View source for Hunt-class mine countermeasures vessel

{{Short description|Class of mine countermeasure vessels of the Royal Navy}}
{{about|the 1980s class|the WWI class|Hunt-class minesweeper (1916)|other ship classes|Hunt class (disambiguation){{!}}Hunt class}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2017}}
{{Infobox ship
| sclass = 2
|section1={{Infobox ship/image
 | image = HMS Quorn is pictured as she departs from Portsmouth. MOD 45139064.jpg
 | image_caption = HMS ''Quorn'' in 2001
 }}

|section2={{Infobox ship/class overview
 | name = Hunt class
 | builders = *[[Vosper Thornycroft]]
              *[[Yarrow Shipbuilders Limited]]
 | operators = *{{navy|United Kingdom}}
               *{{navy|Greece}}
               *{{naval|Lithuania}}
 | class_before = 
 | class_after = 
 | subclasses = 
 | cost = 
 | built_range = 1978&ndash;1988
 | in_service_range = 
 | in_commission_range = 1979&ndash;present
 | total_ships_building = 
 | total_ships_planned = 
 | total_ships_completed = 13
 | total_ships_canceled = 
 | total_ships_active = 9
 | total_ships_laid_up = 3
 | total_ships_lost = 1
 | total_ships_retired = 
 | total_ships_preserved = 
 }}

|section3={{Infobox ship/characteristics
 | hide_header = 
 | header_caption = 
 | type = [[Mine countermeasures vessel]]
 | displacement = {{convert|750|t|abbr=on}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/europe/hms-hunt-specs.htm |title=Hunt Class Mine Countermeasures Vessels - Specifications |date=11 July 2011 |publisher=[[GlobalSecurity.org]] |access-date=13 March 2019}}</ref>
 | length = {{convert|60|m|ftin|abbr=on}}
 | beam = {{convert|9.8|m|ftin|abbr=on}}
 | height = 
 | draught = {{convert|2.2|m|ftin|abbr=on}}
 | propulsion = * 2 shaft [[Caterpillar C32|CAT C32]] diesel
                * {{convert|2,000|shp|kW|abbr=on}}
 | speed = {{convert|17|kn|abbr=on|lk=in}}
 | range = 
 | endurance = 
 | boats = 
 | complement = 45 (6 officers & 39 ratings)
 | sensors = * Radar Type 1007 I band/SharpEye navigation radar<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-navigation-radar-system-for-royal-navy |title=New navigation radar system for Royal Navy |date=28 January 2016 |publisher=[[GOV.UK]] |access-date=4 August 2016}}</ref>
             * [[Sonar]] Type 2193
 | EW = * [[Seafox drone|SeaFox]] mine disposal system
        * Diver-placed explosive charges
 | armament = * 1 × [[DS30B rapid fire cannon|DS30B]] Mk 1 30 mm gun<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.navylookout.com/the-all-rounder-the-30mm-automated-small-calibre-gun-in-focus/ |title=The all-rounder – the 30mm Automated Small Calibre Gun in focus |work= Navy Lookout|date=13 January 2021 |access-date=29 March 2023}}</ref>
              * 2 × [[Minigun]]s (replaced by [[Browning .50 caliber machine gun|Browning .50 caliber heavy machine guns]] as of 2023)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.navylookout.com/in-focus-the-50-cal-heavy-machine-gun-in-royal-navy-service/ |title=In focus: the 50 cal heavy machine gun in Royal Navy service |publisher=Navy Lookout |date=5 May 2023 |access-date=5 May 2023}}</ref>
              * 3 × [[FN MAG|General purpose machine guns]]
 | armour = 
 | notes = 
 }}
}}

[[File:HMS Brocklesby deployed on Op KIPION MOD 45167666.jpg|thumb|304px|Stern view of HMS ''Brocklesby'' off Bahrain in 2021]]
The '''Hunt class''' is a [[ship class|class]] of thirteen [[mine countermeasure vessel]]s of the [[Royal Navy]]. As built, they combined the separate roles of the traditional [[Minesweeper (ship)|minesweeper]] and that of the active [[minehunter]] in one hull, but later modifications saw the removal of mine-sweeping equipment. They have a secondary role as [[offshore patrol vessel]]s.

