.3 m). The ships' complement consisted of 74 officers and ratings.^[1]

The ships had two vertical triple-expansion steam engines, each driving one shaft using steam provided by two Yarrow boilers. The engines produced a total of 2,200 indicated horsepower (1,600 kW) and gave a maximum speed of 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph). They carried a maximum of 185 long tons (188 t) of coal^[1] which gave them a range of 1,500 nautical miles (2,800 km; 1,700 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph).^[3]

The Aberdare sub-class was armed with a quick-firing (QF) four-inch (102 mm) gun forward of the bridge and a QF twelve-pounder (3-inch (76.2 mm)) anti-aircraft gun aft.^[1] Some ships were fitted with QF six-pounder (2.2-inch (57 mm)) Hotchkiss guns or QF three-pounder (1.5-inch (37 mm)) Hotchkiss guns in lieu of the twelve-pounder.^[3]

Cheam, the first ship of her name in the Royal Navy, was built by Joseph R. Eltringham at their shipyard in South Shields. The ship was launched on 2 July 1919. She was sold on 18 March 1922 to the Coaster Construction Company to be broken up.^[4]

• Cheam, London

• Cocker, M. P. (1993). Mine Warfare Vessels of the Royal Navy: 1908 to Date. Airlife Publishing. ISBN 1-85310-328-4.
• Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben & Bush, Steve (2020). Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy from the 15th Century to the Present (5th revised and updated ed.). Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-5267-9327-0.
• Lenton, H. T. (1998). British & Empire Warships of the Second World War. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-048-7.
• Preston, Antony (1985). "Great Britain and Empire Forces". In Gray, Randal (ed.). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. Naval Institute Press. pp. 1–104. ISBN 0-85177-245-5.