| HMS Thruster (F131) | |
|---|---|
|
File:HMS Thruster FL9083.jpg HMS Thruster | |
| Career (United Kingdom) |  |
| Name: | Thruster |
| Ordered: | 6 March 1941 |
| Builder: | Harland and Wolff |
| Laid down: | 31 July 1941 |
| Launched: | 24 September 1942 |
| Completed: | 2 April 1943 |
| Commissioned: | 28 January 1943 |
| Reclassified: | Fighter direction ship, 1944 |
| Identification: | Pennant number: F131 |
| Fate: | Transferred to Royal Netherlands Navy, 1947 |
| Career (Netherlands) |  |
| Name: | Pelikaan |
| Acquired: | 1947 |
| Identification: | Pennant number: A 830 |
| Fate: | Scrapped Bilbao 1973 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Mark I LST |
| Displacement: | 3,620 |
| Speed: |
|
| Capacity: | 13 Churchill infantry tanks, 27 vehicles, 193 men |
| Complement: | 169 |
| Service record | |
|---|---|
| Operations: | |
HMS Thruster (F131) was a Mark I LST built by Harland and Wolff. Launched in September 1942 and commissioned the following March, she saw service as part of the Allied invasion of Italy.
Design and development[]
Thruster was the third of the LST Mk.1 class ships which could carry 13 Churchill tanks, 27 other vehicles and 193 men. It had a high speed even when laden for the assault (about 18 knots) but did not have a shallow draught, which meant that a 140 ft (43 m) long bow ramp had to be added and this took up a lot of room inside the ship.
Bruiser had only two sister ships, as plans to build more in the United States led instead to a simpler though slower design capable of similar capacity but with a much shallower draught.
[]
Thruster took part in the Salerno landing in 1943. In 1944, she was refitted as a "fighter direction ship", for use during the Normandy landings in controlling fighter aircraft by ground-controlled interception.[1] Later in 1944 she took British troops back into Athens in Greece.[2] Trusher was transferred to the Royal Netherlands Navy in 1947.
Royal Netherlands service[]
She was acquired by the navy in 1947 and renamed HNLMS Pelikaan with the hull number A 830.
See also[]
References[]
The original article can be found at HMS Thruster (F131) and the edit history here.