HMS Thruster (F131)

For other ships with the same name, see HMS Thruster and HNLMS Pelikaan.

HMS Thruster
History
United Kingdom
Name	Thruster
Ordered	6 March 1941
Builder	Harland and Wolff
Laid down	31 July 1941
Launched	24 September 1942
Completed	2 April 1943
Commissioned	28 January 1943
Reclassified	Fighter direction ship, 1944
Identification	Pennant number: F131
Fate	Transferred to Royal Netherlands Navy, 1947
Netherlands
Name	Pelikaan
Acquired	1947
Identification	Pennant number: A 830
Fate	Scrapped Bilbao 1973
General characteristics
Type	Mark I LST
Displacement	3,620
Speed	18 knots laden to beaching draught 16.5 knots at deep
Capacity	13 Churchill infantry tanks, 27 vehicles, 193 men
Complement	169
Service record
Operations:	Allied invasion of Italy Normandy landings

HMS Thruster (F131) was a Mark I LST built by Harland and Wolff. Launched in September 1942 and commissioned the following March, she saw service as part of the Allied invasion of Italy.

Design and development

Main article: Landing Ship, Tank

Thruster was the third of the LST Mk.1 class ships which could carry 13 Churchill tanks, 27 other vehicles and 193 men. It had a high speed even when laden for the assault (about 18 knots) but did not have a shallow draught, which meant that a 140 ft (43 m) long bow ramp had to be added and this took up a lot of room inside the ship.

Bruiser had only two sister ships, as plans to build more in the United States led instead to a simpler though slower design capable of similar capacity but with a much shallower draught.

Royal Navy service

Thruster took part in the Salerno landing in 1943. In 1944, she was refitted as a fighter direction ship, for use during the Normandy landings in controlling fighter aircraft by ground-controlled interception. Later in 1944 she took British troops back into Athens in Greece. Thruster was transferred to the Royal Netherlands Navy in 1947.

Royal Netherlands service

She was acquired by the Royal Netherlands Navy in 1947 and renamed HNLMS Pelikaan with the hull number A 830.

See also

• HMS Boxer
• HMS Bruiser