HMS Precise (Z285) was a net laying ship for the Royal Navy during the Second World War acquired from the United States Navy in December 1944 via Lend-Lease.

History
Royal Navy EnsignUnited Kingdom
NameHMS Precise (Z285)
Builder
Laid down14 September 1943
Launched20 July 1944
Sponsored byMrs. H. W. Barbour
Completed19 December 1944
Acquired21 December 1944
Fatereturned to U.S. Navy, 14 December 1945
History
United States
Acquired14 December 1945
Stricken28 March 1946
Fatetransferred to the Maritime Commission, 10 April 1947, for disposal
General characteristics
Class and typeAilanthus-class net laying ship
Displacement1,190 long tons (1,210 t) (full)
Length194 ft 6 in (59.28 m)
Beam37 ft (11 m)
Draught13 ft 6 in (4.11 m)
Propulsiondiesel electric, 2,500 hp (1,900 kW)
Speed13 knots (24 km/h)
Complement56
Armament

The ship was laid down as Boxelder (YN-80), a net tender of the Ailanthus class, on 14 September 1943 at Barbour Boat Works in New Bern, North Carolina. On 17 January 1944, while still under construction, the ship was reclassified as a net laying ship and redesignated AN-74. Boxelder was launched on 20 July and completed on 19 December.

After delivery to the U.S. Navy on 21 December, she was transferred to the United Kingdom under Lend-Lease the same day and commissioned into the Royal Navy as HMS Precise (Z285). Upon completion of wartime duty with the United Kingdom, she was returned to the U.S. Navy on 14 December 1945. Struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 28 March 1946, she was transferred to the United States Maritime Commission on 10 April 1947 and sold.

References

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