''Bayandor'' () is a

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

Islamic Republic of Iran Navy The Islamic Republic of Iran Navy (IRIN; ), also referred as the Iranian Navy (abbreviated NEDAJA; ), is the naval warfare service branch of Iran's regular military, the Islamic Republic of Iran Army, Islamic Republic of Iran Army (''Artesh''). I ...

named after Gholamali Bayandor, and the

lead ship The lead ship, name ship, or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships that are all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable to naval ships and large civilian vessels. Large ships are very comple ...

of her class. Launched in 1963 and commissioned into the Southern Fleet in 1964, ''Bayandor'' was transferred to Iran by the United States under the

Mutual Assistance Program Mutual Assistance Program is a generic term denoting any form of international—and, in the United States, between states—cooperation projects, treaties, or joint ventures related to a specific issue, both civilian or military on, for example, he ...

Construction and commissioning

''Bayandor'' was built by the American shipyard Levingston Shipbuilding Company at

Orange, Texas Orange is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Texas, United States. The population was 19,324 at the 2020 census. It is the easternmost city in Texas, located on the Sabine River at the border with Louisiana, and is from Houston. ...

. She was laid down on 20 August 1962 and launched on 7 July 1963 on Sabine River, being completed on 15 May 1964. Her

commissioning Commissioning is a process or service provided to validate the completeness and accuracy of a project or venture. It may refer more specifically to: * Project commissioning, a process of assuring that all components of a facility are designed, in ...

took place three days later on 18 May 1964.

Service history

In September 1964, ''Bayandor'' docked at

Brooklyn Navy Yard The Brooklyn Navy Yard (originally known as the New York Navy Yard) is a shipyard and industrial complex in northwest Brooklyn in New York City, New York (state), New York, U.S. The Navy Yard is located on the East River in Wallabout Bay, a se ...

for a three-day visit to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. On 12 January 1968, ''Bayandor'' was dispatched to

Greater Tunb Greater Tunb and Lesser Tunb (, ''Tonb-e Bozorg'' and ''Tonb-e Kuchak'', , ''Tunb el-Kubra'' and ''Tunb el-Sughra'') are two small islands in the eastern Persian Gulf, close to the Strait of Hormuz. They lie at and , respectively, some from each ...

, in response to British-encouraged flying of the

Ras Al Khaimah Ras Al Khaimah (; ), often referred to its initials RAK, is the largest city and capital of the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah in the U.A.E. The city had a population of 191,753 in 2025, and is the sixth-most populous city in UAE after Dubai, Abu ...

flag at the island. While she was anchored about one mile east of the Tunbs, a Shackleton of the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

spotted her. The British aircraft approached close to ''Bayandor'', and subsequently was aimed by the ships' guns. Following the event, the British mission at

Trucial States The Trucial States, also known as the Trucial Coast, the Trucial Sheikhdoms, or Trucial Oman, was a group of tribal confederations to the south of the Persian Gulf (southeastern Arabia) whose leaders had signed protective treaties, or truce ...

became prepared to deploy the

Trucial Oman Scouts The Trucial Oman Scouts (), known as Trucial Oman Levies prior to 1956, was a predecessor paramilitary force that operated in the Trucial States under British control from 1951 to 1971, after which they were renamed to the Union Defence Force with ...

, however ''Bayandor'' was not in the area by 13 January. ''Bayandor'' and her sister ship arrived at The Ship Repair Facility in

Guam Guam ( ; ) is an island that is an Territories of the United States, organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, Guam, Hagåtña, and the most ...

on 10 April 1970 for an overhaul that took six months and costed Iran $1–1.5m. In the way home, the two made port calls to Subie Bay,

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

Colombo Colombo, ( ; , ; , ), is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. The Colombo metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 within the municipal limits. It is the ...

, Sri Lanka and

Cochin Kochi ( , ), formerly known as Cochin ( ), is a major port city along the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of Kerala. The city is also commonly referred to as Ernaku ...

, India. An alleged dump of 50,000 gallons of fuel in the sea by the ships prior to the repair stirred a local controversy. The two undergone another major repair in the same base in 1978. During

Iran–Iraq War The Iran–Iraq War, also known as the First Gulf War, was an armed conflict between Iran and Iraq that lasted from September 1980 to August 1988. Active hostilities began with the Iraqi invasion of Iran and lasted for nearly eight years, unti ...

(1980–1988), her

home port A vessel's home port is the port at which it is based, which may not be the same as its port of registry shown on its registration documents and lettered on the stern of the ship's hull. In the cruise industry the term "home port" is also oft ...

was in Bushehr Naval Base along with her three sister ships. On 13 October 1996, American cruiser bumped into ''Bayandor'' in north of

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf, sometimes called the Arabian Gulf, is a Mediterranean seas, mediterranean sea in West Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Arabian Sea and the larger Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.Un ...

