T43-class minesweeper
 ORP Dzik a minesweeper of the Polish Navy | |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name: | T43 class (Project 254) |
| Operators: |
 Soviet Navy Albanian Naval Defense Forces Algerian National Navy Bulgarian Navy People's Liberation Army Navy Cuban Navy Egyptian Navy Indonesian Navy Iraqi Navy Syrian Navy |
| 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 [1] |
| 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: | ? |
| 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 513 - patrol boat for the Border Guard
- Project 254 PGR - radar picket version fitted with a Knife Rest or Big Net radar installation - 20 conversions from 1956
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 (1962)
- Indonesia - 6 ships (1962)
- Iraq - 2 ships 1969
- 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
References
- ↑ Couhat Jean. Combat Fleets of the world 1982/1983 Their Ships, Aircraft, and Armament Paris: Editions Maritimes et d'Outre-Mer, 1981 ISBN 0-87021-125-0 Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 78-50192
Gardiner, Robert (ed.) (1995). Conway's all the World's Fighting Ships 1947-1995. London: Conway Maritime. ISBN 0-85177-605-1. OCLC 34284130. 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.
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