HMS Brocklesby (M33)

For other ships of the same name, see HMS Brocklesby.
HMS Brocklesby in Portsmouth, October 2008.
Career (UK)
Name: HMS Brocklesby
Operator: Royal Navy
Builder: Vosper Thornycroft
Launched: 12 January 1982
Sponsored by: Viscountess Trenchard, the wife of Viscount Trenchard MC, then Minister of State for Defence Procurement
Completed: 25 October 1982
Commissioned: 3 February 1983
Identification: Pennant number: M33
Honours and
awards:
Al Faw – 2003
Status: in active service, as of 2015
General characteristics
Class and type:Hunt-class mine countermeasures vessel
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:
Speed:17 kn (31 km/h; 20 mph)
Complement:45 (6 officers & 39 ratings)
Sensors and
processing systems:
Electronic warfare
and decoys:
  • SeaFox mine disposal system
  • Diver-placed explosive charges
Armament:

HMS Brocklesby is a Hunt-class mine countermeasures vessel of the British Royal Navy.

Operational history

Cherbourg incident

In 1993 she became involved in the Cherbourg incident, when Brocklesby challenged the French trawler La Calypso in the Channel Islands waters.[2]

2003 Invasion of Iraq

She gained a battle honour when she was among the first coalition ships into Umm Qasr during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. She was part of a group of mine countermeasure vessels who cleared a mined channel into the port, enabling access to it by sea.[3]

2011 Libya operations

In 2011 she took part in surveillance and embargo operations off the coast of Libya alongside HMS Liverpool, as part of Operation Ellamy, the UK's contribution to Operation Unified Protector.[4] In early May 2011, she took part in a mine-clearing operation to secure the waters of Misrata Port, Libya, after mines were dropped by Muammar Gaddafi's forces to prevent aid from being delivered to the besieged city. Brocklesby used her sonar and SeaFox mine disposal system to locate and destroy a mine that was located 1.6 km from the harbour entrance, making the waters safe for aid ships to enter.[5][6]

Brocklesby's commanding officer, Lieutenant Commander Jim Byron DSC, said:

The Royal Navy has always had a great reputation for mine clearance and it is precisely this type of operation that shows the world just how good we are. We are extremely proud that we could use our skills and knowledge to open that port and allow humanitarian aid back into Libya where it is so desperately needed. Without this capability there could have been hundreds of lives lost through the detonation of that mine.
Captain Byron, Royal Navy interview[7]

Brocklesby returned to Portsmouth on 5 July 2011 flying a special version of the Jolly Roger, indicating the successful destruction of a sea-mine.[6]

Exercise Joint Warrior 2013

She is due to participate in Exercise Joint Warrior 2013.[8]

References

External links