Naval Service Fleet
P22 - LÉ Aoife
LÉ Aoife was built in Ireland to the Naval Service’s Deirdre design but was modified for stability and speed and was also fitted with a bow thruster to improve manoeuvreability.
Her original BOFORS 40mm L60 gun was recently upgraded to a BOFORS 40mm L70 improving the range and accuracy of her main armament. Among many notable operational successes in her history, LÉ Aoife played a major role in the location of the flight recorder of the Air India airliner which crashed off the Irish coast in 1985.
LÉ Aoife is closely associated with the Childrens Ward, Waterford Regional Hospital and regularly conducts fundraising on its behalf around the coast. Although all the ships’ homeport is Haulbowline Island in Cork Harbour, LÉ Aoife has a particularly close relationship with the city of Waterford.
| Type | Offhore Patrol Vessel |
|---|---|
| Commissioned | 29th November 1979 |
| Complement | 46 (5 Officers and 41 Ratings) |
| Displacement | 1019.5t Standard |
| Dimensions (meters) | 65.2 x 10.5 x 4.4 meters |
| powerplant | 2 x SEMT 4800 hp - Pielstick Diesels |
| Maximum Speed | 17 knots |
| Range | 4000 nautical miles at 17 knots |
| Weapons | 1 Bofors 40mm and 2 x Gambo 20mm Cannons, 7.62mm GPMG |
Aoife from Celtic Mythology
The story of The children of Lir is too well known to need repetition. Aoife was the step mother to the children who changed them into swans. As a punishment for this she herself was turned into a raven by Bodb Derg, a Dé Danann Sorcerer King and her foster father, who ruled the Sidhe of Munster.