HMS Edinburgh (D97)
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (June 2008) |
 HMS Edinburgh, Portsmouth, 2004
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| History | |
|---|---|
 UK | |
| Name | HMS Edinburgh |
| Operator | Royal Navy |
| Builder | Cammell Laird |
| Laid down | 8 September 1980 |
| Launched | 14 April 1983 |
| Sponsored by | Lady Ann Heseltine; wife of then Secretary of State for Defence, Michael Heseltine (now Baron Heseltine, of Thenford in the County of Northamptonshire) |
| Commissioned | 17 December 1985 |
| Identification | list error: <br /> list (help) Pennant number: D97 Deck code: EB International callsign: GBBE[1] |
| Status | in active service |
| Badge | list error: <br /> list (help) On a Field White, upon a moint of rock in base Proper, a castle, triple turreted, mason White. The flags, windows and portcullis Red.  |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Type 42 destroyer |
| Displacement | 5,200 tonnes |
| Length | 141 m (462.5 ft) |
| Beam | 15.2 m (50 ft) |
| Propulsion | list error: <br /> list (help) COGOG (Combined Gas or Gas) turbines, 2 x Olympus, 2 x Tyne, 2 shafts 2 turbines producing 36 MW |
| Speed | 30 knots (56 km/h) |
| Complement | 287 |
| Armament | list error: <br /> list (help) Twin Sea Dart missile launcher Phalanx Close-in weapon system (CIWS) |
| Aircraft carried | Lynx Mk 3 |
HMS Edinburgh is a Type 42 (Batch 3) destroyer of the Royal Navy. Edinburgh was built by Cammell Laird of Birkenhead. She was launched on 14 April 1983 and commissioned on the 17 December 1985. The largest of the Type 42 destroyers, HMS Edinburgh is known as the "Fortress of the Sea".
Operations
In 1990, Edinburgh completed a refit, which included the fitting of the Phalanx Close-in weapon system (CIWS). In 1994, Edinburgh was present at a Fleet Review to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the D-Day landings in 1944. In 1998, Edinburgh deployed to the South Atlantic, where she patrolled the waters around the Falkland Islands, as well as making 'fly-the-flag' visits to various South American ports.
On the 27 September 2002, Edinburgh sailed into the River Mersey to escort the yachts at the end of the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race.[2]
In January 2003, Edinburgh deployed to the Persian Gulf and subsequently took part in the Second Gulf War against the dictator Saddam Hussein. While there, Edinburgh performed a variety of tasks, which included supporting the Royal Marines ashore, as well as being escort to the helicopter carrier Ocean. She returned to Portsmouth, where she is based, in May.
In April 2004, Edinburgh deployed to the Mediterranean, where she first joined Standing Naval Force Mediterranean (STANAVFORMED), and while there, Edinburgh will take part in Operation Active Endeavour, designed to monitor sea lanes as part of the War on Terror.
On her return to the UK, Edinburgh went into an extensive refit in Rosyth. She left Rosyth in September 2005 to conduct trials to ensure that she was materially up to operational standard before going to the FOST organisation for Operational Sea Training in the New Year. Since then Edinburgh has taken part in Exercise Neptune Warrior off the coast of Scotland; conducted a High Seas Firing of her Sea Dart missile system and then took part in the multi-national BALTOPS exercise in the Baltic Sea. The time in the Baltic included visits to Sweden, Germany and Estonia.
Edinburgh was deployed to the Middle and Far East from February until late July 2008 as part of Orion 2008, including a visit to Singapore and operations in the Gulf, during which she took part in an interception of a drugs cargo.
Distinctive appearance
Edinburgh can readily be distinguished by her distinctively different forecastle. When it was decided to fit the Phalanx CIWS to this class of warships, it was intended that the Edinburgh should carry a single CIWS unit, mounted forward between her 4.5" gun and the Sea Dart launcher. To this end, her breakwaters were enlarged and she was fitted with a raised bulwark, very like those carried on the Type 22 frigates.
This location proved to be an unsuitably wet one for the Phalanx system despite the modifications to this warship, and the Edinburgh was later fitted with a pair of wing-mounted CIWS as carried by the other ships of the class, but she retains her distinctive bulwark and enlarged breakwaters.
The Edinburgh also differs from some ships of her class in carrying her badges flush to the funnel sides rather than on the funnel wing platforms.
2010 Refit
HMS Edinburgh became the final Type 42 destroyer to undergo a refit when it entered dry dock at BAE Systems shipyard in Portsmouth for work that will keep the ship in service until 2013.[3]
Under a £17.5 million contract, the company will refurbish the destroyer's weapons and communications systems, add a transom flap to the stern and apply a coat of Sigma 990 anti-fouling paint.
Edinburgh 's four Rolls-Royce gas turbine engines will be removed; with two placed in storage to be refitted at a later date (port Olympus TM3B and starboard Rolls-Royce Tyne), while two engines will be replaced by overland units (port Tyne and starboard Olympus).
In an 18 January company statement, BAE Systems said that the modifications will cut fuel consumption by 15 per cent.
The refit is set to be completed in October 2010 and will include a renewal of crew living quarters, catering facilities and laundry equipment.
Affiliations
References
- ^ "Royal Navy Bridge Card, February 2009" (PDF). Retrieved 2009-06-20.
- ^ "Clipper returns". BBC Liverpool. Retrieved 2008-02-08.
- ^ "HMS Edinburgh enters final refit". Retrieved 2010-01-25.
External links
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