HMS ''Brocklesby'' is a of the British

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 ...

, her primary purpose is to find and neutralise sea mines using a combination of;

Sonar Sonar (sound navigation and ranging or sonic navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigate, measure distances (ranging), communicate with or detect objects on o ...

, Mine Clearance Divers and the Seafox

remotely operated vehicle A remotely operated underwater vehicle (technically ROUV or just ROV) is a tethered underwater mobile device, commonly called ''underwater robot''. Definition This meaning is different from remote control vehicles operating on land or in the a ...

(ROV). The class are the largest warships of

glass-reinforced plastic Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass clo ...

(GRP) construction, which gives the vessels a low magnetic signature. In addition to her mine countermeasures activities, ''Brocklesby'' acts as an offshore

patrol vessel A patrol boat (also referred to as a patrol craft, patrol ship, or patrol vessel) is a relatively small naval vessel generally designed for coastal defence, border security, or law enforcement. There are many designs for patrol boats, and the ...

, undertaking coastal patrol and

fisheries protection {{Unreferenced, date=March 2008 Maritime patrol is the task of monitoring areas of water. Generally conducted by military and law enforcement agencies, maritime patrol is usually aimed at identifying human activities. Maritime patrol refers to ac ...

duties. From 2018 to 2021 ''Brocklesby'' was deployed in Bahrain at as part of four minehunters of 9th Mine Countermeasures Squadron 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 ...

Operation Kipion Operation Kipion is a long-standing maritime presence by the United Kingdom in the Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean to promote enduring peace and stability in the region, and ensure the safe flow of oil and trade. A permanent presence of 4 minesw ...

Operational history

HMS Brocklesby deployed on Op KIPION MOD 45167666

Cherbourg incident

In 1993 she became involved in the Cherbourg incident, when ''Brocklesby'' challenged the French trawler ''La Calypso'' in the

Channel Islands The Channel Islands ( nrf, Îles d'la Manche; french: îles Anglo-Normandes or ''îles de la Manche'') are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two Crown Dependencies: the Bailiwick of Jersey, ...

waters.

2003 Invasion of Iraq

She gained a

battle honour A battle honour is an award of a right by a government or sovereign to a military unit to emblazon the name of a battle or operation on its flags ("colours"), uniforms or other accessories where ornamentation is possible. In European military t ...

when she was among the first coalition ships into

Umm Qasr Umm Qasr ( ar, أم قصر, also transliterated as ''Um-qasir'', ''Um-qasser, Um Qasr'') is a port city in southern Iraq. It stands on the canalised Khawr az-Zubayr, part of the Khawr Abd Allah estuary which leads to the Persian Gulf. It is se ...

during the

2003 invasion of Iraq The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one month, including ...

. She was part of a group of mine countermeasure vessels that cleared a mined channel into the port, enabling access to it by sea.

2011 Libya operations

In 2011 she took part in surveillance and embargo operations off the coast of

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...

alongside , as part of

Operation Ellamy Operation Ellamy was the codename for the United Kingdom participation in the 2011 military intervention in Libya. The operation was part of an international coalition aimed at enforcing a Libyan no-fly zone in accordance with the United Natio ...

, the UK's contribution to

Operation Unified Protector Operation Unified Protector was a NATO operation in 2011 enforcing United Nations Security Council resolutions 1970 and 1973 concerning the Libyan Civil War and adopted on 26 February and 17 March 2011, respectively. These resolutions imposed ...

. In early May 2011, she took part in a mine-clearing operation to secure the waters of

Misrata Misrata ( ; also spelled Misurata or Misratah; ar, مصراتة, Miṣrāta ) is a city in the Misrata District in northwestern Libya, situated to the east of Tripoli and west of Benghazi on the Mediterranean coast near Cape Misrata. With ...

Port, Libya, after mines were dropped by

Muammar Gaddafi Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi, . Due to the lack of standardization of transcribing written and regionally pronounced Arabic, Gaddafi's name has been romanized in various ways. A 1986 column by '' The Straight Dope'' lists 32 spellin ...

's forces to prevent aid from being delivered to the besieged city. ''Brocklesby'' used her sonar and SeaFox mine disposal system to locate and destroy a mine that was located from the harbour entrance, making the waters safe for aid ships to enter. ''Brocklesby''s commanding officer, Lieutenant Commander Jim Byron DSC, said: ''Brocklesby'' returned to

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most d ...

on 5 July 2011 flying a special version of the

Jolly Roger Jolly Roger is the traditional English name for the naval ensign, flags flown to identify a piracy, pirate ship preceding or during an attack, during the early 18th century (the later part of the Golden Age of Piracy). The flag most commonly i ...

, indicating the successful destruction of a sea-mine.

Exercise Joint Warrior 2013

In October 2013 she participated in

Exercise Joint Warrior Exercise Joint Warrior is a major biannual multi-national military exercise which takes place in the United Kingdom, predominately in north west Scotland. It is the successor of the Neptune Warrior exercises and Joint Maritime Course. Joint W ...

Operation Kipion 2018–2021

During 2018 ''Brocklesby'' departed the UK's waters and transited to the

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

as part of the British commitment to promoting stability in the region.

saw four British minehunters, as well as other warships, spend approximately three years forward deployed. The squadron is capable of operating both independently and as part of a larger multinational force to ensure the safe flow of oil and trade from the Middle East. ''Brocklesby''s move to the Middle East saw her take responsibility from , subsequently allowing ''Middleton'' to transit back to the UK. In August 2021, ''Middleton'' returned to the Gulf to again relieve ''Brocklesby'' which redeployed back to the U.K.

References

External links

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Virtual tour of HMS Brocklesby in Bahrain on YouTube
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brocklesby (M33) Hunt-class mine countermeasures vessels 1982 ships