Hunt-class mine countermeasures vessel

For other ship classes, see Hunt class.

This article is about the 1980s class. For the WWI class, see Hunt-class minesweeper (1916).

HMS Quorn in 2001
Class overview
Name	Hunt class
Builders	Vosper Thornycroft Yarrow Shipbuilders Limited
Operators	Royal Navy Hellenic Navy Lithuanian Naval Force
Built	1978–1988
In commission	1979–present
Completed	13
Active	9
Laid up	3
Lost	1
General characteristics
Type	Mine countermeasures vessel
Displacement	750 t (740 long tons; 830 short tons)
Length	60 m (196 ft 10 in)
Beam	9.8 m (32 ft 2 in)
Draught	2.2 m (7 ft 3 in)
Propulsion	2 shaft CAT C32 diesel 2,000 shp (1,500 kW)
Speed	17 kn (31 km/h; 20 mph)
Complement	45 (6 officers & 39 ratings)
Sensors and processing systems	Radar Type 1007 I band/SharpEye navigation radar Sonar Type 2193
Electronic warfare & decoys	SeaFox mine disposal system Diver-placed explosive charges
Armament	1 × DS30B Mk 1 30 mm gun 2 × Miniguns (replaced by Browning .50 caliber heavy machine guns as of 2023) 3 × General purpose machine guns

Stern view of HMS Brocklesby off Bahrain in 2021

The Hunt class is a class of thirteen mine countermeasure vessels of the Royal Navy. As built, they combined the separate roles of the traditional minesweeper and that of the active minehunter in one hull, but later modifications saw the removal of mine-sweeping equipment. They have a secondary role as offshore patrol vessels.

Development

Upon introduction in the early 1980s they were the largest warships ever built out of glass-reinforced plastic and were the last in operation to use the Napier Deltic diesel engine. All were built by Vosper Thornycroft in Woolston except Cottesmore and Middleton, which were built by Yarrow Shipbuilders Limited on the River Clyde. Quorn was the last ship of the class launched.

Following the sale of Bicester and Berkeley to the Greek Navy, the sale of Cottesmore and Dulverton to the Lithuanian Navy and the decommissioning of Brecon, a contract to re-engine the remaining eight vessels was signed by BAE Systems in 2008, whereby the existing 30-year old Napier Deltic 9-59K power units were replaced by Caterpillar CAT C32 engines, together with new gearboxes, bow thrusters, propellers and control systems, in a six year refurbishment programme that was completed in 2018.

The capabilities of the remaining eight vessels of the Hunt class have been significantly enhanced by the installation of Sonar Type 2193 and the NAUTIS 3 command system. The performance of Sonar 2193 exceeds that of any other mine hunting sonar in service in the world today and is capable of detecting and classifying an object the size of a football at a distance of up to 1,000 metres (1,100 yd). In late 2007 Chiddingfold used the Seafox drone, the Royal Navy's mine disposal system, during Exercise Neptune Warrior off Scotland. Seafox is described by the MOD as a "state of the art fire and forget system, capable of destroying mines in depths of up to 300 metres".

The 2021 defence white paper announced that all the Hunt-class vessels would be retired from Royal Navy service in the 2020s and replaced by automated systems. It was subsequently indicated that the withdrawal would occur in the 2029 to 2031 period.

In 2023, the navy began to take delivery of six REMUS 300 small autonomous underwater vehicles (SAUVs), produced by Huntington Ingalls Industries. The system is being acquired to enhance the capabilities of the Hunt-class ships and has a reported operating depth of 300 meters with an endurance time of up to 20 hours.

Ships in the class

All 13 ships of this class re-used names from the World War II Hunt-class destroyer. Four of the names had also been used for World War I Hunt-class minesweepers: these were HMS Bicester, Cattistock, Cottesmore and Quorn. HMS Atherstone had been a paddlewheel minesweeper in 1916, and Brocklesby was a coaster taken up from trade in 1916.

Navy	Name	Pennant number	Builder	Launched	Commissioned	Status
Royal Navy	Brecon	M29	Vosper Thornycroft	1978	1980	Decommissioned, now training ship at HMS Raleigh
	Ledbury	M30	Vosper Thornycroft	1979	1981	In active service
	Cattistock	M31	Vosper Thornycroft	1981	1982	In active service
	Brocklesby	M33	Vosper Thornycroft	1982	1983	In active service
	Middleton	M34	Yarrow Shipbuilders	1983	1984	In active service
	Chiddingfold	M37	Vosper Thornycroft	1983	1984	In active service
	Atherstone	M38	Vosper Thornycroft	1986	1986	Decommissioned 14 December 2017
	Hurworth	M39	Vosper Thornycroft	1984	1985	In active service
Hellenic Navy	Europa	M62	Vosper Thornycroft	1985	1988 / 2001	In active service, former HMS Bicester
	Kallisto	M63	Vosper Thornycroft	1986	1986 / 2000	Former HMS Berkeley, cut in two in a collision with a container ship on 27 October 2020.
Lithuanian Naval Force	Skalvis	M53	Yarrow Shipbuilders	1982	1983 / 2011	In active service, former HMS Cottesmore
	Kuršis	M54	Vosper Thornycroft	1982	1983 / 2011	In active service, former HMS Dulverton
	Quorn	M41	Vosper Thornycroft	1988	1989 / 2020 (M)	Decommissioned 14 December 2017. Sold to Lithuania in 2020. Undergoing modernization to enter LNF in 2023.

See also

• Sandown-class minehunter

External links

• "Mine Countermeasures Vessels - Hunt Class". Royal Navy.