HMS Chiddingfold (M37)

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HMS Chiddingfold-09.jpg
HMS Chiddingfold entering Portsmouth July 2013.
History
Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svgUnited Kingdom
NameChiddingfold
Operator Royal Navy
Builder Vosper Thornycroft
LaunchedOctober 1983
Sponsored byLady Anne Kennon
CommissionedOctober 1984
Homeport HMNB Portsmouth, Hampshire
Identification
Motto"Leading the Hunt"[ citation needed ]
Nickname(s)"Cheery Chid" [1]
Statusin active service
General characteristics
Class and type Hunt-class mine countermeasures vessel
Displacement750  t (740 long tons) [2]
Length60 m (196 ft 10 in)
Beam9.8 m (32 ft 2 in)
Draught2.2 m (7 ft 3 in)
Propulsion2 × Caterpillar C32 diesels, [3] 2 shafts
Speed17  kn (31 km/h; 20 mph)
Complement45 (6 officers & 39 ratings)
Sensors and
processing systems
Sonar Type 2193
Electronic warfare
& decoys
  • SeaFox mine disposal system
  • Diver-placed explosive charges
Armament

HMS Chiddingfold is a Hunt-class mine countermeasures vessel of Britain's Royal Navy. She was launched in October 1983 by her sponsor, Lady Anne Kennon, and formally entered the service of the Royal Navy in October 1984. Chiddingfold is a minehunter, and her purpose is to find and destroy mines, not only in a time of war but also in peacetime. There are about a quarter of a million mines still active from the Second World War alone and they pose a major threat to both military and civilian ships. Chiddingfold is able to enter some types of minefields without magnetic mines detonating because she is made of glass-reinforced plastic, and all fixtures within the ship are made of non-ferrous metals, keeping the ship's magnetic signature to the bare minimum.

Contents

Operational history

HMS Chiddingfold on the Clyde in 2013 M37 - HMS Chidingford.jpg
HMS Chiddingfold on the Clyde in 2013

In January 2012, Chiddingfold began a year-long mid-life upgrade project, including the replacement of her engines, gearboxes, propellers and an upgraded thruster system; she was the first vessel of her class to undergo the refurbishment. [3]

In June 2014, Chiddingfold sailed in company with HMS Penzance for a three-year deployment in the Persian Gulf. [5] She returned to the UK in 2017 after being relieved by sister HMS Ledbury. [6]

The long-term deployment to the Persian Gulf was renewed again in mid-2020 when Chiddingfold returned to the region, again in company with Penzance, to operate as part of 9 Mine Countermeasures Squadron from HMS Jufair in Bahrain. In this role, crews for Chiddingfold rotate every four months. [7]

On 19 January 2024, the ship was involved in an incident in Bahrain where it collided with HMS Bangor. [8] [9] It had previously been involved in a similar collision with HMS Penzance in 2021, also off the coast of Bahrain. [10] [11] HMS Chiddingfold was reported back in service in May 2024. [12]

Affiliations

Chiddingfold has a connection with the village of Chiddingfold, and every year they have a stall at the Chiddingfold fete. HMS Chiddingfold is also affiliated with the Worshipful Company of Pattenmakers, one of the City of London's Livery Companies.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Standing Royal Navy deployments</span>

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HMS <i>Quorn</i> (M41)

HMS Quorn, the third ship of this name, was a Hunt-class mine countermeasures vessel of the Royal Navy. She was launched on 23 January 1988, as the last ship of her class.

<i>Sandown</i>-class minehunter 1989 class of British minehunters

The Sandown class is a class of fifteen minehunters built primarily for the Royal Navy by Vosper Thornycroft. The Sandown class also serve with the Royal Saudi Navy, the Estonian Navy, and the Ukrainian Navy. The first vessel was commissioned into Royal Navy service on 9 June 1989 and all the British ships were named after coastal towns and cities. Although the class had a primary mine countermeasures role, they have had a secondary role as offshore patrol vessels. As of early 2024, only one vessel of the class remains in active service with the Royal Navy, though she was damaged by a collision in January 2024.

