The 9th Mine Countermeasures Squadron is a front-line squadron of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...

with responsibility for mine warfare in the Persian Gulf region. The squadron is based in

Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and a ...

and is equipped with four mine countermeasure vessels and a Royal Fleet Auxiliary support ship.

History

1962-1971

In its original guise, the 9th Mine Sweeping Squadron (MSS) was formed of four Ton-class sweepers – HM Ships ''Appleton'', ''Kemerton'', ''Flockton'' and ''Chilcompton'' which were specially fitted for the rigours of operating in the Persian Gulf. The ships had their pennant numbers painted in Arabic on the stern & carried a funnel badge featuring a

dhow Dhow ( ar, داو, translit=dāwa; mr, script=Latn, dāw) is the generic name of a number of traditional sailing vessels with one or more masts with settee or sometimes lateen sails, used in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean region. Typically spo ...

on a yellow background. The squadron was based in

Aden Aden ( ar, عدن ' Yemeni: ) is a city, and since 2015, the temporary capital of Yemen, near the eastern approach to the Red Sea (the Gulf of Aden), some east of the strait Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately 800,000 peopl ...

and later

. When Bahrain and

Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...

became independent nations and

Trucial States The Trucial States ( '), also known as the Trucial Coast ( '), the Trucial Sheikhdoms ( '), Trucial Arabia or Trucial Oman, was the name the British government gave to a group of tribal confederations in southeastern Arabia whose leaders had ...

formed into the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (Middle East, The Middle East). It is ...

the squadron was disbanded.

2013-present

The squadron was reformed in 2013 as the 9th Mine Countermeasures Squadron, the change in title reflecting the advances in mine countermeasures techniques in the intervening forty years. The squadron has usually consisted of two Hunt Class Mine Countermeasure Vessels and two Sandown Class Single Role Minehunters on three yearly rotation, supported by a

Royal Fleet Auxiliary The Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) is a naval auxiliary fleet owned by the UK's Ministry of Defence. It provides logistical and operational support to the Royal Navy and Royal Marines. The RFA ensures the Royal Navy is supplied and supported by ...

Bay Class landing ship. As in its original guise, the squadron operates out of HMS Jufair in Bahrain and carries the same funnel badge.

References

{{Mine-Countermeasures squadrons of the Royal Navy, state=collapsed Mine Counter-Measures squadrons of the Royal Navy 1962 establishments in the United Kingdom 1971 disestablishments in the United Kingdom 2013 establishments in the United Kingdom