River-class minesweeper
_Bay_of_Biscay_1990.jpg) Orwell in the Bay of Biscay en route to Gibraltar, 1990 | |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name: | River class |
| Builders: | Richards Dry Dock and Engineering Limited |
| Operators: | |
| Preceded by: | Ton class |
| Cost: | £4.6 million each |
| In commission: | 1984–2001 |
| Completed: | 12 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Minesweeper |
| Displacement: |
|
| Length: | 47 m (154 ft 2 in) |
| Beam: | 10.5 m (34 ft 5 in) |
| Draught: | 3.1 m (10 ft 2 in) |
| Propulsion: | 2 shafts, Ruston 6RKC diesels, 3,040 bhp (2,267 kW) |
| Speed: | 14 knots (16 mph; 26 km/h) |
| Complement: |
|
| Armament: |
|
The River class was a class of minesweeper built for the British Royal Navy in the 1980s, designated Fleet Minesweepers (MSF).
Design
The Rivers were built with a traditional steel hull to a design based on a commercial offshore support vessel. The class was designed to be operated as deep sea team sweepers, to combat the threat posed to submarines by Soviet deep-water buoyant moored mines codenamed "Cluster Bay".
The River-class MSF was equipped with the Wire Sweep Mark 9 (WS 9) which was capable of performing Extra Deep Armed Team Sweeping (EDATS). Operating in pairs (or a number of pairs in formation), they towed a sweep between the two ships that followed the profile of the bottom and cut the mooring wires of the mines; these released mines would then be destroyed on the surface with gunfire. The WS 9 was able to be used for mechanical sweeping in this manner or influence sweeping whereby a transducer was towed through the water generating noise, both acoustic and electro-magnetic, that simulated a larger high value unit. The Rivers were also armed with a single 40 mm Bofors gun on the manually operated World War II-era Mark III mounting, and two L7 GPMGs.
The concept was refined in the chartered trawlers HMS St David and HMS Venturer, and a total of twelve vessels, all named after British rivers, were constructed by Richards Shipbuilders at Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth at an approximate unit cost of £4.6 million. The class was designed to operate in deep water and ocean environments, if necessary for long periods of time without support. The complement was 5 officers, 7 Senior Ratings, and 16 Junior Ratings, although additional accommodation meant that a total crew of 36 could be borne for training purposes.
Service history
Upon entering service they joined the 10th Mine Countermeasures Squadron based at Rosyth and eleven were assigned to various Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) divisions around the United Kingdom. The twelfth, Blackwater, entered service with the regular Royal Navy. Following defence cuts, Helmsdale and Ribble were paid off in 1991 and were laid up at Portsmouth. Further cuts followed when the future of the RNR was reviewed in 1993 and as a result the entire class was withdrawn from RNR service.
Blackwater, Spey, Arun and Itchen were subsequently assigned to the Northern Ireland Squadron where they replaced Ton-class vessels patrolling the province's waterways and participating in counter-terrorist operations in support of the British Army and the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC). Orwell replaced Wilton, the last Ton-class vessel in service, as the Dartmouth Training Ship in 1994. Ultimately, the entire class was sold to overseas navies.
Ships
| Ship | Commissioned | RN / RNR Use | Fate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Waveney (M2003) | 12 July 1984 | South Wales Division RNR - HMS Cambria | Sold to Bangladesh BNS Shapla (M95) |
| Carron (M2004) | 30 September 1984 | Severn Division RNR - HMS Flying Fox | Sold to Bangladesh BNS Shaikat (M96) |
| Dovey (M2005) | 30 March 1985 | Clyde Division RNR - HMS Graham | Sold to Bangladesh BNS Surovi (M97) |
| Helford (M2006) | 7 June 1985 | Northern Ireland Division - HMS Caroline | Sold to Bangladesh BNS Shaibal (M98) |
| Humber (M2007) | 7 June 1985 | London Division RNR - HMS President Mersey Division RNR - HMS Eaglet |
Sold to Brazil Amorim Do Valle (H35) buoy tender |
| Blackwater (M2008) | 5 July 1985 | RN Fishery Protection Squadron | Sold to Brazil Benevente (P61) Small patrol corvette |
| Itchen (M2009) | 12 October 1985 | Wessex Division RNR - HMS Wessex NI Squadron |
Sold to Brazil Bracui (P60) Small patrol corvette |
| Helmsdale (M2010) | 1 March 1986 | Tay Division RNR - HMS Camperdown | Sold to Brazil Taurus (H36) Coastal survey ship |
| Orwell (M2011) | 7 February 1985 | Newcastle Division RNR - HMS Calliope Dartmouth Training Squadron |
Sold to Guyana |
| Ribble (M2012) | 19 February 1986 | Mersey Division RNR - HMS Eaglet | Sold to Brazil Garnier Sampaio (H37) Buoy tender |
| Spey (M2013) | 4 April 1986 | Forth Division RNR - HMS Claverhouse NI Squadron |
Sold to Brazil Bocaina (P62) Small patrol corvette |
| Arun (M2014) | 29 April 1986 | Sussex Division RNR - HMS Sussex NI Squadron |
Sold to Brazil Babetonga (P63) Small patrol corvette |
See also
Media related to River class minesweeper at Wikimedia Commons
References
- Britain's Modern Royal Navy, Paul Beaver, Patrick Stephens Limited, 1996, ISBN 1-85260-442-5
- Rebuilding the Royal Navy : Warship Design Since 1945, D. K. Brown and George Moore, Chatham Publishing, 2003
- Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8. OCLC 67375475.
- Mentioned in Parliament
- Mentioned in Parliament