Iran Ajr

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Iran Ajr, 1986
History
Iran
NameIran Ajr
BuilderTeraoka Shipyard - Minamiawaji, Japan[1]
ChristenedArya Rakhsh[1]
Acquiredby purchase, 1978
RenamedIran Ajr (1980)
IdentificationIMO number7807196
FateSeized and scuttled by U.S. Navy, 26 September 1987
NotesOriginally acquired by
Imperial Iranian Navy
as part of pre-1979 Revolution defense build-up. Was intended to be the first of a class of four.
General characteristics [2]
Type
Landing ship/Minelayer
Displacement
  • 614 t (604 long tons) empty
  • 2,274 t (2,238 long tons) full load
Length53.85 m (176 ft 8 in)
Beam10.81 m (35 ft 6 in)
Draught3 m (9 ft 10 in)
Propulsion2 × diesel engines, 2 screws
Speed11 knots (20 km/h; 13 mph)
Complement30
Armament
  • 2 × 12.7 mm (0.50 in) machine guns
  • Variable number of mines of various types

Iran Ajr, formerly known as the Arya Rakhsh, was a Japanese-built

scuttled
in 1987.

Iran–Iraq War

On 21 September 1987, U.S. forces involved in

commandos later boarded the ship, confirmed the presence of mines, and detained the surviving Iranians. On 26 September, EOD MU5 Detachment 5 scuttled the ship in international waters
.

When the U.S. Navy guided-missile frigate USS Samuel B. Roberts (FFG-58) struck a mine in the Persian Gulf in April 1988, U.S. Navy explosive ordnance specialists matched the serial numbers of nearby unexploded mines to the ones aboard Iran Ajr. This evidence of Iranian involvement in the mining of Samuel B. Roberts led to the biggest surface-warfare naval battle since World War II, the retribution campaign of 18 April 1988 called Operation Praying Mantis.[3]

The captured

U.S. Navy Museum
.

References

  1. ^ a b "7807196 Iran Ajr". Maritime Connector. Archived from the original on 4 February 2018. Retrieved 29 June 2015.
  2. ^ "Iran Ajr/Hejaz Class". globalsecurity.org. 2012. Retrieved 29 August 2012.
  3. ^ a b Peniston, Bradley (2006). "Capturing the Iran Ajr". No Higher Honor. Retrieved 29 June 2015.

Further reading

External links