Neštin-class river minesweeper

The Neštin-class minesweeper is a class of minesweeper built specifically for naval mine clearing duties on rivers. The class was built for the needs of the Yugoslav Navy on the Danube river, and was also sold to Hungary and Iraq during the 1970s and '80s.

Neštin class river minesweeper RML-332 Motajica of Serbian River Flotilla anchored at Šabac city beach.
Class overview
Builders: Brodotehnika
Operators:
  • Serbian River Flotilla
  • Hungarian Defence Force
  • Iraqi Navy
Preceded by: 301-class river minesweeper
Built: 1976-1980
Completed: 16
Active: 6
General characteristics
Displacement: 61 tons
Length: 26.94 m (88.4 ft)
Height: 2.68 m (8.8 ft)
Draft: 1.08 m (3.5 ft)
Speed:
  • 18 kilometres per hour (9.7 kn) upstream
  • 24 kilometres per hour (13.0 kn)downstream
Complement: 17 officers and men
Armament:
  • 1 × M75 20mm gun (2 on RML-341)
  • 2 × M71 20mm gun
  • 1 × launcher Strela 2
  • 18 non-contact mines type AIM-M82 or 24 anchor R-1

Design

A new river minesweeper design was requested in the 1970s to replace the 301-class minesweeper in the Yugoslav Navy. The Neštin-class was designed by the Naval Institute of the Yugoslav Navy. All minesweepers were built by Brodotehnika shipyard in Belgrade. They can load and lay 18 non-contact mines type AIM-M82 or 24 anchor R-1 mines, as well as 80 fully equipped troops.

Equipment for countermeasures consist of mechanical mine-hunter MDL-2R, makeshift electromagnetic/acoustic mine hunter PEAM-1 and explosive mine hunter AEL.

The Neštin-class is powered by two Torpedo B-539RM/2 engines 121 kW each.[1]

Operators

Fifteen ships were built for the Yugoslav Navy and export customers from 1976 to 1980. One ship was built for Yugoslav Navy in 1999.

Serbia and Yugoslavia

Six ships were built for the Yugoslav Navy in the 1970s while an additional ship with heavier artillery was built in 1999. Four Neštin-class minesweepers continued their service with the River Flotilla of the Serbian Armed Forces, following the dissolution of Yugoslavia.[1]

Serbian and former Yugoslav Neštin-class minesweepers:

  • RML-331 "Neštin"
  • RML-332 "Motajica"
  • RML-333 "Belegiš" - Sold to a tourist agency.
  • RML-334 "Bosut" - Withdrawn and scrapped.
  • RML-335 "Vučedol"
  • RML-336 "Đerdap"
  • RML-341 "Novi Sad" (built in 1999)

Hungary
Retired AM-21 Százhalombatta minesweeper of the Hungarian Defence Forces, Budapest

The Hungarian Danube Flotilla received six Neštin-class minesweepers in 1981 from Yugoslavia. In Hungarian service, they were designated as MS-25. Today three, Óbuda, Dunaújváros, and Dunaföldvár, are still operated by HDF 1st EOD & River Flotilla Battalion.

Hungarian MS-25 minesweepers:

  • AM-11 Újpest
  • AM-12 Baja
  • AM-21 Százhalombatta
  • AM-22 Óbuda
  • AM-31 Dunaújváros
  • AM-32 Dunaföldvár

Iraq

Yugoslavia delivered three Neštin-class minesweepers to Iraq in 1980. All survived both the Iran-Iraq War and Operation Desert Storm, although they were largely inactive after 1991. Two were sunk during the 2003 invasion of Iraq and the third was captured in a damaged state by British soldiers and scrapped.[2]

As of 2004, the class is no longer in service with the Iraqi Navy.[3]

References
  1. "NESTIN Series Mine-hunter". Serbian Armed Forces. Archived from the original on 2012-06-13. Retrieved 2013-04-14.
  2. "MSR Nestin class". harpoondatabases.com. 29 May 2014. Archived from the original on 29 May 2014. Retrieved 2018-09-24.
  3. http://www.paluba.info/smf/brodovi-jrm/recni-minolovac-klase-nestin Neštin - Paluba.info (Serbian)
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