LÉ Orla

	LÉ Orla in Dublin (2008)
History
Ireland
Name	LÉ Orla
Namesake	Orla, a grand niece of Brian Boru
Builder	Hall Russell
Cost	£7.4m (1984 pounds)
Laid down	1984
Launched	1985
Commissioned	19 January 1989
Decommissioned	8 July 2022
Homeport	Haulbowline Naval Base
Identification	MMSI number: 250103000; Callsign: EIYQ; Hull number: P41;
Status	Awaiting disposal
General characteristics
Class and type	Peacock-class patrol vessel
Displacement	712 tonnes full load
Length	62.6 m (205 ft)
Beam	10 m (33 ft)
Draught	2.72 m (8 ft 11 in)
Propulsion	2 diesels, 2 shafts, 10,600 kW (14,200 bhp), 1 Schottel 'Loiter Drive' ( ≈180 bhp)
Speed	25.0 kn (46.3 km/h)
Boats & landing ; craft carried	X2 Avon 5.4 m (18 ft) seariders
Complement	39 (6 officers and 33 ratings)
Armament	1 × 76 mm OTO Melara Cannon; 2 × Rh202 Rheinmetall 20 mm Cannon; 4 × 7.62 mm GPMG;
Armour	Belted Steel

LÉ Orla (P41) was a Peacock-class patrol vessel in the Irish Naval Service. Like the rest of her class, she was originally designed for use by the British Royal Navy in Hong Kong waters, and was delivered in 1985 by Hall, Russell & Company^[1] as HMS Swift (P243).

"Long Éireannach" (LÉ), Irish for "Irish ship", is the designation given to ships in the Irish Naval Service's fleet. The ship was named after Orla, a grand niece (great niece) of Brian Boru who was murdered by her husband around 1090.^[2] The crest shows the arms of Clare on the top segment and a sword and royal collar on the base.^[2] She was decommissioned, together with her sister ship LÉ Ciara, in 2022.

Specifications

Orla has a displacement of 712 tons fully loaded. The ship was launched in 1984 and purchased by the Irish government in 1988. She is powered by two Crossley Pielstick 18 PA6V 280 diesels rated at 10,000 kW (14,000 hp), providing a top speed of 25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph) and a range of 4,000 kilometres (2,500 mi) at 17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph).^[2] She carries a crew of 39, including six officers. She is armed with one 76 mm/62 OTO Melara compact gun; two 20 mm Rh202 Rheinmetall weapons and four 12.7mm heavy machine-guns.

History

In November 2008, LÉ Orla assisted in Operation Seabight which resulted in the largest seizure of cocaine in the history of the state.^[3]

In mid-2014, LÉ Orla was temporarily kept out of commission to facilitate the removal of asbestos which had been discovered on the ship.^[4]

On 8 July 2022, LÉ Orla was decommissioned together with LÉ Ciara and LÉ Eithne.^[5]

References

^ Department of the Official Report (Hansard), House of Commons, Westminster. "House of Commons Hansard Debates for 23 Oct 1989". Publications.parliament.uk. Retrieved 1 November 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^ ^a ^b ^c "Naval Service Fleet - P41 - LÉ Orla". military.ie. Archived from the original on 16 October 2007.
^ "Ahern: Weather responsible for drug seizure - RTÉ News". rte.ie. 4 July 2007. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
^ "Asbestos found on board third naval vessel". Irish Examiner. 28 August 2014. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
^ "Irish Navy decommissions a third of its fleet". irishtimes.com. Irish Times. 8 July 2022.