Libyan Navy

Libyan Navy
File:Seal of the Libyan Navy.svg Seal of the Libyan Navy
Active	November 1962–Present
Country	Libya
Allegiance	Libya
Type	Navy
Size	2,800 perssonel
Headquarters	Tripoli
Equipment	pre 2011: 41+ vessels
Commanders
Minister of Defense	Abdullah al-Thanay
Chief of Naval Staff	Hassan Ali Bushnak
Insignia
Flag of the Libyan Navy
Naval Ensign
Naval Ensign (1977-2011)

The Libyan Navy is the maritime force of Libya, established in November 1962. It is a fairly typical small navy with a few missile frigates, corvettes and patrol boats to defend the coastline, but with a very limited self-defence capability. The Navy has always been the smallest of Libya's services and has always been dependent on foreign sources for equipment, spare parts, and training.

History

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Its first warship was delivered in 1966. These were 2 Ham class minesweepers from the UK. Initially the effective force was limited to smaller vessels, but this changed after the rise of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi in 1969. From this time, Libya started to buy armaments from Europe and the Soviet Union. The Customs and Harbour police were amalgamated with the Navy in 1970, extending the Navy's mission to include anti-smuggling and customs duties. The total personnel of the Libyan Navy is about 8,000.

During the 2011 Libyan civil war several elements of the Libyan Navy were destroyed by NATO forces, including 8 warships in the night before 20 May and one on 17 August. Two were also captured by the rebels at Benghazi.

The Navy began the process of purchasing new boats in May 2012, mainly fast patrol boats for surveillance and border protection purposes, including the MRTP-20 fast attack boat.

As of June 2012, the Libyan Navy has been headed by Commodore Hassan Ali Bushnak, Chief of Staff of the Libyan Naval Force. The British Royal Navy along with the Libyan Navy held joint exercises together at Dartmouth Naval College in the UK in June 2012.

Background

The Navy's primary mission is to defend the coast. A strengthening of the service was made in the 1970s; the Soviet Union sold six Foxtrot-class SSK submarines, and though two of them were only averagely serviceable, they became the main threats to the US Navy in the Mediterranean Sea. In the meantime, Libya bought four Russian Nanuchka class corvettes, that even in the export versions were well-armed and powerful ships. Another four Assad class corvettes were acquired from Italy. These had Otomat long range missiles (in the Mk.I version without datalink for in-flight course correction) and modern artillery. They were less well-armed as anti-aircraft ships than the Nanuchkas but, with a displacement almost twice that of a typical FAC, had ASW capabilities, with sonar and light torpedoes.

Actions

Burning Libyan corvette, 1986

Libya's Navy first saw military action during an encounter with the United States Sixth Fleet in March 1986 in the Action in the Gulf of Sidra (1986), when one missile boat and a corvette were destroyed, and other ships were damaged by A-6s. Unusually, some of these attacks were performed, successfully, with CBUs like the Mk.20 Rockeye designed as an anti-tank weapon.

In July 1984, the Ro-Ro ferry Ghat is believed to have mined the Red Sea a few kilometres south of the Suez Canal. Approximately nineteen ships were damaged, including a Soviet container ship which was the first to be hit on 9 July. The Islamic Jihad Organisation took responsibility for the incident, however Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak did not believe the claims and blamed Muammar Gaddafi and Libya. Other sources agreed after it was learnt that the ship took fifteen days to complete a voyage that normally would take eight days, the head of the Libyan minelaying division was on board, and that, when inspected by French officials in Marseilles the aft door was damaged. Due to concerns about the safety and potential lost revenue from the canal, Egypt asked for assistance in sweeping the mines in a complex operation that involved mine-hunters from the French, British, Italian, Dutch, and US navies. The British located a Soviet-made mine, which was most likely sold to Libya after 1981 and was laid to cause problems for Egypt.

Broadcast by US forces during the 2011 military intervention in Libya warning Libyan vessels of the naval blockade

During the 2011 Libyan civil war, Libyan Navy missile boats docked in Tripoli and began bombarding opposition controlled residential areas outside the city center leading to many casualties. On 25 February 2011 naval officers in the rebel controlled areas declared their full support for the 17 February movement against the government. Anti-government forces claimed that the Libyan navy shelled rebel positions during the Battle of Ra's Lanuf. They also conducted a naval landing operation with four boats to flank rebel forces in Ra's Lanuf. On 9 July 2011, several light inflatable craft were destroyed by NATO warships when they were on their way to attack the rebel held city of Misrata. One of the NATO ships involved in the action was HMS York.

On 17 August 2011, an RAF Tornado GR4 struck a moving Libyan Navy patrol boat with Paveway IV bombs. The boat had been observed supporting pro-Gaddafi forces during the Second Battle of Zawiya.

In early 2014, the Navy has been enforcing a central government blockade of rebel-held ports in eastern Libya. On several occasions naval vessels have fired warning shots at tankers approaching Sidra, in an attempt to stop the rebels funding themselves through oil sales.

Ships (1985)

File:Libyan Assad class missile corvette.jpg

A starboard quarter view of a Libyan (Italian-built) Assad class missile corvette underway, 1982.

