BNS ''Osman'' was a modified Type 053H

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...

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 ...

, bought in 1988 from

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. She was the first

guided missile frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...

to enter service with the Bangladesh Navy. The ship was named after the third Rashidun Caliph Uthman.

Design

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-call ...

s that drive two

propeller A propeller (colloquially often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon ...

s, ''Osman'' had a maximum speed of . She had a range of at .

Armament

The ship's primary armament consisted of eight

C-802 The YJ-83 (; NATO reporting name: CSS-N-8 Saccade) is a Chinese subsonic anti-ship cruise missile. It is manufactured by the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation Third Academy.Gromley et al.: page 101 Description The YJ-83 uses mi ...

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 good ...

s. Her secondary armament consisted of two twin 100 mm guns, mounted on the bow and stern.

Anti-aircraft Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...

armament consisted of four twin 37mm guns. For

anti-submarine warfare Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations are t ...

, she was equipped with two RBU-1200 anti-submarine rocket launchers and two BMB-2

depth charge A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon. It is intended to destroy a submarine by being dropped into the water nearby and detonating, subjecting the target to a powerful and destructive Shock factor, hydraulic shock. Most depth ...

mortars. She could carry up to 60 mines.

Electronics

''Osman'' was equipped with one MX 902 radar for air and surface search and one Type 352 Square Tie radar for surface search and fire control. One Type 352 radar was present for navigational purpose. I band Type 752A and Type 254 radar was present on the ship as fire control radar for different weapons. An Echo Type 5 hull mounted sonar was there for underwater detection.

History

The Type 053H1 Frigate ''Osman'' was previously known as ''Xiangtan,'' which served with People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) in

South Sea Fleet The Southern Theater Command Navy (), or the South Sea Fleet (SSF; ) is one of the three fleets of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy, operating in the South China Sea under the Southern Theater Command. It is headquartered in Zhanjiang, G ...

. The ship was commissioned in PLAN on 20 December 1987. In PLAN service, this ship participated in the

Johnson South Reef Skirmish The Johnson South Reef Skirmish was an altercation that took place on 14 March 1988 between Chinese and Vietnamese forces over who would control the Johnson South Reef in the Union Banks region of the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea. Bac ...

against the Vietnamese Navy on 14 March 1988 and sank the Vietnamese transport ship ''HQ-605''. In 1989 the ship was sold to the

. She was commissioned into the Bangladesh Navy as ''Osman'' on 4 November 1989. She is the first guided missile frigate to enter in service with the Bangladesh Navy.

Career

''Osman'' was based at

Chattogram Chittagong ( /ˈtʃɪt əˌɡɒŋ/ ''chit-uh-gong''; ctg, চিটাং; bn, চিটাগং), officially Chattogram ( bn, চট্টগ্রাম), is the second-largest city in Bangladesh after Dhaka and third largest city in B ...

, serving with the Commodore Commanding BN Flotilla (COMBAN). About 250 personnel served aboard ''Osman'', with most living on board. She was the first frigate of Bangladesh Navy who test fired C-802A missile in Bay of Bengal on 12 May 2008, which successfully hit the target. The ship had gone through major upgrades which included replacement of propulsion system, new missile launching platforms and an addition of a combat data link. ''Osman'' was deployed to

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 the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

with the UN mission United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) from 17 May 2010 to 14 June 2014. She returned to Bangladesh on 11 August 2014. On her way, she visited the

Port of Salalah The Port of Salalah is the largest port in Oman and has been in operation since 1998. Situated in the Dhofar Governorate, on the Arabian Sea which is on the northern part of the Indian Ocean, it is centrally located at the crossroads of trade betw ...

and

Port Sultan Qaboos Port Sultan Qaboos (previously known as Mina Qaboos) is the largest port in Muscat, Oman. Developed initially as a part of a plan for a "Greater Muttrah" by Qaboos bin Said al Said's predecessor, Said bin Taimur, the port's construction was comple ...

Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of t ...

, Port of Colombo of

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

and

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

and

Chennai Port Chennai Port, formerly known as Madras Port, is the second largest container port of India, behind Mumbai's Nhava Sheva. The port is the largest one in the Bay of Bengal. It is the third-oldest port among the 13 major ports of India with offici ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

on a goodwill mission. On 11 October 2014, ''Osman'' was awarded the title of ''National Standard'' in recognition of the ship's quarter century of outstanding service in the Bangladesh Navy at home and abroad. After serving the Bangladesh Navy for around 31 years, the ship was decommissioned in 2020. Later on, she was scrapped.

References

External links

BNS Osman’s Photo
{{DEFAULTSORT:Osman Ships of the Bangladesh Navy Frigates of the Bangladesh Navy Type 053H1 frigates of the Bangladesh Navy 1987 ships