HMS Brocklesby (M33)


HMS Brocklesby is a of the British Royal Navy.
Brocklesby is now permanently based in Bahrain at HMS Jufair as part of four minehunters of 9th Mine Countermeasures Squadron supported by a Royal Fleet Auxiliary Bay Class on Operation Kipion.

Operational history

Cherbourg incident

In 1993 she became involved in the Cherbourg incident, when Brocklesby challenged the French trawler La Calypso in the Channel Islands waters.

2003 Invasion of Iraq

She gained a battle honour when she was among the first coalition ships into Umm Qasr during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. She was part of a group of mine countermeasure vessels that cleared a mined channel into the port, enabling access to it by sea.

2011 Libya operations

In 2011 she took part in surveillance and embargo operations off the coast of Libya alongside, as part of Operation Ellamy, the UK's contribution to Operation Unified Protector. In early May 2011, she took part in a mine-clearing operation to secure the waters of Misrata Port, Libya, after mines were dropped by Muammar Gaddafi's forces to prevent aid from being delivered to the besieged city. Brocklesby used her sonar and SeaFox mine disposal system to locate and destroy a mine that was located 1.6 km from the harbour entrance, making the waters safe for aid ships to enter.
Brocklesbys commanding officer, Lieutenant Commander Jim Byron DSC, said:
Brocklesby returned to Portsmouth on 5 July 2011 flying a special version of the Jolly Roger, indicating the successful destruction of a sea-mine.

Exercise Joint Warrior 2013

In October 2013 she participated in Exercise Joint Warrior.

Op Kipion 2018-2020

During 2018 HMS Brocklesby departed the UK's waters and transited to the Middle East as part of the British commitment to promoting stability in the region. Op Kipion saw four British mine hunters, as well as other warships, spend approximately two years forward deployed. Brocklesbys move to the Middle East saw her take responsibility from HMS Middleton, subsequently allowing Middleton to transit back to the UK.