• 1 × Vosper Mk.7 frigate, Dat Assawari, (Built in UK, 1×114 mm Mk.8 gun, 2×40 mm/70 AA guns, 2×35mm/90 Oerlikon, 2×Seacat SAM, 1×Limbo Mk.10 ASW mortar. Upgraded in the 80s with Aspide SAM, OTOMAT SSMs, new search radar and other equipment)
• 4 × Assad class corvettes (Built in Italy, 1×76 and 2×35 mm guns, 6 tls, 4 OTOMAT)
• 3 of 4 × Nanuchka class corvettes, one sunk by US Navy in 1985. One damaged 25 March 1986, repaired in USSR 1990
• Some light units of Osa and Jaguar class (16×SS-12 missiles and 2×40 mm)
• 3 × Polnocny class landing ships
• One LSD ship
• Some minor vessels

Ships (2006)

Frigates

Libyan frigate Al Ghardabia in Valletta, 2005.

2 × Koni class frigates (Type 1159) (one operational)

• 212 Al Hani: (Captured by Rebels at Benghazi)
• 213 Al Ghardabia: (struck by NATO in Tripoli Harbour 20 May 2011)

Armament:

• 4 × SS-N-2C Styx SSMs
• 2 × SA-N-4 SAMs
• 4 × 76mm guns
• 4 × 30mm guns
• 4 × 406mm torpedoes
• 1 × RBU-6000 A/S mortar
• 20 mines

Corvettes

2 × Nanuchka class corvettes

• 416 Tariq-Ibn Ziyad: (Captured by Rebels)
• 418 Ain Zaara: (struck by NATO, 20 May 2011)

Armament:

• 4 × SS-N-2C Styx SSMs
• 2 × SA-N-4 SAMs
• 2 × 57mm guns MFPBs

MFPBs

9 × Combattante II fast attack craft (7 operational)

Armament:

• 4 × Otomat SSMs
• 1 × 76mm gun
• 2 × 40mm guns

File:ElMatkhur1986.jpg

A port beam view of the Soviet built project 205ER (NATO code Osa II) guided missile boat El Mtkhur (525) underway.

12 × Osa class missile boats (Type II) (4 operational)

Armament:

• 4 × SS-N-2C Styx SSMs
• 4 × 30mm guns

Mine warfare vessels

9 × Natya class minesweepers (Type 266ME) (5 operational)

Armament:

• 4 × 30mm guns
• 4 × 25mm guns
• 2 × RBU 1200 A/S mortars
• 10 mines
• Acoustic & Magnetic sweep

In addition to several auxiliary and landing craft.

Oceanographic Research Ship

Nour, a former trawler converted in the 1970s. was stricken in 2002.

Submarines

File:Foxtrot Class submarine.JPEG

Libyan Foxtrot class submarine, 1982.

6 × Foxtrot class submarine (1 left; not in commission)

In 1982 Libya received six Foxtrot-class military submarines from the Soviet Union. However, since 1984, no submarine patrols are reported to have been conducted. In 1993 one submarine was reported sunk, and another one was abandoned in Lithuania due to international sanctions. Further reports circulated about one submarine being refitted in 2003, but they have since turned out to be false. In 2011, during the Libyan civil war, one submarine (along with a frigate and a corvette) was captured by the rebels at the Benghazi naval base.

Ships (2012)

Frigates

1 × Koni class frigate (Type 1159)

• 212 Al Hani Ship being refitted in Malta.

Armament:

• 4 × SS-N-2C Styx SSMs
• 2 × SA-N-4 SAMs
• 4 × 76mm guns
• 4 × 30mm guns
• 4 × 406mm torpedoes
• 1 × RBU-6000 A/S mortar
• 20 mines

Mine warfare vessels

2 × Natya class minesweepers (Type 266ME) (1 operational, 1 decommissioned)

Armament:

• 4 × 30mm guns
• 4 × 25mm guns
• 2 × RBU 1200 A/S mortars
• 10 mines
• Acoustic & Magnetic sweep

Submarines

1 × Foxtrot class submarine (Type 641) (decommissioned)

Landing Ships

2x Polnocny-C

• 132 Ibn Ouf - Sighted in Toulon where she will be refitted
• 134 Ibn Haritha - Sighted in Cassar shipyard in Malta where she will be refitted

Naval Infrastructure

Naval bases in the 2011 Libyan civil war

• Khoms (bombed by coalition air strikes on 20 May 2011)
• Benghazi
• Misrata
• Tobruk
• Tripoli (bombed by coalition air strikes on 20 May 2011)
• Derna
• Sirte (bombed by coalition air strikes on 20 May 2011)

Ship maintenance and repair facilities

Facilities at Tripoli with foreign technicians for repair of vessels of up to 6,000 tonnes deadweight (DWT); a 3,200-ton lift floating dock; floating docks at Benghazi and Tobruk.

References

• Levie, Howard. Mine Warfare at Sea. Dordrecht, NL: Martinus Nijhoff, 1992.
• War machines encliclopedy, Limited publishing, in Italian version Armi da guerra.
• Annati Massimo, Al diavolo le mine!, RID magazine, Coop Riviera Ligure, Italy, June 2005.

External links

• (English) Libyan navy