T43-class minesweeper

ORP Dzik a minesweeper of the Polish Navy
Class overview
Name	T43 class (Project 254)
Operators	Soviet Navy Albanian Naval Force Algerian National Navy Bulgarian Navy People's Liberation Army Navy Cuban Revolutionary Navy Egyptian Navy Ghana Navy Indonesian Navy Iraqi Navy Myanmar Navy Syrian Arab Navy
Preceded by	Fugas-class minesweeper
Succeeded by	T58 class minesweeper
Built	1948-1960?
In commission	1948?-1990?
Completed	178
Retired	178 ?
General characteristics
Displacement	500 tons standard, 569 tons full load
Length	58 meters
Beam	8.5 meters
Draught	2.15 meters
Draft	2.30 meters
Propulsion	diesel engines 2200 hp
Speed	14 knots (26 km/h)
Range	3,800 nautical miles (7,037.6 km) at 10 knots (19 km/h)
Crew	70 (10 officers)
Armament	4 37mm guns (2x2) 2 12.7mm machine guns 1 depth charge thrower up to 32 mines Sweeps MT-1, MTSh

The T43 class were a group of minesweepers built for the Soviet Navy and Soviet allies in the 1950s and 1960s. The Soviet designation was Project 254.

Design

The design specification was issued in 1946 and the design was approved in 1948. The ships were built with steel hulls which were degaussed but no specific attempt was made to reduce electrical or acoustic signature. Several versions were produced:

• Project 254 K (1952)- new MT-2 minesweeping gear, fitted with radar
• Project 254 M (1955)- deep mechanical sweep, acoustic and magnetic sweeps, more modern ASW mortars, 25mm guns replace 12.7mm machine guns, variable-pitch propellers
• Project 245 A (1957) - provided with NBC protection, with pressurised central space to keep out fall out
• Project 254 PGR (sometimes referred to as Project 254 V) - KVN-50 class radar picket ship fitted with a Knife Rest or Big Net radar installation - 20 conversions from 1956
• Project 258 (1956) - KVN-6 class radar picket ship fitted with Kaktus radar or later (Project 258M) modified with Rubka radar - 14 conversions from 1977
• Project 513 - patrol boat for the Border Guard

Ships

A total of 178 ships were built

• Kamysh Borun yard Kerch built 61 ships
• Polish yards built 12 ships
• Izhora Leningrad built over 100
• About 20 were built under licence in China

Exports

• Albania - 2 ships (1960)
• Algeria - 2 ships (1968)
• Bulgaria - 3 ships (1953)
• China - 4 ships 1955 (plus 20 built in China as the Type 010 class minesweeper)
• Cuba - 3 ships
• Egypt - 7 ships (1954-1957)
• Ghana - 3 ships (1961–63)
• Indonesia - 6 ships (1962)
• Iraq - 2 ships 1969
• Myanmar = 3 ships bought between 1965 and 1967, 4 donated between 1969 and 1972. 1 sunk in accident in Bay of Bengal in 1996, rest scrapped between 2006 and 2009.
• Poland - built 12 ships under licence
• Syria - 2 ships

One Syrian T-43 was sunk by the Israeli Navy during the Battle of Latakia. One or two Albanian and six Egyptian T-43s are active. All other T-43s are believed to have been retired.

See also

• List of ships of the Soviet Navy
• List of ships of Russia by project number

Bibliography

Gardiner, Robert (ed.) (1995). Conway's all the World's Fighting Ships 1947-1995. London: Conway Maritime. ISBN 0-85177-605-1. OCLC 34284130. {{cite book}}: |first= has generic name (help) Also published as Gardiner, Robert; Chumbley, Stephen; Budzbon, Przemysław (1995). Conway's all the World's Fighting Ships 1947-1995. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-132-7. OCLC 34267261.

External links

• Page in Russian Language
• Template:En icon All T43 Class Minesweepers - Complete Ship List