HMS Cottesmore in Lithuanian service as Skalvis (M53) | |
History | |
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United Kingdom | |
Name | HMS Cottesmore |
Builder | Yarrow Shipbuilders |
Launched | 9 February 1982 [1] |
Sponsored by | Lady Buchanan, wife of Vice-Admiral Sir Peter Buchanan |
Commissioned | 24 June 1983 |
Decommissioned | September 2005 |
Identification | Pennant number: M32 |
Fate | Sold to Lithuania |
Lithuania | |
Name | Skalvis |
Acquired | 2008 |
Commissioned | 2011 |
Identification | Pennant number: M53 |
Status | In active service |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Hunt-class mine countermeasures vessel |
Displacement | 750 tons |
Length | 60 m (200 ft) |
Beam | 9.8 m (32 ft) |
Draught | 2.2 m (7.2 ft) |
Propulsion | 2 shaft Napier Deltic diesel, 3,540 shp (2,640 kW) |
Speed | 17 knots (31 km/h) |
Complement | 45 (6 officers & 39 ratings) |
Sensors and processing systems | Sonar Type 2193 |
Armament |
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HMS Cottesmore was a Hunt-class mine countermeasures vessel of the British Royal Navy, launched in 1982 and converted in 1997 into a patrol vessel. The ship was declared surplus to requirement and put on the MoD list for disposal in 2004. In 2008 she was bought by Lithuania, along with Dulverton.
When introduced, the Hunt-class vessels were the largest warships ever built out of glass-reinforced plastic. [2] All were built by Vosper Thornycroft in Woolston, Hampshire except Cottesmore and Middleton, which were built by Yarrow Shipbuilders Limited on the River Clyde.
Lieutenant Commander Prince Andrew, Duke of York commanded Cottesmore from April 1993 until November 1994. She was decommissioned by the Royal Navy in September 2005. The ship's bell and other memorabilia were presented to the village of Cottesmore in Rutland.
The ship entered service with the Lithuanian Navy as M53 Skalvis. Thales was the prime contractor to upgrade the vessels with a technologically advanced minehunting system including the hull-mounted Sonar 2193 system, propulsion, command and control systems, and mine disposal systems. [3] [4]
Future planning of the Royal Navy's capabilities is set through periodic Defence Reviews carried out by the British Government. The Royal Navy's role in the 2020s, and beyond, is outlined in the 2021 defence white paper, which was published on 22 March 2021. The white paper is one component of the Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy, titled as Global Britain in a Competitive Age which was published on 16 March 2021.
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HMS Cottesmore was a Hunt-class destroyer of the British Royal Navy. The ship was built by the Scottish shipbuilder Yarrow at their Scotstoun, Glasgow shipyard in 1939–1940, being launched on 5 September 1940 and commissioning on 29 December that year.