HMS Speedy (P296)

HMS Speedy
HMS Speedy at Portsmouth, 1982
History
RN EnsignUnited Kingdom
NameHMS Speedy (P296)
OperatorRoyal Navy
Ordered29 June 1978[1]
Builder
Laid down1978[2]
Launched9 July 1979
Sponsored byMrs Margaret Jay, at the time wife of Peter Jay, UK Ambassador to the United States
Completed1980+[2]
Commissioned1980
Out of serviceFor disposal in December 1982[2]
HomeportHMNB Portsmouth, Hampshire
Identification
FateSold into mercantile service in 1986, scrapped in 2021
NotesPennant number: P296
General characteristics
Displacement117 long tons (119 t)[2]
Length
  • Hull-borne: 90 feet (27 m)[2]
  • Foils retracted: 101 feet (31 m)[2]
  • Foil-borne: 90 feet (27 m)[2]
Beam
  • Hull-borne: 30 feet (9.1 m)[2]
  • Foils retracted: 30 feet (9.1 m)[2]
  • Foil-borne: 30 feet (9.1 m)[2]
Draught
  • Hull-borne: 17 feet (5.2 m)[2]
  • Foils retracted: 7 feet (2.1 m)[2]
  • Foil-borne: 8 feet (2.4 m)[2]
Propulsion
  • Hull-borne: 2 x Detroit GM diesel engines, producing 1,100 brake horsepower (820 kW)[2]
  • Foil-borne: 2 x Allison gas turbines, producing 7,560 horsepower (5,640 kW)[2]
Speed
  • Hull-borne: 5 knots (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph)-15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph)[2]
  • Foil-borne: 40 knots (74 km/h; 46 mph)[2]
Range
  • Hull-borne: 3,500 nautical miles (6,500 km; 4,000 mi)[2]
  • Foil-borne: 560 nautical miles (1,040 km; 640 mi)[2]
Endurance23 long tons (23 t) of fuel
Complement18[2]
ArmamentDesigned for 2 × 7.62mm GPMGs on single mountings. Never fitted.[2]
For other ships with the same name, see HMS Speedy.

HMS Speedy (P296) was a Boeing Jetfoil, latterly a mine countermeasure vessel, of the Royal Navy, based on the civilian Boeing 929 design. She was procured in 1979, as the first of a planned class of twelve, to provide the Royal Navy with practical experience in the operation of a hydrofoil, to ascertain technical and performance characteristics, and to oversee the capability of such a craft in the Fishery Protection Squadron and North Sea Squadron.[3][2] She was assigned to these squadrons in September 1981.[2] In 1982, she was used in minesweeping and minelaying trials at Portsmouth, but these were unsuccessful and she was sold into mercantile service in 1986.[4][2] The ship served as a high speed ferry between Hong Kong and Macau, under the name Lilau and operated by Far East Hydrofoil (now TurboJET) since then. The ship was idle since 2019 and scrapped in 2021 due to old age and loss of passenger demand, caused by the opening of Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge.

  1. ^ Peter Blaker, Minister of State, Ministry of Defence (27 October 1981). "Service Men (Rehabilitation)". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). United Kingdom: House of Commons.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z Cocker, Maurice (2006). Coastal Forces Vessels of the Royal Navy from 1865. Stroud: Tempus Publishing. ISBN 075243862X.
  3. ^ Brown, D.K., J.P. Catchpole, & A.M. Shand (1984). "The Evaluation of the Hydrofoil HMS Speedy". Royal Institution of Naval Architects Transactions. 126: 16. ISSN 0035-8967.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ Colledge. Ships of the Royal Navy. p. 329.