HMIS ''Baluchistan'' (J182) was a built for the Royal Navy, but transferred to the Royal Indian Navy (RIN) during the Second World War.

Design and description

The ''Bangor'' class was designed as a small minesweeper that could be easily built in large numbers by civilian shipyards; as

steam turbine A steam turbine is a machine that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam and uses it to do mechanical work on a rotating output shaft. Its modern manifestation was invented by Charles Parsons in 1884. Fabrication of a modern steam turbin ...

s were difficult to manufacture, the ships were designed to accept a wide variety of engines. ''Baluchistan'' displaced at standard load and at deep load. The ship had an overall length of , a

beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially localized grou ...

of and a draught of .Lenton, pp. 253–54 The ship's complement consisted of 60 officers and ratings.Chesneau, p. 64 She was powered by two

Parsons Parsons may refer to: Places In the United States: * Parsons, Kansas, a city * Parsons, Missouri, an unincorporated community * Parsons, Tennessee, a city * Parsons, West Virginia, a town * Camp Parsons, a Boy Scout camp in the state of Washingto ...

geared steam turbines, each driving one shaft, using steam provided by two

Admiralty three-drum boiler Three-drum boilers are a class of water-tube boiler used to generate steam, typically to power ships. They are compact and of high evaporative power, factors that encourage this use. Other boiler designs may be more efficient, although bulkier, an ...

s. The engines produced a total of and gave a maximum speed of . ''Baluchistan'' carried a maximum of of

fuel oil Fuel oil is any of various fractions obtained from the distillation of petroleum (crude oil). Such oils include distillates (the lighter fractions) and residues (the heavier fractions). Fuel oils include heavy fuel oil, marine fuel oil (MFO), bun ...

that gave her a range of at .Lenton, p. 254 The turbine-powered ''Bangor''s were armed with a 12 pounder

anti-aircraft gun 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, ...

and a single QF 2-pounder (4 cm) AA gun. In some ships the 2-pounder was replaced a single or twin

20 mm Oerlikon The Oerlikon 20 mm cannon is a series of autocannons, based on an original German Becker Type M2 20 mm cannon design that appeared very early in World War I. It was widely produced by Oerlikon Contraves and others, with various models emplo ...

AA gun, while most ships were fitted with four additional single Oerlikon mounts over the course of the war. For escort work, her minesweeping gear could be exchanged for around 40

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 ...

Construction and career

HMIS ''Baluchistan'' was originally ordered from the

Blyth Shipbuilding Company The Blyth Shipbuilding & Dry Docks Company Ltd. was a British shipyard located in Blyth, Northumberland, England. Company history Early history Shipbuilding began on the site on the south bank of the River Blyth in 1811. In the 1840s the ya ...

for the Royal Navy as HMS ''Greenock'' in 1939. However, before she was launched, she was transferred to the Royal Indian Navy and eventually commissioned as ''Baluchistan''. She served in the RIN during World War II. ''Baluchistan'' was a part of the Eastern Fleet, and escorted numerous convoys between Africa, British India and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

in 1943-45. After the independence, she was among the vessels transferred to Pakistan, where she was renamed PNS ''

Baluchistan Balochistan ( ; bal, بلۏچستان; also romanised as Baluchistan and Baluchestan) is a historical region in Western and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. ...

''.

References

Bibliography

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Baluchistan (J182) Bangor-class minesweepers of the Royal Indian Navy 1942 ships Bangor-class minesweepers of the Pakistan Navy Ships built on the River Blyth World War II minesweepers of India