UBS Mayu
![]() HMS Fal in July 1943
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History | |
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Name | HMS Fal |
Namesake | River Fal |
Builder | South Bank-on-Tees, UK |
Laid down | 20 May 1942 |
Launched | 9 November 1942 |
Commissioned | 2 July 1943 |
Fate | Transferred to Burmese Navy |
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Name | HMBS Mayu (later UBS Mayu, UMS Mayu) |
Namesake | Mayu River |
Acquired | 25 May 1947 |
Commissioned | 25 May 1947 |
Decommissioned | 28 September 1979 |
Fate | Museum ship |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | River-class frigate |
Displacement |
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Length | |
Beam | 36 ft 6 in (11.13 m) |
Draught |
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Propulsion |
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Speed | 20 knots (23 mph; 37 km/h) |
Range | 7,200 nmi (13,300 km) at 12 kn (14 mph; 22 km/h) |
Complement | 177 Officers & enlisted |
Armament |
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UBS Mayu was the first flagship of the
History
As HMS Fal
HMS Fal was a River-class frigate of the Royal Navy, built for
After working up, Fal served for a time in the
She was handed over by the British Government to the Burma Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve on 25 May 1947 on loan to Burma.
As HMBS Mayu
As UBS Mayu
On 29 August 1948, was transferred permanently to the Burmese Navy as a free gift and she was officially renamed as UBS Mayu.[2]
UBS Mayu fought alongside other ships of Burmese Navy and units of Burma Army in various battles during the turbulent years that followed Burmese independence in 1948. She was involved in the following battles:
- Battle of Insein
- Battle of Pathein
- Battle of Kyauk Phyu
- Battle of Mawlamyaing
- Battle of Thanhlyin-KyiteKhout
She served as flagship of the Burma Navy throughout her service and was decommissioned on 28 September[citation needed] 1979 after 32 years of active service. Following her decommissioning, she was designated as an historic war vessel and has been preserved as a museum ship at Myanmar Naval Training Headquarters, Seikkyi.[3]
General Aung San's acceptance speech
The following is the transcript of the acceptance speech made by General Aung San for the hand over of HMS Fal.[4]
- I accept on behalf of the Burma Government the free loan of HMS Fal generously offered by His Majesty's Government. This is an auspicious occasion as, with the hand-over of this frigate, the Burma Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve will have for the first time a Major Warship fit to withstand all weather conditions. In keeping with the national status of the country it will be desirable to rename this ship while she is being used by the Burma Navy. I propose to rename her after the River Mayu in Arakan with which the officers and men of the Burma Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve in active service during the last war had proud associations. As you are all aware it was along the beaches of this river that the Burma Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve played a prominent part in the active operations against the Japanese during the famous Arakan Campaigns. Their courage, determination and resolute during these operations have won for them a well-deserved praise and I as a Burman take pride in their achievements.
- I wish to thank, on behalf of my government, Lt. Commander Mitchell, his officers and men for bringing this ship safely to our hands. I now rename the ship HMBS Mayu and hand over to Lt. Commander Khin Mg Bo to take charge of its command under the orders of the officer commanding, Burma Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve and the Burma Government.
- 25 May 1947
See also
- Kilo-class submarine
- Makassar-class landing platform dock
- UMS Moattama
- Aung Zeya-class frigate
- Kyan Sittha-class frigate
- Anawrahta-class corvette
- Inlay-class Offshore Patrol Vessel
- 5-Series class : Fast Attack Craft
References
- ^ The BurmaNet News January 5, 1998
- ^ uboat.net - Allied Warships - Frigate HMS Fal of the River class
- ^ Aung, Wayne (25 May 2019). "သမိုင်းထဲက မေယု စစ်သင်္ဘောကြီ" [The Messiah's Great Warship in History]. burma.irrawaddy.com (in Burmese). Retrieved 25 March 2022.
- ^ Defence Museum, Yangon
Publications
- ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.