The Kumara class introduced the Antarctican small ships to the flush deck layout for the hulls. This would spawn two-three other designs in the escort and frigate sized vessels. The Kumara class were designed as Fleet Minesweepers, where they could operate in the van of the fleet if it was going into enemy waters that were suspected to be mined. These ships would go first and clear the way. The Royal Navy and United States Navy did exactly that for the invasion Fleets of D-Day - the minesweepers went in first to clear the way.



The ships were designed with versatility in mind. The minesweeping gear could be landed and replaced with anti-submarine weapons. The ships were already fitted with asdic that could detect mines in the water, so they were ready to detect submarines as well.







 

Displacement	1,100 tons standard, 1,350 tons full load
Length	255 ft
Breadth	34 ft
Draught	13 ft
Machinery	2 shaft, diesel engines, 15,000 bhp
Speed	24 knots
Range	8,000 miles at 15 knots
Armament	As completed 2 x 4" (2x1) 5 x 20mm (1x2, 3x1)	1942 ASW refits 2 x 4" (2x1) 2 x 40mm (1x2) 2 x 20mm (2x1) 1 x Hedgehog
Complement	100	112
Notes	Kumara Potato Lettuce Cabbage Parsnip Carrot Pea Bean etc etc

Launching the paravane to initiate a mine sweep.