PS Jeanie Deans was taken from passenger service and employed in mine warfare during the Second World War. The Royal Navy even considered a purpose-built wartime paddle class for this role, but ultimately used conversions. Her conversion reused the same paddle characteristics valued in purpose-built minesweepers: shallow draft and controllability in confined coastal waters. She could reach roughly 19 knots, enough for the work expected of the converted vessel. Those advantages resemble the precise low-speed maneuvering that modern mine-countermeasure ships gain from azimuth thrusters.
Notable Point · 2:13:48-2:16:48
PS Jeanie Deans turns from excursion steamer to minesweeper
A civilian pleasure steamer could become a useful wartime minesweeper because its hull was shallow, stable, and maneuverable.