==Development==
Upon introduction in the early 1980s they were the largest warships ever built out of [[glass-reinforced plastic]]<ref>{{cite book |title=Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships |url=https://archive.org/details/conwaysallworlds00gard_606 |url-access=limited |date=1996 |location=Annapolis |publisher=US Naval Institute Press |page=[https://archive.org/details/conwaysallworlds00gard_606/page/n557 542] |isbn=1-55750-132-7}}</ref> and were the last in operation to use the [[Napier Deltic]] [[diesel engine]]. All were built by [[Vosper Thornycroft]] in [[Woolston, Hampshire|Woolston]] except {{HMS|Cottesmore|M32|2}} and {{HMS|Middleton|M34|2}}, which were built by [[Yarrow Shipbuilders Limited]] on the [[River Clyde]]. {{HMS|Quorn|M41|2}} was the last ship of the class launched.

Following the sale of {{HMS|Bicester|M36|2}} and {{HMS|Berkeley|M40|2}} to the Greek Navy, the sale of {{HMS|Cottesmore|M32|2}} and {{HMS|Dulverton|M35|2}} to the Lithuanian Navy and the decommissioning of {{HMS|Brecon|M29|2}}, a contract to re-engine the remaining eight vessels was signed by [[BAE Systems]] in 2008, whereby the existing 30-year old Napier Deltic 9-59K power units were replaced by [[Caterpillar C32|Caterpillar CAT C32]] engines, together with new gearboxes, bow thrusters, propellers and control systems, in a six-year refurbishment programme that was completed in 2018.

The capabilities of the remaining eight vessels of the Hunt class have been significantly enhanced by the installation of [[Sonar]] Type 2193 and the NAUTIS 3 command system. The performance of Sonar 2193 exceeds that of any other mine hunting sonar in service in the world today and is capable of detecting and classifying an object the size of a football at a distance of up to {{convert|1,000|m|yd}}.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thalesgroup.co.uk/thales_corporate/press-room/pressreleases/royal-navys-most-advanced-minehunting-sonar-enters-service.cfm |title=The Royal Navy's most advanced minehunting sonar has entered service |date=26 March 2004 |publisher=[[Thales Group]] |access-date=4 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070315233520/http://www.thalesgroup.co.uk/thales_corporate/press-room/pressreleases/royal-navys-most-advanced-minehunting-sonar-enters-service.cfm |archive-date=15 March 2007}}</ref> In late 2007 ''Chiddingfold '' used the [[Seafox drone]], the Royal Navy's mine disposal system, during [[Exercise Joint Warrior|Exercise Neptune Warrior]] off Scotland. Seafox is described by the MOD as a ''"state of the art fire and forget system, capable of destroying mines in depths of up to 300 metres"''.

The 2021 defence white paper announced that all the Hunt-class vessels would be retired from Royal Navy service in the 2020s and replaced by automated systems.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/unmanned-systems-set-to-replace-all-royal-navy-mine-warfare-vessels |title=Unmanned Systems Set to Replace All Royal Navy Mine Warfare Vessels |work=The Maritime Executive |date=24 March 2021 |access-date=8 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210324234528/https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/unmanned-systems-set-to-replace-all-royal-navy-mine-warfare-vessels |archive-date=2021-03-24 |url-status=live}}</ref> It was subsequently indicated that the withdrawal would occur in the 2029 to 2031 period.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/minesweepers-out-of-service-dates-revealed/|title=Minesweepers out of service dates revealed|date=6 September 2021}}</ref>

In 2023, the navy began to take delivery of six REMUS 300 small autonomous underwater vehicles (SAUVs), produced by Huntington Ingalls Industries. The system is being acquired to enhance the capabilities of the ''Hunt''-class ships and has a reported operating depth of 300 meters with an endurance time of up to 20 hours.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.janes.com/defence-news/naval-weapons/latest/rn-takes-delivery-of-remus-300-sauvs |title=RN takes delivery of REMUS 300 SAUVs |website=Janes |last=Scott |first=Richard |date=13 November 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.naval-technology.com/projects/remus-300-unmanned-underwater-vehicle-uuv/?cf-view |title=REMUS 300 Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (UUV) |website=Naval Technology  |date=21 March 2023}}</ref>

==Ships in the class==
All 13 ships of this class re-used names from the World War II {{sclass2|Hunt|destroyer|1}}. Four of the names had also been used for World War I {{sclass2|Hunt|minesweeper|1||1916}}s: these were HMS ''Bicester'', ''Cattistock'', ''Cottesmore'' and ''Quorn''. {{HMS|Atherstone|1916|6}} had been a [[Racecourse-class minesweeper|paddlewheel minesweeper]] in 1916, and {{HMS|Brocklesby||2}} was a [[Coastal trading vessel|coaster]] taken up from trade in 1916.{{citation needed|date=September 2018}}

