HMS ''Atherstone'' was a 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 ...

, the third ship to bear the name. Built by

Vosper Thornycroft VT Group is a privately held United States defense and services company, with its origins in a former British shipbuilding group, previously known as Vosper Thornycroft. The British part of VT Group was integrated into Babcock International in t ...

shipbuilders at

Woolston, Southampton Woolston is a suburb of Southampton, Hampshire, located on the eastern bank of the River Itchen. It is bounded by the River Itchen, Sholing, Peartree Green, Itchen and Weston. The area has a strong maritime and aviation history. The former ...

, it was launched on 1 March 1986 by Amy Jarvis, the wife of Pat Jarvis, CB, the Deputy Controller of the Navy at the Ministry of Defence, and commissioned on 17 January 1987. It was the tenth ship of its class.

Operational history

HMS ''Atherstone'' was accepted into service on 28 November 1986 and commissioned at HMNB Portsmouth on 17 January 1987. The ship had a close association with the town of

Atherstone Atherstone is a market town and civil parish in the North Warwickshire district of Warwickshire, England. Located in the far north of the county, Atherstone is on the A5 national route, and is adjacent to the border with Leicestershire w ...

, and was latterly part of the 2nd Mine Countermeasure (MCM) Squadron based at Portsmouth. In December 2015, ''Atherstone'' returned from the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a mediterranean sea in Western Asia. The bod ...

after a two-year deployment as part of Operation Telic in the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

, in support of coalition operations to promote and maintain peace in the Persian Gulf. It helped to provide assurance to merchant shipping, by conducting mine-countermeasure surveys in the main shipping routes throughout the region. It participated in 2014 IMCMEX. After spending a period alongside in extended readiness, ''Atherstone'' was lifted out of the water into the "Minor War Vessels Centre of Specialisation"; the former shipbuilding hall at HMNB Portsmouth in December 2016 in readiness to enter refit However, in October 2017 it was revealed that the planned refit would not take place and ''Atherstone'' would be decommissioned on 14 December 2017. On 3 June 2020, the stripped down ''Atherstone'' was advertised for sale. It was sold to

Harland & Wolff Harland & Wolff is a British shipbuilding company based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It specialises in ship repair, shipbuilding and offshore construction. Harland & Wolff is famous for having built the majority of the ocean liners for the W ...

with the intention of rebuilding it for non-military use.News in Brief ''

Ships Monthly Kelsey Media is a magazine publisher and trade fair company based in Yalding, England. Founded in 1989, it has bought and sold many publications over the years, including former Bauer Media Group magazines ''Sea Angler'', ''Car Mechanics'' and ' ...

'' August 2022 page 14

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Atherstone (M38) Hunt-class mine countermeasures vessels 1986 ships Ships built in Southampton