§ Mr. Churchillasked the Secretary of State for Defence what is the speed, tonnage and cost of the Royal Navy's four Bird class large patrol craft; how this compares with the original specification; and how long the vessels took to construct from the time the contract was let.
§ Mr. DuffyThe Bird class of patrol craft have a speed of some 18 knots and a deep displacement of 194 tonnes. Both figures are in accordance with the specification called for in the contract. The contract was let in November 1972 and the first three vessels "Kingfisher", "Cygnet" and "Petrel" were accepted into service in October 1975, July 1976 and January 1977 respectively. The fourth vessel, "Sandpiper" will be accepted into service later this year. Contractual negotiations for these vessels are still proceeding, and final costs cannot be released until these are complete, and in the case of "Sandpiper", until the vessel is also accepted into service.