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Navy 
! Name
! [[Pennant number]]
! Builder
! Launched
! Commissioned
! Decommissioned
! Status
|-
! scope="row" rowspan="8" | {{RN}}
| {{HMS|Brecon|M29|2}}
| M29
| [[Vosper Thornycroft]]
| 1978
| 1979
| 2005
| Decommissioned, now a static training ship at {{HMS|Raleigh|shore establishment|6}} since 2008
|-
|{{HMS|Ledbury|M30|2}}
|M30
|Vosper Thornycroft
|1979
|1981
|In active service
|
|-
|{{HMS|Cattistock|M31|2}}
|M31
|Vosper Thornycroft
|1981
|1982
|In active service
|
|-
|{{HMS|Brocklesby|M33|2}}
|M33
|Vosper Thornycroft
|1982
|1983
|In active service
|
|-
|{{HMS|Middleton|M34|2}}
|M34
|[[Yarrow Shipbuilders]]
|1983
|1984
|In active service
|
|-
|{{HMS|Chiddingfold|M37|2}}
|M37
|Vosper Thornycroft
|1983
|1984
|Extended readiness (uncrewed reserve)
|Used as source for spare parts for sister ships<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.navylookout.com/royal-navy-mine-warfare-update-hms-bangor-extended-in-service-for-5-years/|title=Royal Navy mine warfare update – HMS Bangor extended in service for 5 years |date=21 November 2021 |website=Navy Lookout |access-date=21 November 2025 }}</ref>
|-
| {{HMS|Atherstone|M38|2}}
| M38
| Vosper Thornycroft
| 1986
| 1986
| 2017
| Decommissioned 14 December 2017
|-
| {{HMS|Hurworth|M39|2}}
| M39
| Vosper Thornycroft
| 1984
| 1985
| In active service
|
|-
! scope="row" rowspan="2" | {{navy|Greece}}
| [[HS Europa|HS ''Europa'']]
| M62
| Vosper Thornycroft
| 1985
| 1988 / 2001
| 2000 / In active service
| Former {{HMS|Bicester|M36|6}}
|-
| [[HMS Berkeley (M40)#History|HS ''Kallisto'']]
| M63
| Vosper Thornycroft
| 1986
| 1988 / 2001
| 2001 / 2020
| Former {{HMS|Berkeley|M40|6}}, cut in two in a collision with a [[container ship]] on 27 October 2020.<ref name=NGTV30342>{{cite web|url=https://www.newgreektv.com/news-in-english-for-greeks/greece/item/33042-huge-merchant-ship-cuts-minesweeper-kallisto-in-two |title=Huge merchant ship cuts minesweeper "Kallisto" in two|first=E. |last=Tsiliopoulos |date=27 October 2020 |publisher=New Greek TV |access-date=27 October 2020}}</ref>
|-
! scope="row" rowspan="3" | {{naval|Lithuania}}
| [[HMS Cottesmore (M32)|''Skalvis'']]
| M53
| Yarrow Shipbuilders
| 1982
| 1983 / 2011
| 2005 / In active service
| Former {{HMS|Cottesmore|M32|6}}
|-
| [[HMS Dulverton (M35)|''Kuršis'']]
| M54
| Vosper Thornycroft
| 1982
| 1983 / 2011
| 2004 / In active service
| Former {{HMS|Dulverton|M35|6}}
|-
| {{HMS|Quorn|M41|2}}
| M41
| Vosper Thornycroft
| 1988
| 1989 / ?
| 2017
| Decommissioned 14 December 2017. Sold to Lithuania in 2020. Undergoing modernization to enter LNF in 2025.
|}

==See also==
*[[Sandown-class minehunter|''Sandown''-class minehunter]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Hunt class mine countermeasure vessel}}
*{{cite web |url=http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/the-equipment/ships/patrol-and-mine-hunters/mine-counter-measure-vessels |title=Mine Countermeasures Vessels - Hunt Class |publisher=Royal Navy}}

{{Hunt class MCMV}}

[[Category:Patrol vessels of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Hunt-class mine countermeasures vessels| ]]
[[Category:Mine warfare vessel classes]]
[[Category:Napier Deltic]]
[[Category:Ship classes of the Royal Navy]]