The Ministry of Defence has sold
three Type 42 destroyers to be scrapped, The News can reveal.
 |
| A Type 42 Destroyer |
Falklands veteran HMS Exeter was
quietly towed out of Portsmouth Naval Base yesterday afternoon to head to a
scrapyard in Turkey.
HMS Nottingham and HMS Southampton
are due to follow in the coming weeks after the MoD sold the decommissioned
warships to Leyal Ship Recycling – the same firm which is currently breaking up
the old aircraft carrier HMS Invincible.
The destroyers have a combined
weight of around 24,000 tonnes of steel which is worth more than £2m in scrap –
although the price Leyal paid for them has not been disclosed.
Defence officials considered 12
bids for the ships which were sold as one online auction lot.
An MoD spokesman said: ‘The
decision to select Leyal was made because the company’s bid gave us the best
financial return for the MoD.’
The ships have been stripped to the
bone for spare parts by the MoD and Exeter was a
shadow of her former self as ocean-going tugs towed her out of Portsmouth Harbour yesterday.
A small number of people gathered
in silence at the Round
Tower in Old Portsmouth
to see the ship leave.
Len Brownsword, 63, who served as a
Petty Officer radar operator in the ship during the Falklands War, said: ‘It’s
extremely sad to see her go. There’s not many ships you serve on that go to war
and I had some great times on the ship.
‘She was a cracking warship, a good
workhorse and had a brilliant crew. To go through the Falklands
unscathed was a bit of luck but not without a lot of hard work and an
outstanding crew and captain.
‘I’m extremely proud of the time I
spent on her. It’s a sad day but in the end all ships have to go.’
Exeter was commissioned in 1980 and saw
action off Kuwait in 1991 as
well as the Falklands. She was decommissioned
in 2009.
It will take about a month for the
ship to reach Leyal’s scrapyard in Izmir,
Turkey, where
she will be cut up and recycled into new steel.
The former Southampton and Nottingham
warships are set to leave Portsmouth
soon.
Southampton, which was commissioned in 1981,
collided with a merchant container ship in the Straits of Hormuz in 1988. In
2006, she seized almost four tonnes of cocaine while operating in the Caribbean. She was decommissioned in 2009.
Nottingham was commissioned in 1983. She
almost sank in 2002 when she ran aground off the coast of Australia. The
ship was back at sea two years later after a £39m repair and refit but was
mothballed in 2008. She officially retired in February last year.
Leyal Ship Recycling won the
contract to scrap HMS Invincible earlier this year. The same firm scrapped Type
42s HMS Cardiff, Glasgow
and Newcastle
in 2008.
A company spokesman said: ‘Our
continued co-operation for the recycling of the decommissioned Royal Navy
vessels is a testament to the high quality work performed.’
Source: The News. By Michael Powell. 29 September 2011
Name: HMS Exeter
Operator: Royal Navy
Builder: Swan Hunter
Laid down: 22 July 1976
Launched: 25 April 1978
Sponsored by: Lady Joan Mulley
Commissioned: 19 September 1980
Decommissioned: 27th May 2009
Homeport: Portsmouth
Motto: Semper Fidelis ("Always
faithful")
Honours and awards: Falkland
Islands 1982 and Kuwait
1991.
Status: Awaiting Disposal
 |
| HMS Exeter was towed out of Portsmouth for a shipbreaking yard in Turkey |
General characteristics
Class and type: Type 42 destroyer
Displacement: 4,820 tonnes
Length: 125 m (410 ft)
Beam: 14.3 m (47 ft)
Propulsion: COGOG (Combined Gas or Gas) turbines, 2 shafts
2 turbines producing 36 MW
Speed: 28.7 knots (56 km/h)
Complement: 287
Armament: Sea Dart missiles (removed as of November 2007)
4.5 in (114 mm) Mk 8 gun
Aircraft carried: Lynx HMA8
Notes: Pennant number: D89
Source: Wikipedia
Name: HMS Southampton
Operator: Royal Navy
Ordered: 17 March 1976[1]
Builder: Vosper Thornycroft
Laid down: 21 October 1976
Launched: 29 January 1979
Commissioned: 31 October 1981
Decommissioned: 12 February 2009
Homeport: HMNB Portsmouth
Motto: Pro jusititus pro Rege ("For
justice and the Queen")
Nickname: "The Mighty Ninety" (after her pennant number).
Honours and awards: Emeraude 1757,
Belle Isle 1761, The Glorious First of June 1794, St Vincent 1797, Heligoland
1914, Dogger Bank 1915, Jutland 1916, Norway 1940, Spartivento 1940, Malta
Convoys 1941
Status: Decommissioned
 |
| HMS Southampton D90 |
General characteristics
Class and type: Type 42 destroyer
Displacement: 4,820 tonnes
Length: 125 m (410 ft)
Beam:14.3 m (47 ft)
Propulsion: COGOG (Combined Gas or Gas) turbines, 2 shafts
2 Olympus Gas Turbines Producing
25,000 shp (19,000 kW) each, 2 Tyne Gas
Turbines Producing 5,000 shp (3,700 kW) each
Speed: 30 knots (56 km/h)
Complement: 287
Armament: Sea Dart missiles
4.5 in (114 mm) Mk 8 gun
Aircraft carried: Lynx HMA8
Source: Wikipedia
Name: HMS Nottingham (D91)
Operator: Royal Navy
Ordered: 1 March 1977
Builder: Vosper Thorneycroft,
Woolston yard
Laid down: 6 February 1978
Launched: 18 February 1980
Sponsored by: Lady Leach (wife of
the then First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Henry Leach)
Commissioned: 14 April 1983
Decommissioned: 11 February 2010
Homeport: HMNB Portsmouth,
Hampshire
Motto: Foy Pour Devoir ("Faith
for Duty")
Fate: Awaiting disposal at HMNB Portsmouth
 |
| HMS Nottingham D91 |
General characteristics
Class and type: Type 42 destroyer
Displacement: 4,820 tonnes
Length: 125 m (410 ft)
Beam: 14.3 m (47 ft)
Draught: 5.8 m
Propulsion:
2 x Rolls-Royce Olympus TM3B gas
turbines
2 x Rolls-Royce Tyne RM1C gas
turbines (cruising engines, top speed about 18 knots (33 km/h))
Speed: 30 knots (56 km/h)
Complement: 271 (27 Officers, 71
Senior Rates, 173 Junior Rates)
Armament:
1 x twin Sea Dart missile launcher
1 x Vickers 4.5 inch (114 mm) Mk 8
automatic gun
2 x Vulcan Phalanx Close-in weapon
system
Aircraft carried: Lynx HMA8
Source: Wikipedia
