PNS Munsif (M166)

For other ships with the same name, see French ship Sagittaire.

History
France
Name:	Sagittaire
Builder:	Lorient Arsenal, Lorient
Launched:	9 November 1988
Commissioned:	27 July 1989
Fate:	Sold to Pakistan, 24 September 1992
Pakistan
Name:	Munsif
Acquired:	24 September 1992
Commissioned:	1995
Status:	in active service, as of 2005
General characteristics
Class & type:	Tripartite-class minehunter
Displacement:	535 t (527 long tons) empty 605 t (595 long tons) full load
Length:	51.6 m (169 ft)
Beam:	8.96 m (29.4 ft)
Height:	18.5 m (61 ft)
Draught:	3.50 m (11.5 ft)
Propulsion:	1 × Werkspoor RUB 215 V12 diesel engine 2 × ACEC active rudders 1 × HOLEC bow propellor
Speed:	15 knots (28 km/h)
Range:	3,000 nautical miles (5,600 km) at 12 knots (22 km/h)
Boats & landing craft carried:	2 × PAP 104 ROV
Complement:	5 officers, 23 non-commissioned officers, 21 sailors
Sensors and processing systems:	1 × DUBM 21B sonar 1 × Decca 1229 navigation radar
Armament:	1 × 20 mm modèle F2 gun 2 × 12.7 mm machine guns

PNS Munsif (M166) is the lead ship of the Munsif class of minehunters for the Pakistan Navy. The vessel was formerly Sagittaire (M650), an Éridan-class minehunter of the French Navy. Éridan and Munsif are, respectively, the French and Pakistan Navies' names of the Tripartite-class of minehunters, developed jointly by France, Belgium, and the Netherlands. Sagittaire was constructed at the Lorient Arsenal, in Lorient, France, and launched on 9 November 1988, and commissioned into the French Navy on 27 July 1989. She saw active service during the Gulf War before being sold to Pakistan on 24 September 1992. Renamed Munsif soon after, she was formally commissioned into the Pakistan Navy in 1995. As of 2005, Munsif and two sister ships, commissioned in 1996 and 1997, remained in active service for the Pakistan Navy.

References

• Baker, A.D. The Naval Institute Guide to Combat Fleets of the World 1998–1999. Annapolis, Maryland, USA: Naval Institute Press, 1998. ISBN 1-55750-111-4.