The ''Sandown'' class is a

class Class, Classes, or The Class may refer to: Common uses not otherwise categorized * Class (biology), a taxonomic rank * Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects * Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used d ...

of fifteen minehunters built primarily for 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 ...

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 (HMS ''Bangor'') remains in active service with the Royal Navy.

Development

These small () fibreglass vessels are single role mine hunters (SRMH) rather than minesweepers. Twelve ships were built for the Royal Navy and three ships were exported to

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

. Three Royal Navy vessels were decommissioned following the Strategic Defence Review in 2003; ''Sandown'' (January 2005), ''Inverness'' (April 2005) and ''Bridport'' (July 2004). A further ship, ''Cromer'', was decommissioned and transferred to a training role at the Britannia Royal Naval College in Dartmouth in 2001 as ''Hindostan''. The three decommissioned vessels were sold to

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

in September 2006. They were re-equipped with TCS (Tactical Control System) and the Atlas Elektronik Seafox ROV for mine disposal. The sonar system was also updated. The first ship (ex-''Sandown''), delivered in 2007, has been named , the second (ex-''Inverness''), was delivered in 2008 and named and the last (ex-''Bridport'') named in 2009. In the 1990s, the design of the ''Sandown''-class was adapted by Spanish company Izar (later

Navantia Navantia is a Spanish state-owned shipbuilding enterprise dedicated to civil and military naval construction, the design of deep-tech systems and the manufacture of structures for the renewable energy sector, such as offshore wind or hydrogen. ...

) for the Spanish Navy's six-ship ''Segura''-class minehunters.

Future

The 2021 defence white paper announced that all mine countermeasures vessels in the Royal Navy would be retired during the 2020s and replaced by automated systems. It was indicated that the remaining ''Sandown''-class ships would be retired first with the entire class to be withdrawn from service by 2025. They will be replaced with autonomous minehunting systems and specialized "motherships" deployed by the Royal Navy. While experiencing some delays, the first command and support vessel for trialling autonomous systems ( RFA Stirling Castle) entered service, initially with the RFA in Spring 2024, though in 2025 it was indicated that she would be transferred to the navy. In June 2021, during a visit by to

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, it was revealed that an agreement had been reached for two Sandown class ships to be transferred to the Ukrainian Navy upon decommissioning. ''Ramsey'' and ''Blyth'' were decommissioned on 4 August 2021 and following a refit by Babcock, were to be transferred to the Romanian Navy instead. In September 2023 it was reported that the transfer of ''Blyth'' had occurred and that HMS ''Pembroke'' would also be transferred to the Romanian Navy in the following year. In September 2022, was spotted operating around

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carrying the name ''Cherkasy'' (Ukrainian: Черкаси) and the pennant number M311. Though still reportedly in commission with the Royal Navy, she was now training sailors of the Ukrainian Navy prior to also being handed over to that Navy. In October 2022 it was reported that ''Shoreham'' had been decommissioned from Royal Navy service. She, and her sister ship ex-HMS ''Grimsby'' (now ''Chernihiv''), were formally commissioned into the Ukrainian Navy in July 2023.

Ships in class

References

Bibliography

External links