 | This article includes a list ofgeneral references, butit lacks sufficient correspondinginline citations. Please help toimprove this article byintroducing more precise citations.(January 2022) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
 EMLAdmiral Cowan M313 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | HMSSandown (M101) |
| Operator | Royal Navy |
| Builder | Vosper Thornycroft |
| Launched | 16 April 1988 |
| Sponsored by | The Duchess of Gloucester |
| Commissioned | 9 June 1989 |
| Decommissioned | 2005 |
| Fate | Sold to Estonia |
 Estonia | |
| Name | EMLAdmiral Cowan (M313) |
| Namesake | Admiral Sir Walter Henry Cowan |
| Operator | Estonian Navy |
| Acquired | April 2007 |
| Motto | Ad Omnia Paratus |
| Status | in active service, as of 2025[update] |
| Badge |  |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Sandown class minehunter |
| Displacement | 450 tons full |
| Length | 52.6 m (173 ft) |
| Beam | 10.5 m (34 ft) |
| Draught | 2.4 m (7 ft 10 in) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed |
|
| Complement | 7 officers, 29 sailors |
| Crew | 36 |
| Sensors & processing systems |
|
| Armament |
|
| Notes |
|
EMLAdmiral Cowan (M313) is aSandown-classminehunter. Formerly HMSSandown, lead ship of her class of theRoyal Navy, she is now anEstonian Navy ship. Renamed EMLAdmiral Cowan, she is the flagship of the Estonian Navy and part of the Estonian Navy's mine sweeping flotilla.Admiral Cowan is the lead vessel of theEstonian Navy Mineships Division and also the first of the three modernisedSandown class minehunters received.
HMSSandown was built byVosper Thornycroft and waslaid down at theirWoolston, Southampton shipyard on 2 February 1987 and waslaunched on 18 April 1988 by theDuchess of Gloucester, as the lead ship of the 12-ship class ofSandown class minehunters.Sandown entered service a year later on 9 June 1989.[2][3]
After commissioning,Sandown carried out an extensive programme of trials,[3] and was not fully operational until December 1992, having suffered problems with hersonar outfit.[4] She participated in a number of operations in support of the British fleet, including operating as part of aNATO-led operation between 12 June - 26 August 1999, along with theHunt classMine countermeasure vesselHMS Atherstone and thesurvey shipHMS Bulldog. The operation was intended to clear theAdriatic of bombs jettisoned during theKosovo campaign. TogetherSandown andAtherstone accounted for about 20% of the 93 bombs and missiles that were located and destroyed.[5]
On 16 January 2000Sandown located the wreck of the sunken scallop dredger, theSolway Harvester.[6]Sandown spent July 2002 on aJoint Maritime Course, after which she deployed to theMediterranean to take part in the Argonaut 02 exercises, which lasted until Christmas.Sandown was also deployed as part ofOperation Telic, to clear mines in thePersian Gulf, and sweep passages intoIraqi ports.
TheRoyal Navy decommissioned HMSSandown and two of her sistersBridport andInverness in 2005 and, on 9 October 2006, sold the vessels to theEstonian Navy. After refitting inRosyth,Sandown was formally handed over to theEstonian Navy in April 2007. Her new name comes fromAdmiral Sir Walter Henry Cowan who led theBritish naval forces in the Baltic in their intervention in theRussian Civil War, providing naval support to Estonia during theEstonian War of Independence.
Between July and December 2018, the ship went through a modernization programme at Babcock's Rosyth facilities. It was fitted with the Thales Sonar 2193 navigation system and Thales M-CUBE command and control system. Its composite hull and electrical systems received repairs and upgrades.[7] Hersister shipsUgandi andSakala will also be modernized for a total cost of around 30 million euros.[8]
The vessel's crest was presented byQueen Elizabeth II on 20 October 2006 inTallinn.[9][10]The crest is a redsaltirecross on a silvershield and above, a redfleur de lys (lily). The shield is placed into a blue ring which is surrounded by a golden ship'srope. The ship's crest is based on Walter Cowan's family arms. The ship's motto inLatin is:Ad Omnia Paratus - which inEnglish means: "Prepared for Anything". The crest was designed byPriit Herodes.
 Royal Navy | |
|---|---|
 Estonian Navy |
|
 Romanian Naval Forces |
|
 Royal Saudi Navy |
|
 Ukrainian Navy | |
| |
 Estonian naval ships post-1991 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||