HMS Atherstone (M38)
 HMS Atherstone
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | HMS Atherstone |
| Namesake | Atherstone, Warwickshire |
| Builder | Vosper Thornycroft, Woolston, Southampton |
| Launched | 1 March 1986 |
| Sponsored by | Mrs Amy Jarvis, wife of the then Deputy Controller of the Royal Navy |
| Commissioned | 17 January 1987 |
| Decommissioned | 14 December 2017 |
| Homeport | HMNB Portsmouth |
| Identification |
|
| Nickname(s) | The Crazy A |
| Status | Awaiting disposal |
| Badge | _Badge.png){kind=icon} |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Template:Sclass2- |
| Displacement | 750 t (740 long tons; 830 short tons)[1] |
| Length | 60 m (196 ft 10 in) |
| Beam | 9.8 m (32 ft 2 in) |
| Draught | 2.2 m (7 ft 3 in) |
| Propulsion | 2 shaft Napier Deltic diesel, 3,540 shp (2,640 kW) |
| Speed | 17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph) |
| Complement | 45 (6 officers & 39 ratings) |
| Sensors and processing systems | Sonar Type 2193 |
| Electronic warfare & decoys |
|
| Armament |
|
HMS Atherstone was a Template:Sclass2- of the Royal Navy, the third ship to bear the name. She was built by Vosper Thornycroft shipbuilders at Woolston, Southampton. She was launched on 1 March 1986 by Mrs Amy Jarvis, the wife of Mr Pat Jarvis, CB, the Deputy Controller of the Navy at the Ministry of Defence, and commissioned on 17 January 1987,[2]. She was the tenth ship of her class.
Operational history
She was accepted into service on 28 November 1986 and commissioned in Portsmouth in early 1987. The ship had a close association with the town of Atherstone, Warwickshire, and was latterly part of the 2nd Mine Countermeasure (MCM) Squadron based at Portsmouth, England.
In December 2015, Atherstone returned from the Persian Gulf after a two-year deployment as part of Operation Telic in the Middle East [3], in support of coalition operations to promote and maintain peace in the Persian Gulf. She helped to provide assurance to merchant shipping, by conducting mine-countermeasure surveys in the main shipping routes throughout the region. She participated in 2014 IMCMEX.[4]
After spending a period alongside in extended readiness, Atherstone was lifted out of the water into the "Minor War Vessels Centre of Specialisation"; the former shipbuilding hall at HMNB Portsmouth in December 2016 in readiness to enter refit[5] However, in October 2017 it was revealed that the planned refit would not take place and Atherstone would be decommissioned on 14 December 2017.[6]
References
- ^ Hunt Class Mine Countermeasures Vessels - MCM, globalsecurity.org
- ^ HMS Atherstone Archived 25 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine (www.royal-navy.mod.uk)
- ^ http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/news-and-latest-activity/news/2015/december/23/151223-atherstone-returns-home
- ^ http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/news-and-latest-activity/news/2014/november/06/141106-middle-east-exercise-imcmex
- ^ https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/news-and-latest-activity/news/2016/december/13/161213-minehunters-go-undercover-as-quorn-and-atherstone-begin-revamp
- ^ http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/local-news/royal-navy-ship-carries-towns-13819020
External links
- Royal Navy - HMS Atherstone (royalnavy.mod.uk)
Media related to HMS Atherstone (M38) at Wikimedia Commons
 | This article about a specific naval minesweeper of the United Kingdom is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |