HMS Havant
HMS Havant was an Aberdare Class Minesweeper, built by Eltringham & Co, launched on 4 November 1918, and completed in March 1919. Havant was placed on the sale list on 1 April 1920, and as she was regarded as having a commercial value she was handed over to the Board of Trade for disposal. Havant was sold by the Board of Trade to John I Thornycroft Ltd on 27 July 1922 for the sum of £6,000. The sale agreement placed no restrictions upon Thornycroft with regards to the future uses of Havant, other than a requirement that the name of the vessel be changed, but it was subsequently claimed that Thornycroft had been advised at the time that negotiations were opened “that such vessels could not be sold, or re-sold, to any foreigner or foreign Government, whereby they might become vessels of war in the Navy of any foreign Power.”
The Admiralty became aware that the ex-Havant was being refurbished as a training ship for sale to the Government of Siam in November 1922, and wrote to the Board of Trade on 1 December 1922 advising them that in accordance with the provisions of WNT Article XVIII, they were debarred from converting warships to training ships for supply to foreign Governments, and requested the Board of Trade to inform Thornycroft accordingly.
The Siamese Acting Minister of Marine, H.R.H. Prince Abhakara, sent a telegram to the Siamese Charge d’Affaires on 29 December 1922 advising that Havant was “required for training cadets only approximately sea scout movements and definitely outside war purposes.” This message was forwarded to Thornycrofts on 5 Jan 1923, who forwarded it on to the Board of Trade on 17 January 1923, and the Admiralty on 18 January 1923. On 19 January 1923, the Admiralty noted:
The practice followed in the case of the transfer of ex-British war vessels for service under a foreign flag has been to authorise the transfer only on condition that the Foreign government concerned will furnish an undertaking that the vessel in question will not become a vessel of war in their Navy.
On 20 January 1923 the Admiralty wrote to the Board of Trade advising that they had received a copy of the communication from the Siamese Naval Authorities and that they considered the “this undertaking is sufficient guarantee that the vessel in question will not become a vessel of war in the Siamese Navy, and they have no objection therefore to the ‘Havant’ now being allowed to leave the country.”
The Siamese Charge d’Affaires sent a further letter to the Admiralty on 26 January stating that he had been authorised by the Siamese Foreign Minister to give “an absolute assurance on behalf of the Siamese Navy that the Sloop ‘Havant’ will only be employed as a training ship and in no way at any time as a war vessel.” The Admiralty replied on 31 January 1923 stating that the assurance provided was considered to be “quite satisfactory.”
After the US became aware of the purchase, the Secretary of the Navy advised the Secretary of State that Havant had all the characteristics of a vessel of war, was probably unsuitable for any commercial use, and clearly came within Article XVIII of the WNT. In April 1923 the Secretary of State advised the British Ambassador in Washington that the US had learned that the Siamese Government had purchased Havant, and that the Siamese intended to mount guns on her. He stated that although Havant appeared to be of negligible military value, Britain should obtain the consent of the other signatories to the WNT for the transaction. He further went on to advise that should such a request be obtained, the Government of the US would consent to the transfer, conditional upon similar consents being obtained from the other signatories.
In response to the American inquiry, the British representative in Bangkok was instructed to investigate the report that the Siamese Government intended to mount guns on the ex-Havant. He duly replied that “the Siamese Governent did intend to mount guns, but that as a result of his representations they had given an assurance that they would not proceed with the scheme.”
In 1937 the British Government, when comparing the disposal of Havant, with a proposal by the US to lease destroyers to certain South American republics reiterated that they had fully carried out their obligations under the WNT on the grounds that (1) Havant was of negligible military value, (2) she was only sold to the Siamese Government after it had been converted into a training ship, and (3) the Siamese Government had provided a definite assurance that Havant would not in any event be used as a vessel of war.
The ex-Havant served in the Siamese/Thai Navy as Chao Phya until 24 August 1971. Although primarily used as a training ship, she was classified as a ‘sloop’ in material provided by the Royal Thai Naval Museum, and has been classified in general naval reference works as a minesweeper or gunboat. In 1935, Chao Phya deployed to the Mediterranean to carry the crews for the new torpedo boats Trad and Puket that had been built there. Although initially operated without armament, Chao Phya was subsequently armed with two 75 mm and one 40 mm guns.
Regardless of how Chao Phya was actually employed, and notwithstanding any assurances the Siamese Government might have given, the fact remains that the WNT prohibited the transfer of any vessel of war which may become a vessel of war in a foreign navy, and there is little doubt that Chao Phya could have been used as a warship had the Siamese Government chosen to do so. Allowing the sale to proceed would therefore appear to be in breach of Article XVIII of the WNT.