HMS Sharpshooter (J68): The Royal Navy Minesweeper That Was at Dunkirk, Arctic Convoys, Sicily, and the Cold War

In this episode of pplpod, we take a deep dive into the astonishing career of HMS Sharpshooter (J68), a seemingly ordinary Royal Navy Halcyon-class minesweeper that turns out to be one of the most unexpectedly important “workhorse” ships in modern naval history.

Built in the late 1930s as a dedicated minesweeper, Sharpshooter was designed for the unglamorous but essential job of clearing naval mines and keeping sea lanes open. But her service record reads like a naval epic. This single vessel was present for some of the most dramatic chapters of the 20th century: pre-war mobilization, the Dunkirk evacuation (Operation Dynamo), brutal Arctic convoy escort missions, anti-submarine warfare in the North Atlantic, the invasion of Sicily, postwar hydrographic survey work, and even Cold War search operations tied to a crashed Handley Page Victor B.2 bomber.

We unpack Sharpshooter’s design as a Halcyon-class minesweeper, why her steam turbine propulsion made her unusually useful for sonar and escort work, and how the Royal Navy kept adapting a 1930s warship for new roles in a rapidly changing world. We also explore one of the most dramatic moments in her career: the close-range 1942 Arctic encounter in which Sharpshooter rammed and sank German U-boat U-655 under extreme conditions.

And yes, we also talk about her reputation for collisions. From Dunkirk to convoy station-keeping mishaps and postwar incidents, HMS Sharpshooter was a remarkably capable but undeniably contact-heavy ship — which only adds to the legend.

This episode is a story about the “small ships” that rarely get the movies, but made victory possible. If you’re into World War II naval history, Royal Navy warships, minesweepers, Arctic convoys, U-boats, Dunkirk, and the transition from WWII into the Cold War, this is a must-listen.