 Orwell in the Bay of Biscay en route to Gibraltar, 1990 |
|
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name: | River-class |
| Builders: | Richards Dry Dock and Engineering Limited |
| Operators: |  Royal Navy Brazilian Navy Bangladesh Navy Guyana Defence Force Coast Guard |
| Cost: | £4.6 million each |
| In commission: | 1984–2001 |
| Completed: | 12 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Minesweeper |
| Displacement: | 850 long tons (864 t) standard 890 long tons (904 t) full |
| Length: | 47 m (154 ft 2 in) |
| Beam: | 10.5 m (34 ft 5 in) |
| Draught: | 3.1 m (10 ft 2 in) |
| Propulsion: | 2 shafts, Ruston 6RKC diesels, 3,040 bhp (2,267 kW) |
| Speed: | 14 knots (16 mph; 26 km/h) |
| Complement: | 5 officers and 23 ratings (accommodation for 36: 7 officers and 29 ratings) |
| Armament: | • 1 × Bofors 40 mm gun Mark 3 • 2 × 7.62 mm L7 GPMGs |
Design
The Rivers were built with a traditional steel hull to a design based on a commercial offshore support vessel. The class was designed to be operated as deep sea team sweepers, to combat the threat posed to submarines by Soviet deep-water buoyant moored mines codenamed "Cluster Bay".The River Class MSF was equipped with the Wire Sweep Mark 9 (WS 9) which was capable of performing Extra Deep Armed Team Sweeping (EDATS). Operating in pairs (or a number of pairs in formation), they towed a sweep between the two ships that followed the profile of the bottom and cut the mooring wires of the mines; these released mines would then be destroyed on the surface with gunfire. The WS 9 was able to be used for mechanical sweeping in this manner or influence sweeping whereby a transducer was towed through the water generating noise, both acoustic and electro-magnetic, that simulated a larger high value unit. The Rivers were also armed with a single 40 mm Bofors gun on the manually operated World War II-era Mark III mounting, and two L7 GPMGs.
The concept was refined in the chartered trawlers HMS St David and HMS Venturer, and a total of twelve vessels, all named after British rivers, were constructed by Richards Shipbuilders at Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth at an approximate unit cost of £4.6 million. The class was designed to operate in deep water and ocean environments, if necessary for long periods of time without support. The complement was 5 officers, 7 Senior Ratings, and 16 Junior Ratings, although additional accommodation meant that a total crew of 36 could be borne for training purposes.
Ships
| Ship | Commissioned | RN / RNR Use | Fate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Waveney (M2003) | 12 July 1984 | South Wales Division RNR - HMS Cambria | Sold to Bangladesh BNS Shapla (M95) |
| Carron (M2004) | 30 September 1984 | Severn Division RNR - HMS Flying Fox | Sold to Bangladesh BNS Shaikat (M96) |
| Dovey (M2005) | 30 March 1985 | Clyde Division RNR - HMS Graham | Sold to Bangladesh BNS Surovi (M97) |
| Helford (M2006) | 7 June 1985 | Northern Ireland Division - HMS Caroline | Sold to Bangladesh BNS Shaibal (M98) |