Osprey-class
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The Osprey Class Coastal Mine Hunter is a class of twelve minesweepers built for the United States Navy.[1][2]
The vessels were built with fibreglass hulls, to reduce the danger of triggering mines sensitive to the magnetic signature of vessels with conventional steel hulls. The vessels were propelled via Voith Scheider propulsion, because its low acoustic signature helps avoid triggering mines sensitive to the sounds of conventional propellers.
Unlike the minesweepers of some other navies the Osprey Class ships are lightly armed, because they depended on more heavily armed vessels for protection.[3]
First deployed: | 20 Nov 1993 (USS Osprey) |
Propulsion: | Two diesels (800 hp each); two Voith-Schneider (cycloidal) propulsion systems. |
Length: | 188 feet (57.3 meters). |
Beam: | 36 feet (11 meters). |
Displacement: | 893 tons (907.33 metric tons) full load. |
Speed: | 10 knots (18.4 kmph). |
Crew: | 5 officers, 46 enlisted. |
Armament: | Two .50 caliber machine guns, Mine Neutralization System and other mine countermeasures systems. |
References
- ↑ Coastal Mine Hunters (MHC) Osprey Class, United States Navy. Retrieved on 2007-11-16.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Coastal Mine Hunters - MHC. United States Navy (11 October 2007). Retrieved on 2007-11-10.
- ↑ Stephen Priestley. The Kingston Class: 'Mid-Life' or Move Over for the MCDV?, Canadian American Strategic Review, June 2006. Retrieved on 2007-11-17.