 Nameplate of LÉMaev, on display in theMaritime Museum of Ireland | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | HMSOxlip |
| Namesake | Oxlip |
| Builder | A & J Inglis,Glasgow |
| Laid down | 9 December 1940 |
| Launched | 28 August 1941 |
| Completed | 28 December 1941 |
| Decommissioned | 1946 |
| Maiden voyage | 1942 |
| In service | 1942-46 |
| Identification | Pennant number: K123 |
| Fate | Sold to Irish Navy 1946 |
 Ireland | |
| Name | LÉMaev |
| Namesake | Medb, the legendary queen ofConnacht |
| Acquired | 1946 |
| Identification | Pennant number: 02 |
| Fate | Scrapped 23 March 1972 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Flower-classcorvette |
| Displacement | 1020 tons standard (1280 full load) |
| Length | 205 ft (62 m) |
| Beam | 33 ft (10 m) |
| Depth | 14 ft (4.3 m) |
| Installed power | Single reciprocating vertical 4-cylinder triple expansion by John Kincaid, Greenock[1] |
| Propulsion | 2,759 ihp (2,057 kW) 2 cylindrical Scotch single-ended boilers. Single shaft |
| Speed |
|
| Complement | 5 officers, 74 ratings |
| Sensors & processing systems | |
| Electronic warfare & decoys | Degaussing |
LÉMaev/ˈmeɪv/ was aFlower-class corvette of theIrish Naval Service.[2] She was launched in August 1941 asHMS Oxlip, and served on theArctic convoys duringWorld War II.
HMSOxlip was ordered in July 1939 as part of theRoyal Navy's 1939 War Emergency building programme. TheFlower-class corvette waslaid down byA & J Inglis ofGlasgow on 9 December 1940,launched on 28 August 1941 and completed on 28 December the same year. After working up and trials she joinedWestern Approaches Command foranti-submarine warfare and convoy escort duties.
From February 1942 onwardsOxlip served with close escort groups onArctic convoys taking warmateriel from theWestern Allies to theSoviet Union. In three yearsOxlip sailed with 18 Arctic convoys (outbound and homebound), contributing to the safe and timely arrival of more than 300 merchant ships. With the end of hostilities she wasdecommissioned and in 1946 she was sold to the Irish Government.
| Outbound | Homebound |
|---|---|
| PQ 11 | QP 8 |
| PQ 14 | QP 11 |
| JW 51A | RA 52 |
| JW 55B | RA 55B |
| JW 56B | RA 56 |
| JW 59 | RA 59A |
| JW 61 | RA 61 |
| JW 65 | RA 65 |
| JW 66 | RA 66 |
LÉMaev was commissioned into Irish service in December 1946,[4] and named afterMedb, the legendary queen ofConnacht.
She was decommissioned in March 1972.[1]
In 1946 the Department of Defence bought three British corvettes for a bargain price and the Long Éireannach (LÉ) Cliona, LÉ Maev and LÉ Macha, were the sum total of the Irish navy for the next twenty years
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