9th Mine Counter-Measures Squadron
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|unit_name= 9th Mine Countermeasures Squadron
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|country= United Kingdom
|branch= Royal Navy
|type= Squadron
|role= Mine Countermeasures Squadron
|size= 5 ships as of 2017; 4 ships in 2023; <3 ships as of 2024-25{{Cite web |date=9 November 2024 |title=HMS Bangor being repaired in Bahrain following damage sustained earlier this year |url=https://www.navylookout.com/hms-bangor-being-repaired-in-bahrain-following-damage-sustained-earlier-this-year/|publisher=Navy Lookout}}
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|garrison= HMS Jufair, Bahrain
|garrison_label= Home port
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The 9th Mine Countermeasures Squadron is a front-line squadron of the Royal Navy with responsibility for mine warfare in the Persian Gulf region. The squadron is based in Bahrain and, as of 2024-25, is equipped with three mine countermeasure vessels. Normally, a Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) support ship has also been assigned to the squadron. However, in late 2024 the squadron's normal support ship, RFA Cardigan Bay, returned to the UK for refit and acute personnel shortages in the RFA made her replacement in the Gulf uncertain.{{Cite web |date=9 November 2024 |title=HMS Bangor being repaired in Bahrain following damage sustained earlier this year |url=https://www.navylookout.com/hms-bangor-being-repaired-in-bahrain-following-damage-sustained-earlier-this-year/|publisher=Navy Lookout}} In early 2025 the mine countermeasures vessel HMS Chiddingfold was also returned to the U.K.{{cite tweet |url=https://x.com/NavyLookout/status/1908468426403705088?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet |title=@NavyLookout.@HMSChiddingfold towed into Portsmouth this morning after being brought back from the Gulf to Southampton on a semi-submersible heavy lift vessel.|number=1908468426403705088 |user=NavyLookout |date=5 April 2025 |access-date=5 April 2025}} while the minehunter HMS Bangor was inactive due to damage sustained in a collision.
History
=1962–1971=
In its original guise, the 9th Mine Sweeping Squadron (MSS) was formed of four Ton-class sweepers – HM Ships Appleton, Kemerton, Flockton and Chilcompton which were specially fitted for the rigours of operating in the Persian Gulf. The ships had their pennant numbers painted in Arabic on the stern and carried a funnel badge featuring a dhow on a yellow background.
The squadron was based in Aden and later Bahrain.{{Cite web|title = Appleton M1106|url = http://tca2000.co.uk/?page_id=605|website = Ton Class Association|access-date=28 April 2017}} When Bahrain and Qatar became independent nations and Trucial States formed into the United Arab Emirates, the squadron was disbanded.{{cite book|last=Roberts|first=John|title=Safeguarding the Nation: The Story of the Modern Royal Navy|year=2009|publisher=Seaforth Publishing|pages=92|isbn=9781848320437}}
=2013–present=
The squadron was reformed in 2013 as the 9th Mine Countermeasures Squadron, the change in title reflecting the advances in mine countermeasures techniques in the intervening 40 years. Up until the early 2020s, the squadron usually consisted of two Hunt-class mine countermeasures vessels and two Sandown-class single role minehunters on three year rotations, supported by a Royal Fleet Auxiliary Bay-class landing ship, normally RFA Cardigan Bay. As in its original guise, the squadron operates out of HMS Jufair in Bahrain and carries the same funnel badge.{{Cite web|title = Reborn Identity for Mine Countermeasure Squadron|url = https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/news-and-latest-activity/news/2013/september/05/130905-reborn-identity|website = Royalnavy.mod.uk|access-date=28 April 2017|date=5 September 2013}} {{As of|2025|4}}, assigned units were:
- {{HMS|Middleton|M34|6}}
- {{HMS|Bangor|M109|6}} (undergoing refit in the Gulf due to damage suffered in 2024 collision) File:RFA Cardigan Bay MOD 45156551.jpg File:FUTURE MINE HUNTING SYSTEM COMES TO CLYDE MOD 45166088.jpg
With the planned retirement of all the remaining Sandown-class vessels by 2025, and their replacement with both autonomous minehunting systems and supporting "motherships", at minimum a new configuration of the squadron was likely.{{cite news |title=Mothership to support autonomous mine hunting systems arrives in the UK |url=https://www.navylookout.com/mothership-to-support-autonomous-mine-hunting-systems-arrives-in-the-uk/ |access-date=30 January 2023 |work=Navy Lookout |date=30 January 2023}} In February 2023, the autonomous minehunting vessel RNMB Harrier arrived in Bahrain to begin trials of autonomous systems in hot weather. The autonomous vessel was to operate from RFA Cardigan Bay.{{cite tweet |url=https://twitter.com/NavyLookout/status/1625210569786593282 |title=Autonomous minehunting vessel RNMB Harrier has arrived in Bahrain and will be based on @RFACardiganBay |number=1625210569786593282 |user=NavyLookout |date=13 February 2023 |access-date=13 February 2023}}{{cite web |title=Autonomous minehunting test team mark one year in the Gulf |url=https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/news-and-latest-activity/news/2024/march/13/240313-harrier-in-the-gulf |access-date=12 June 2024 |work=Royal Navy |date=13 March 2024}}
In April 2024 a gap in the capability of the squadron was created when Cardigan Bay deployed, initially to the Mediterranean to contribute to the British presence there in the context of the Israel-Hamas War, and then, in August, to the U.K. for refit.{{cite tweet |url=https://x.com/NavyLookout/status/1823024677108720063 |title=@NavyLookout MoD says @RFAMountsBay has replaced @RFACardiganBay in the Mediterranean as part of routine ship and crew rotation.|number=1823024677108720063 |user=NavyLookout |date=12 August 2024 |access-date=14 August 2024}} The squadron was further reduced as the result of the return of HMS Chiddingfold to the U.K.{{cite tweet |url=https://x.com/NavyLookout/status/1908468426403705088?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet |title=@NavyLookout.@HMSChiddingfold towed into Portsmouth this morning after being brought back from the Gulf to Southampton on a semi-submersible heavy lift vessel.|number=1908468426403705088 |user=NavyLookout |date=5 April 2025 |access-date=5 April 2025}} and damage sustained by HMS Bangor making her inactive.
References
{{reflist|2}}
{{Mine-Countermeasures squadrons of the Royal Navy|state=collapsed}}
Category:Mine Counter-Measures squadrons of the Royal Navy
Category:1962 establishments in the United Kingdom