HMIS Rajputana (J197)
| Career (India) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | Rajputana |
| Ordered: | 24 August 1940 |
| Builder: | Lobnitz & Co. |
| Laid down: | 21 June 1941 |
| Launched: | 31 December 1941[1] |
| Commissioned: | 30 April 1942 |
| Decommissioned: | 1961 |
| Fate: | Scrapped |
| General characteristics [1] | |
| Class and type: | Bangor-class minesweeper |
| Displacement: | 672 long tons (683 t) |
| Length: | 180 ft (54.9 m) |
| Beam: | 28 ft 6 in (8.69 m) |
| Draught: | 8 ft (2.438 m) |
| Propulsion: | 2 shafts, triple-expansion steam engines, 2,400 bhp (1,800 kW) |
| Speed: | 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph) |
| Complement: | 87 |
| Armament: | 1 × QF 12-pounder 3 in (76.2 mm) gun 3 × Oerlikon 20 mm cannon |
HMIS Rajputana (J197) was a Bangor-class minesweeper which served in the Royal Indian Navy (RIN) during World War II.[2]
History
HMIS Rajputana was ordered from Lobnitz & Co. originally for the Royal Navy as HMS Lyme Regis in 1940. However, before she was launched, she was transferred to the Royal Indian Navy and eventually commissioned as Rajputana.[3] She served in the RIN during World War II.
Operations in World War II
Rajputana was a part of the Eastern Fleet, and escorted numerous convoys between Africa, British India and Australia in 1943-45.[4][5] She took part in Operation Dracula, the invasion of Rangoon, in May 1945,[6] and in September 1945, carried out minesweeping operations off Singapore prior to the formal surrender of Japanese forces in South East Asia.<ref name=="collins p318-9">Collins 1964, pp. 318–319.</ref>
Post-war service
In 1947, the Partition of India resulted in the Royal Indian Navy being split between India and Pakistan. Of eight Bangor-class minesweepers in the pre-partition navy, four were transferred to Pakistan, with Rajputana one of the ships that remained in the Royal Indian Navy, which was renamed the Indian Navy in 1950.[7]
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lenton and Colledge 1973, p. 203.
- ↑ http://uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/3747.html
- ↑ http://uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/7983.html
- ↑ http://www.naval-history.net/xDKWD-EF1943a.htm
- ↑ http://www.naval-history.net/xDKWD-EF1944-11.htm
- ↑ Collins 1964, p. 311.
- ↑ Gardiner and Chumbley 1995, p. 171.
References
- Collins, J.T.E. (1964). The Royal Indian Navy, 1939–1945. Official History of the Indian Armed Forces In the Second World War. New Delhi, India: Combined Inter-Services Historical Section (India & Pakistan).
- Gardiner, Robert; Chumbley, Stephen, eds. (1995). Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1947–1995. Annapolis, Maryland, USA: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-132-7.
- Lenton, H.T.; Colledge, J.J. (1973). Warships of World War II. London: Ian Allen. ISBN 0-7110-0403-X.
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