, however neither of the ships suffered from a serious damage. In the 11th deployment of Iran since 2009, ''Bayandor'' left home on 29 December 2010 for the

Gulf of Aden The Gulf of Aden (; ) is a deepwater gulf of the Indian Ocean between Yemen to the north, the Arabian Sea to the east, Djibouti to the west, and the Guardafui Channel, the Socotra Archipelago, Puntland in Somalia and Somaliland to the south. ...

, returning on 29 January 2011 after 31 days. Starting in 2011, she undergone a major refit that was completed on 11 June 2013, during which a new 76mm Fajr-27 gun and Noor AShM launchers were installed. She was also fitted with a new

fire control system A fire-control system (FCS) is a number of components working together, usually a gun data computer, a Director (military), director and radar, which is designed to assist a ranged weapon system to target, track, and hit a target. It performs th ...

, while its engines, heat exchangers, and fuel and oil systems had been overhauled. According to Anthony H. Cordesman, "weapons control, search/track radars, and sonars have not been fully modernized since the mid-1960s, although some aspects of the electronic warfare capabilities, communications, and battle management systems in the ''Bayandor'' seem to have been upgraded". After the refit and trials, she was teamed up with the replenishment ship as the 31st naval group, for an anti-piracy operation also as far afield as

Bab-el-Mandeb The Bab-el-Mandeb (), the Gate of Grief or the Gate of Tears, is a strait between Yemen on the Arabian Peninsula and Djibouti and Eritrea in the Horn of Africa. It connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and by extension the Indian Ocean. ...

. The deployment took 120 days, lasting from 16 July to 13 November 2014. The two ships saved six merchant vessels from

Somali pirates Horn of Africa * Somali Peninsula, a region of East Africa, also known as "The Horn of Africa" * Somalis, an inhabitant or ethnicity associated with Greater Somali Region ** Greater Somalia ** Somali language, a Cushitic language ** Somali culture ...

, including a Chinese container ship on 14 September 2014. On 20 January 2016, the 38th naval group comprising ''Bayandor'', the replenishment ship and the landing ship , left home for a multi-purpose anti-piracy, flag, intelligence collection and training mission that included crossing the Bab-el-Mandeb for a voyage to the

Red Sea The Red Sea is a sea inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. Its connection to the ocean is in the south, through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden. To its north lie the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and th ...

, as well as crossing

equator The equator is the circle of latitude that divides Earth into the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Southern Hemisphere, Southern Hemispheres of Earth, hemispheres. It is an imaginary line located at 0 degrees latitude, about in circumferen ...

for a port call to

Dar es Salaam Dar es Salaam (, ; from ) is the largest city and financial hub of Tanzania. It is also the capital of the Dar es Salaam Region. With a population of over 7 million people, Dar es Salaam is the largest city in East Africa by population and the ...

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

on 1 March 2016. The ships navigated in total and returned on 2 April 2016 after 73 days of sailing. Along with her sister ''Naghdi'' and the amphibious ship of the 50th naval group, she decked at

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

and

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

during another multi-purpose anti-piracy, flag and training mission. The deployment started on 30 January 2018 and ended on 17 March 2018. As part of the 60th naval group with ''Lavan'' and ''Bushehr'', between 20 January and 16 March 2019 she sailed in the

Arabian Sea The Arabian Sea () is a region of sea in the northern Indian Ocean, bounded on the west by the Arabian Peninsula, Gulf of Aden and Guardafui Channel, on the northwest by Gulf of Oman and Iran, on the north by Pakistan, on the east by India, and ...

for anti-piracy operations and then made another visit to Colombo. The three vessels also anchored at

Muscat Muscat (, ) is the capital and most populous city in Oman. It is the seat of the Governorate of Muscat. According to the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), the population of the Muscat Governorate in 2022 was 1.72 million. ...

Oman Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman’s coastline ...

during the mission. In late February 2019, she participated in Velayat 97 wargame as an intelligence collector vessel. ''Bayandor'' made security patrols in the Arabian Sea and Gulf of Aden and between May and July 2019, navigating some in the same formation of vessels, this time as the 62nd group. Supported by the fleet replenishment oiler , she departed home on 30 January 2020 in a voyage to cross the

Strait of Malacca The Strait of Malacca is a narrow stretch of water, long and from wide, between the Malay Peninsula to the northeast and the Indonesian island of Sumatra to the southwest, connecting the Andaman Sea (Indian Ocean) and the South China Sea (Pa ...

. The two ships of the 66th naval group anchored at

Port of Tanjung Priok The Port of Tanjung Priok () is the busiest and most advanced seaport in Indonesia, handling more than 50% of Indonesia's trans-shipment cargo traffic. The port is located at Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta, and is operated by Indonesian state-ow ...

between 25 and 28 February to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Indonesia–Iran relations.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bayandor (81) 1963 ships Bayandor-class corvettes Active corvettes of Iran Ships built in Orange, Texas Iran–Iraq War naval ships of Iran Maritime incidents in 1996

Construction and commissioning

Service history

See also

References

External links