BNS Bijoy is a Castle-class guided missile corvette of the Bangladesh Navy. She has been serving in the Bangladesh Navy since 2011.

Bridge and main guns of BNS Bijoy
History
Bangladesh
NameBNS Bijoy
BuilderHall, Russell & Company, Aberdeen
Launched3 June 1981
Acquired14 May 2010
Commissioned5 March 2011
HomeportMongla
Identification
StatusIn active service
General characteristics
Class and typeCastle-class corvette
Displacement1,430 tonnes
Length81 m (265 ft 9 in)
Beam11.5 m (37 ft 9 in)
Draught3.6 m (11 ft 10 in)
Propulsion2 × Ruston 12RKC 5,640 bhp (4,210 kW) diesels, 2 shafts
Speed
  • 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph) max
  • 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) cruise
Range10,000 nmi (19,000 km; 12,000 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement45 + accommodation for 25 SWADS
Sensors and
processing systems
  • Type 360 Radar Surface Search, E/F band
  • Type 348 fire control radar for main gun
  • Kelvin Hughes SharpEye surveillance radar, S band
  • Kelvin Hughes SharpEye navigation radar, X band
Armament
Aviation facilitiesFlight deck

Description

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Bijoy carries four C-704 automated anti-ship missiles as well as one H/PJ-26 76 mm main gun and two Oerlikon 20 mm auto cannons.[citation needed] She has a flight deck which can accommodate a helicopter up to Westland Sea King size.

History

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The ship was laid down by Hall, Russell & Company of Aberdeen, Scotland, on 25 June 1980 and launched on 3 June 1981. She was commissioned into the Royal Navy as HMS Dumbarton Castle on 12 March 1982. She served the Royal Navy from 1982 to 2008. The ship was decommissioned in 2008 and, in April 2010, sold to the Bangladesh Navy.

Bangladesh

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The wardroom of BNS Bijoy

From 21 May 2010, the ship underwent a major refit, installing upgrades to suit the Bangladesh Navy's requirements, which continued until December 2010. The Bangladesh Navy formally acquired the ship on 14 May 2010. Bijoy reached Chittagong on 21 January 2011.[1] On 5 March 2011, the ship was commissioned into the Bangladesh Navy as BNS Bijoy.[2]

She took part in Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT), a bilateral exercise with the United States Navy, in 2011 and 2015.[3]

On 1 December 2017, BNS Bijoy departed for Lebanon to join the Maritime Task Force of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).[4] She replaced two Bangladesh Navy ships, BNS Ali Haider and BNS Nirmul on 1 January 2018,[5] which had deployed earlier. En route, she paid a goodwill visit to the Port of Colombo from 6 to 8 December.[6][7]

On 4 August 2020, BNS Bijoy was berthed in the Port of Beirut during a massive onshore explosion. The ship received moderate damage and 21 crew members were injured in the blast.[8][9] The crew of Bijoy received medical assistance and help with damage assessment from the Brazilian frigate Independência, the flagship of the UNIFIL fleet.[10][11] After assessment Bijoy was towed by the ocean tug TCG İnebolu to Turkey, where she was repaired in the naval shipyard at Aksaz Naval Base.[12] After completing the repair works, the ship returned home on 25 October 2020.[13] Another corvette, BNS Sangram, replaced her in the UNIFIL mission.[14]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "BNS Bijoy joins navy fleet". Daily Sun. 22 January 2011. Archived from the original on 18 December 2014.
  2. ^ "Navy to be made 3D: PM". bdnews24.com. 5 March 2011. Retrieved 15 April 2016.
  3. ^ "US-Bangla jt exercise begins today". The Independent. Dhaka. 30 September 2015. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
  4. ^ "BNS Bijoy off to UN Mission in Lebanon". BSS. 1 December 2017. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 1 December 2017.
  5. ^ Habib, Noor Islam (29 May 2019). "Role of Bangladesh navy in UN peacekeeping mission". The Independent. Bangladesh. Retrieved 5 December 2020. The writer is Assistant Director of Bangladesh ISPR
  6. ^ "BNS Bijoy arrives at port of Colombo". Sri Lanka Navy. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
  7. ^ "BNS Bijoy departs Colombo harbour". Sri Lanka Navy. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
  8. ^ Bhuiyan, Humayun Kabir (5 August 2020). "Beirut blast: Two Bangladeshis die, 21 Bangladesh Navy crew injured". Dhaka Tribune. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
  9. ^ Chowdhury, Shahidul Islam (5 August 2020). "19 Bangladesh Navy crew injured in Beirut explosions". New Age. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
  10. ^ "European Navies Providing Disaster Relief To Beirut". Naval News. 10 August 2020. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
  11. ^ Gabino, Anderson (5 August 2020). "Nota da Marinha do Brasil sobre atuação da Fragata Independência no apoio as vítima da explosão". Defesa TV (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 12 August 2020. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
  12. ^ "Damaged Bangladeshi Navy corvette is being towed by Turkish tug for repair". phmcgpe. 28 August 2020. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
  13. ^ "Beirut blast-damaged BNS Bijoy returns home". Dhaka Tribune. 25 October 2020. Retrieved 28 October 2020.
  14. ^ "'BNS Sangram' sails for Lebanon to join UNIFIL". The Daily Observer. 10 August 2020. Retrieved 10 August 2020.