HMS Gifford

The NNS Bonny at the Nigerian War Museum
History
United Kingdom
Name	HMS Gifford
Builder	Scarr
Launched	30 June 1954
Commissioned	30 June 1954
Identification	Pennant number: P3111
Fate	Sold in 1968 to Nigeria
Nigeria
Name	NNS Bonny
Acquired	1968
Decommissioned	1983
Status	Museum ship
General characteristics
Class & type	Ford-class seaward defence boat
Displacement	120 tons standard 160 tons full load
Length	117 ft 3 in (35.74 m)
Beam	20 ft (6.1 m)
Draught	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Propulsion	1 × Foden diesel (centre shaft) 2 × Paxman 12YHAX 550  hp (410 kW) diesels (outer shafts)
Speed	20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph)
Armament	1 × Bofors 40 mm gun 2 × Oerlikon 20 mm cannon

HMS Gifford was one of 23 boats of the Ford class of patrol boats built for the Royal Navy in the 1950s. Gifford was launched on 30 June 1954. In 1968 the vessel was sold to Nigeria and renamed NNS Bonny. Bonny took part in the Nigerian Civil War and was decommissioned in 1983. Bonny is preserved at the Nigerian War Museum in Umuahia.

Service history

Gifford was a Ford-class seaward defence boat constructed for the Royal Navy. The names of the class ships were all chosen from villages ending in "-ford". This boat was named after Gifford. ^[a] She was launched on 30 June 1954 and sold to Nigeria in 1968. Renamed NNS Bonny, ^[1] she fought in the Nigerian Civil War against Biafra. She was decommissioned in 1983. ^[1]

Museum ship

NNS Bonny is preserved in the Nigerian War Museum at Umuahia as a museum exhibit. ^[2]

Notes

1. There are several places in UK whose name contains or consists of Gifford. It is unclear which one the name givers had in mind.

References

1. Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of All Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy from the 15th Century to the Present (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. p. 160. ISBN   978-1-86176-281-8. OCLC   67375475.
2. "Table of contents". The National War Museum Umuahia (PDF). DARC, Carolina Academic Press. p. vi. Retrieved 10 April 2018.