The Castle class was a

class Class or The Class may refer to: Common uses not otherwise categorized * Class (biology), a taxonomic rank * Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects * Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used differentl ...

of British offshore patrol vessels 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 ...

. Two ships were constructed and after nearly 30 years service were 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 ...

in 2010. The Bangladesh Navy upgraded these with more armaments including

C-704 The C-704 is a Chinese anti-ship missile. The missile was developed by the third research institute of the Chinese Aerospace Group, also the manufacturer of the C-701. Design This anti-ship missile is designed specifically for targets with displa ...

anti-ship missiles 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 ...

and sensors. These ships are now reclassified as corvettes by the Bangladesh Navy.

Design

The Castle class was designed by David K. Brown and was intended as a series of six offshore patrol vessels for the Royal Navy, designed in response to criticism of the previous for insufficient speed, sub-optimal sea-keeping and lack of 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 ...

for rescue

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 ...

s. In the event, only two ships were built, and . Both vessels were built by Hall Russell in

Aberdeen 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), and ...

, Scotland. These had significant improvements over the Island-class – they were 300 tonnes larger, more stable in heavy seas, faster and fitted with a large flight deck capable of supporting a Sea King helicopter. For brief periods, the ships could accommodate up to 120 troops. Their primary mission was to serve with the

Fishery Protection Squadron The Overseas Patrol Squadron (known as the Fishery Protection Squadron until 2020) is a front-line squadron of the Royal Navy with responsibility for patrolling the UK's Extended Fisheries Zone, both at home and around British Overseas Territorie ...

, protecting both the fishing fleets and the oil and gas fields of the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea, epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the ...

. They could also serve as

minelayer A minelayer is any warship, submarine or military aircraft deploying explosive mines. Since World War I the term "minelayer" refers specifically to a naval ship used for deploying naval mines. "Mine planting" was the term for installing control ...

s, and had detergent spraying facilities on board for dispersing

oil slick An oil spill is the release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the environment, especially the marine ecosystem, due to human activity, and is a form of pollution. The term is usually given to marine oil spills, where oil is released into th ...

Operations

After the Falklands War, one ship was kept long-term in the

Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about from Cape Dubouze ...

as a

guard ship A guard ship is a warship assigned as a stationary guard in a port or harbour, as opposed to a coastal patrol boat, which serves its protective role at sea. Royal Navy In the Royal Navy of the eighteenth century, peacetime guard ships were usual ...

. ''Leeds Castle'' and ''Dumbarton Castle'' rotated the role on a three-yearly basis, although the ship's crew usually did a six-month rotation.

Replacement

The Castle class was replaced in the Falklands by a unique vessel based on the , , and both vessels of the class were decommissioned. Originally due to transfer to the Pakistan Maritime Security Agency in 2007, the deal fell through and both ships were sold to the

Ships in class

References

* Conway's ''All The World's Fighting Ships 1947–1995'' * D.K. Brown, "The Design of the Castle Class", a personal view in ''Warship 2006'', Conway's Maritime Press * ''Janes Fighting Ships 2007'' {{Castle class opv Patrol ship classes Patrol vessels of the Royal Navy Patrol vessels of the United Kingdom Ship classes of the Royal Navy Corvettes of the Bangladesh Navy Ships built by Hall, Russell & Company