HMIS Kathiawar (J155)

HMIS Kathiawar (J155) was a Bangor-class minesweeper 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 turbines were difficult to manufacture, the ships were designed to accept a wide variety of engines. Kathiawar displaced 656 LT at standard load and 820 LT at deep load. The ship had an overall length of 174 ft, a beam of 28 ft and a draught of 10 ft. The ship's complement consisted of 60 officers and ratings.

She was powered by two Parsons geared steam turbines, each driving one shaft, using steam provided by two Admiralty three-drum boilers. The engines produced a total of 2000 shp and gave a maximum speed of 16 kn. Kathiawar carried a maximum of 160 LT of fuel oil that gave her a range of 2800 nmi at 10 kn.

The turbine-powered Bangors were armed with a 12-pounder 3 in anti-aircraft gun and a single QF 2-pounder (4 cm) AA gun. In some ships the 2-pounder was replaced by a single or twin 20 mm Oerlikon 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 charges.

Construction and career
HMIS Kathiawar was originally ordered from the Blyth Shipbuilding Company for the Royal Navy as HMS Hartlepool in 1939. However, before she was launched, she was transferred to the Royal Indian Navy and eventually commissioned as Kathiawar. Kathiawar was a part of the Eastern Fleet, and escorted numerous convoys between Africa, British India and Australia in 1943-45.

After the Independence of India and the subsequent Partition, she was among the vessels transferred to Pakistan, where she was renamed PNS Chittagong.