HMS <i>Bangor</i> (M109) 2000 Sandown-class minehunter of the Royal Navy

HMS Bangor is a Sandown-class minehunter commissioned by the Royal Navy in 1999. Designed to hunt naval mines in depths of up to 200 m (660 ft) using the Sonar 2093 Variable Depth Sonar (VDS) meaning that she can conduct mine clearance operations throughout the continental shelf. She is named after the Northern Ireland seaside city of the same name, and the second Royal Navy vessel to bear the name. As of January 2024, she was the last vessel of her class in active Royal Navy service.

HMS <i>Grimsby</i> (M108) Sandown-class minehunter of the Royal Navy

HMS Grimsby was a Sandown-class minehunter of the British Royal Navy, serving from 1999–2022, and the second ship to bear the name.

HMS <i>Ledbury</i> (M30) 1981 Hunt-class mine countermeasures vessel of the Royal Navy

HMS Ledbury, the second ship of the name, is a Hunt-class mine countermeasures vessel of the Royal Navy. She was launched in December 1979 and commissioned on 11 June 1981, the second ship of her class. She cost £65 million at time of building, which was at the time the most expensive cost-per-metre for any class of ship built by the Royal Navy. Most of this cost went into the research and development of Ledbury's glass reinforced plastic hull.

HMS <i>Cattistock</i> (M31) 1982 Hunt-class mine countermeasures vessel of the Royal Navy

HMS Cattistock, the third ship of this name, is a Hunt-class mine countermeasures vessel of the Royal Navy. She was launched in 1981 and commissioned on 5 March 1982, the third ship of her class.

HMS <i>Penzance</i> (M106) 1998 Sandown-class minehunter of the Royal Navy

HMS Penzance was a Sandown-class minehunter commissioned by the Royal Navy in 1998. She was named after the seaside town of Penzance in Cornwall, and was the fourth vessel to bear the name. She was decommissioned in January 2024.

HMS <i>Pembroke</i> (M107) 1998 Sandown-class minehunter of the Royal Navy

HMS Pembroke was a Sandown-class minehunter of the Royal Navy. She was the second ship launched of the second batch of the class, which had several improvements over the first five ships built. The ship was posted for three years to the Persian Gulf between 2009 and 2012. Pembroke has since been deployed in international exercises and in historic ordnance detection in home waters. Pembroke was the first of the Royal Navy’s Mine Countermeasures Vessels to be fitted with the Oceanographic Reconnaissance Combat Architecture combat system to replace the previous NAUTIS combat system in early 2020.

HMS <i>Ramsey</i> (M110)

HMS Ramsey was a Sandown-class minehunter of the British Royal Navy. Like other vessels of the Sandown class, Ramsey was built of glass-reinforced plastic and other non-magnetic materials so that her hull does not trigger naval mines as easily as standard warships.

Romanian minehunter <i>Sublocotenent Ion Ghiculescu</i> Sandown-class minehunter

Sublocotenent Ion Ghiculescu (M270) is a Sandown-class minehunter of the Romanian Naval Forces. She was built as HMS Blyth (M111), for the Royal Navy, the eleventh of this class of twelve Single-Role Minehunters (SRMH) ships. She was laid down on 30 May 1999 by Vosper Thornycroft at their Woolston, Southampton shipyard, launched in May 2000 and entered service for the Royal Navy in February 2001. She was the second vessel to carry this name, the first being a Bangor-class minesweeper of the Second World War, wearing pennant number J15. Blyth served in the Middle East as part of the 9th Mine Countermeasures Squadron.

HMS <i>Shoreham</i> (M112) Sandown-class minehunter of the Royal Navy

HMS Shoreham was a Sandown-class minehunter of the British Royal Navy. She was the fifth vessel to bear the name. From 2018 to 2021, Shoreham was deployed at UKNSF Bahrain together with three other mine countermeasures ships as part of 9 Mine Countermeasures Squadron on Operation Kipion. In 2022 she was decommissioned and was transferred to Ukraine.

