BNS ''Bijoy'' is a guided missile

corvette A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or " rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the sloo ...

of the

Bangladesh Navy The Bangladesh Navy () is the naval warfare branch of the Bangladesh Armed Forces, responsible for the defence of Bangladesh's of maritime territorial area from any external threat, the security of sea ports and exclusive economic zones of Ban ...

. She has been serving in the Bangladesh Navy since 2011.

Description

''Bijoy'' carries four

C-704 The C-704 is a Chinese anti-ship missile. The missile was developed by the third research institute of the Chinese Aerospace Group, also the manufacturer of the C-701. Design This anti-ship missile is designed specifically for targets with displ ...

automated

anti-ship missile An anti-ship missile (AShM or ASM) is a guided missile that is designed for use against ships and large boats. Most anti-ship missiles are of the sea-skimming variety, and many use a combination of inertial guidance and active radar homing. ...

s as well as one H/PJ-26 76 mm main gun and two Oerlikon 20 mm auto cannons. She has a

flight deck The flight deck of an aircraft carrier is the surface on which its aircraft take off and land, essentially a miniature airfield at sea. On smaller naval ships which do not have aviation as a primary mission, the landing area for helicopters ...

which can accommodate a

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which Lift (force), lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning Helicopter rotor, rotors. This allows the helicopter to VTOL, take off and land vertically, to hover (helicopter), hover, and ...

up to

Westland Sea King The Westland WS-61 Sea King is a British licence-built version of the American Sikorsky S-61 helicopter of the same name, built by Westland Helicopters. The aircraft differs considerably from the American version, with Rolls-Royce Gnome eng ...

size.

History

The ship was

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one ...

by Hall, Russell & Company of

Aberdeen, Scotland Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeenshire, but is now separate from the council area of Aberdeenshire. Aberd ...

, on 25 June 1980 and launched on 3 June 1981. She was commissioned into the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

as on 12 March 1982. She served the Royal Navy from 1982 to 2008. The ship was decommissioned in 2008 and, in April 2010, sold to the

Bangladesh

From 21 May 2010, the ship underwent a major refit, installing upgrades to suit the Bangladesh Navy's requirements, which continued until December 2010. The Bangladesh Navy formally acquired the ship on 14 May 2010. ''Bijoy'' reached

Chittagong Chittagong ( ), officially Chattogram, (, ) (, or ) is the second-largest city in Bangladesh. Home to the Port of Chittagong, it is the busiest port in Bangladesh and the Bay of Bengal. The city is also the business capital of Bangladesh. It ...

on 21 January 2011. On 5 March 2011, the ship was commissioned into the Bangladesh Navy as BNS ''Bijoy''. She took part in Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT), a bilateral exercise with the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

, in 2011 and 2015. On 1 December 2017, BNS ''Bijoy'' departed for

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

to join the Maritime Task Force of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). She replaced two Bangladesh Navy ships, and on 1 January 2018, which had deployed earlier. En route, she paid a goodwill visit to the

Port of Colombo The Port of Colombo , (known as Port of Kolomtota during the early 14th Century Kotte Kingdom) is the largest and busiest port in Sri Lanka and the Indian Ocean. Located in Colombo, on the southwestern shores on the Kelani River, it serves as a ...

from 6 to 8 December. On 4 August 2020, BNS ''Bijoy'' was berthed in the

Port of Beirut The Port of Beirut () is the main port in Lebanon on the eastern part of the Saint George Bay on Beirut's northern Mediterranean coast, west of the Beirut River. It is one of the largest and busiest ports on the Eastern Mediterranean. On 4 Augu ...

during a massive onshore explosion. The ship received moderate damage and 21 crew members were injured in the blast. The crew of ''Bijoy'' received medical assistance and help with damage assessment from the Brazilian frigate ''Independência'', the flagship of the UNIFIL fleet. After assessment ''Bijoy'' was towed by the ocean tug TCG ''İnebolu'' to

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

, where she was repaired in the naval shipyard at Aksaz Naval Base. After completing the repair works, the ship returned home on 25 October 2020. Another corvette, , replaced her in the UNIFIL mission.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bijoy Ships of the Bangladesh Navy 1981 ships 2020 Beirut explosion Maritime incidents in 2020 Ships built by Hall, Russell & Company Castle-class patrol vessels

Description

History

Bangladesh

See also

References