BNS ''Bijoy'' is a guided missile
corvette of the
Bangladesh Navy
The Bangladesh Navy ( bn, বাংলাদেশ নৌবাহিনী, Bangladesh Nou Bahini) is the naval warfare branch of the Bangladesh Armed Forces, responsible for Bangladesh's of maritime territorial area, and the defence of imp ...
. She has been serving in the Bangladesh Navy since 2011.
Description
''Bijoy'' carries four
C-704 automated
anti-ship missile
An anti-ship missile (AShM) 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. A goo ...
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 from 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 helicopte ...
which can accommodate a
helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...
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 engin ...
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 o ...
by
Hall, Russell & Company
Hall, Russell & Company, Limited was a shipbuilder based in Aberdeen, Scotland.
History
Brothers James and William Hall, Thomas Russell, a Glasgow engineer, and James Cardno Couper founded the company in 1864 to build steam engines and boile ...
of
Aberdeen, Scotland
Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), an ...
, on 25 June 1980 and
launched on 3 June 1981. She was
commissioned into 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 ...
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 Navy
The Bangladesh Navy ( bn, বাংলাদেশ নৌবাহিনী, Bangladesh Nou Bahini) is the naval warfare branch of the Bangladesh Armed Forces, responsible for Bangladesh's of maritime territorial area, and the defence of imp ...
.
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 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 maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
, in 2011 and 2015.
On 1 December 2017, BNS ''Bijoy'' departed for
Lebanon
Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...
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 an ...
from 6 to 8 December.
On 4 August 2020, BNS ''Bijoy'' was berthed in the
Port of Beirut 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 ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...
, 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.
See also
*
List of active ships of the Bangladesh Navy
The Bangladesh Navy currently operates two submarines, five guided missile frigates, two patrol frigates, six guided missile corvettes, minor surface combatants of various types including offshore patrol vessels, coastal patrol boats, missile ...
*
*
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