HMS <i>Brocklesby</i> (M33) 1983 Hunt-class mine countermeasures vessel of the Royal Navy

HMS Brocklesby is a Hunt-class mine countermeasures vessel of the British Royal Navy, her primary purpose is to find and neutralise sea mines using a combination of; Sonar, Mine Clearance Divers and the Seafox remotely operated vehicle (ROV). The class are the largest warships of glass-reinforced plastic (GRP) construction, which gives the vessels a low magnetic signature. In addition to her mine countermeasures activities, Brocklesby acts as an offshore patrol vessel, undertaking coastal patrol and fisheries protection duties.

HMS <i>Middleton</i> (M34) 1984 Hunt-class mine countermeasures vessel of the Royal Navy

HMS Middleton is a Hunt-class mine countermeasures vessel of the British Royal Navy. As of 2021, she forms part of 9th Mine Countermeasures Squadron operating out of HMS Jufair in Bahrain.

HMS <i>Atherstone</i> (M38)

HMS Atherstone was a Hunt-class mine countermeasures vessel of the Royal Navy, the third ship to bear the name. Built by Vosper Thornycroft shipbuilders at Woolston, Southampton, it was launched on 1 March 1986 by Amy Jarvis, the wife of Pat Jarvis, CB, the Deputy Controller of the Navy at the Ministry of Defence, and commissioned on 17 January 1987. It was the tenth ship of its class.

HMS Berkeley was a Hunt-class mine countermeasures vessel of the British Royal Navy. She was sold to the Hellenic Navy in 2001 and was commissioned as HS Kallisto. On 27 October 2020, she was cut in two in a collision with a container ship.

Two ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Chiddingfold after the fox hunt at Petworth, Sussex:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Kingdom Naval Support Facility</span> British naval base in northeast Bahrain

The United Kingdom Naval Support Facility is a Royal Navy base established in Bahrain on 13 April 1935, as part of the port at Mina Salman. In 1950, the United States Navy leased space in HMS Jufair and following Bahraini independence in 1971, took over the base. On 6 December 2014, it was announced that HMS Jufair would be reestablished as a permanent Royal Navy base. On 5 April 2018, the UK Naval Support Facility was officially opened by the Crown Prince of Bahrain, Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa and The Duke of York, representing the United Kingdom.

References

  1. "HMS Chiddingfold (M37)". Royal Navy. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
  2. "Hunt Class Mine Countermeasures Vessels - Specifications". GlobalSecurity.org . 11 July 2011. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
  3. 1 2 "HMS Chiddingfold Gets Two New Engines at BAE Systems' Portsmouth Yard". Shipbuilding Tribune. 13 March 2012. Archived from the original on 15 March 2012. Retrieved 15 March 2012.
  4. "In focus: the Fleet Solid Support ship design". Navy Lookout. 28 February 2023. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
  5. "HMS Chiddingfold sails for three-year deployment in the Gulf". Royal Navy. 10 June 2014. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
  6. "Ledbury gears up for Gulf mission with extensive workout in Scotland". Royal Navy. 23 March 2017. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
  7. Cotterill, Tom (10 June 2020). "Royal Navy minehunter HMS Chiddingfold departs Portsmouth for Gulf joining HMS Penzance". The News. Portsmouth, UK. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
  8. Allison, George (19 January 2024). "British minehunters collide in Gulf, damage to be assessed". UK Defence Journal. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
  9. Hughes, Chris (19 January 2024). "Moment Royal Navy minehunter smashes into another British ship in embarrassing pile-up". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
  10. "Two Royal Navy warships collide off coast of Bahrain". BBC News . 21 January 2024. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
  11. "Gulf: £100,000 Of Damage After Navy Ships Collision". Forces Network. 7 April 2021. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
  12. Webb, Freddie (7 May 2024). "Royal Navy: HMS Chiddingfold back in action after shocking crash involving HMS Bangor in the Middle East". The News. Retrieved 10 May 2024.