HMS Bristol (D23)

Coordinates: 50°48.760′N 1°06.036′W / 50.812667°N 1.100600°W / 50.812667; -1.100600 (HMS Bristol)
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For other ships with the same name, see HMS Bristol.

Bristol in 1982
History
United Kingdom
NameBristol
NamesakeBristol
Ordered17 April 1963
BuilderSwan Hunter, Tyne and Wear, United Kingdom
Laid down15 November 1967
Launched30 June 1969
Commissioned31 March 1973
Decommissioned28 October 2020
IdentificationPennant number: D23
Honours and
awards		Falklands 1982
FateDisposal and Reserve Ships Organisation (DRSO)
Badge
General characteristics
Class and typeType 82 destroyer
Displacement6,300 tons (standard), 7,100 tons (full)[1]
Length155 m (507 ft)
Beam17 m (55 ft)
Draught7.5 m (24 ft 7 in)
Propulsion
  • COSAG, 2 standard range geared steam turbines 30,000 hp (22,000 kW)
  • 2
    Bristol-Siddeley Olympus
    TM1A gas turbines 30,000 hp, 2 shafts, 2 boilers
Speed28 knots (52 km/h)
Range5,750 nautical miles (10,650 km) at 18 knots (33 km/h)
Complement397 (30 officers)
Armament
Aircraft carriedNone (able to support heavy lift helicopters
Aviation facilitiesFlight deck added when Limbo removed and mortar well plated over

HMS Bristol (D23) was a Type 82 destroyer, the only vessel of her class to be built for the Royal Navy.[2][3] Bristol was intended to be the first of a class of large destroyers to escort the CVA-01 aircraft carriers projected to come into service in the early 1970s but the rest of the class and the CVA-01 carriers were cancelled as a result of the 1966 Defence White Paper which cut defence spending.

Following a long career which included the Falklands War, she was converted into a training ship in 1987. In 1991 while part of the Dartmouth training squadron, she suffered a boiler explosion that damaged the vessel beyond economical repair. No longer having enough value to be sold to another navy, she became a Harbour Training ship at HMS Excellent. She was decommissioned in Portsmouth on 28 October 2020.

Origin

Main article: Type 82 destroyer
On board HMS Bristol, 2005

The

Hawker P.1154 supersonic V/STOL aircraft, a larger version of the Hawker Siddeley Harrier) saw the project being cancelled in the 1966 Defence White Paper
. This eliminated the requirement for the Type 82 class destroyer. However, one vessel of the original four was ordered on 4 October 1966 for use as a testbed for new technologies. HMS Bristol was launched in 1969, with four new weapons and electronics systems.

Construction

Bristol's hull was laid down by Swan Hunter & Tyne Shipbuilders Ltd on 15 November 1967. She was launched on 30 June 1969, accepted into service on 15 December 1972[4] and then commissioned on 31 March 1973. Her estimated building cost was £24,217,000.[4]

Weapon systems

Bristol saw a number of new systems introduced into the Navy, including the

4.5 inch (113 mm) Mk 8 gun. Another addition to the fleet was the new advanced Action Data Automated Weapons System Mk.2 (ADAWS-2), a computer system designed to coordinate the ship's weapons and sensors. ADAWS-2 was a large advance on the rudimentary action information system of its predecessor the County-class destroyers
, which was heavily reliant on manual data input.

The Sea Dart (GWS 30) system comprised a twin-arm launcher on the quarterdeck with a pair of radar Type 909 target illumination sets, an improvement over the single radar Type 901 set of the County design. The second weapon system was the Australian Ikara anti-submarine weapon. Ikara was a rocket-powered carrier that could deliver a small homing torpedo out to 10 miles (16 km) from the ship. The Ikara was complemented by a Mark 10 Limbo anti-submarine mortar.

The single

4.5 inch (113 mm) Mark 8 gun was not intended as an anti-aircraft weapon, and as such had an elevation of only 55°. The weapon was designed specifically for reliability over rate of fire, allowing only a single mounting to be shipped, and the comparatively low rate of fire of 25 rounds per minute was ample for the intended anti-ship and shore-bombardment roles. Bristol, although capable of landing a Westland Wasp
helicopter on the quarterdeck, lacked a hangar and aviation facilities and thus had to rely on external air support.

Active service

Dutch newsreel video (English sub) of HMS Bristol visiting Amsterdam in 1973

The role which Bristol was built for never materialised, and she consequently spent most of her service in the 1970s trialling and building up experience using new weapons and computer systems. A major boiler fire in 1974 destroyed the steam plant however Bristol was able to operate for a further three years using only her gas plant, demonstrating its flexibility and utility. The steam plant was repaired in 1976. In 1979 she was fitted out for frontline service with

ECM, Corvus countermeasures launchers and a pair of World War II-era Oerlikon 20 mm cannon
. During this refit the Limbo weapon was removed; its well was later used as a makeshift swimming pool.

Falklands War (1982)

Bristol at Ascension Island with a Chinook helicopter flying overhead in 1982

Bristol was suitable for use as a

South Atlantic in the 1982 Falklands War. Bristol led the Bristol group of reinforcement ships south and then joined the carrier battle group, Task Group 317.8. On 22 May she fired two Sea Dart missiles at spurious radar returns caused by interference with similar radars fitted on ships within the group.[5] After the destroyer Coventry was hit and subsequently sunk on 25 May, Bristol with Cardiff and Exeter carried out duties in the air warfare role. When the aircraft carrier Hermes, the flagship, returned to the UK, Bristol took over as flagship until 17 September with Vice Admiral Derek Reffell aboard as senior-officer-in-theatre, returning to the UK after being relieved by the carrier Illustrious.[6]

On return to the UK she entered a refit and, in light of the lessons of the conflict, had her light

SRBOC
countermeasures launchers were also added to augment the elderly Corvus launchers.

Post-Falklands service

With the Royal Navy short on hulls after damage and losses incurred in the Falklands, Bristol remained in commission and made several overseas deployments until paid off for refit in 1984. Another boiler explosion when entering refit caused extensive damage that had to be repaired. The major work undertaken in the refit was to replace the obsolete radar Type 965 with the new Type 1022 for long-range air search duties. The Ikara system was removed; it was intended to replace it with two triple STWS-1 launchers for 324 mm anti-submarine torpedoes, but they were never fitted.

Training ship

Whale Island, Portsmouth
D23 in Portsmouth Harbour in 2013

By the late 1980s the ship was becoming increasingly outdated. As the fleet downsized, maintaining a unique vessel when plenty of other air defence destroyers were in commission no longer seemed worthwhile. HMS Bristol was paid off in 1991 and refitted to replace

Sea Cadets, the Combined Cadet Force and the Sea Scouts had their first experience of life on board a warship on Bristol. Air Training Corps and Army Cadet Force units also made use of the facilities. The ship had also been used by a number of colleges running the Edexcel BTEC
Public Services course. The ship's company was made up of a mix of Royal Navy and civilian staff. She was also used by the RNVCC cadets during their first wave exercise when the recruits ended their training to become Cadets.

Bristol was refitted at

Type 1022 and Type 992Q search radars were removed.[8] She departed from Portsmouth on 20 October 2010,[9] and arrived at Hebburn under tow on the morning of 3 November 2010.[citation needed] HMS Bristol left Hebburn in April 2011[10]
to return to Portsmouth.

Bristol's role as a training ship ceased on 28 October 2020, with the Ministry of Defence announcing that she would be disposed of.[11] When news of the disposal was made public the leader of Portsmouth City Council Gerald Vernon-Jackson called for Bristol to be maintained as a museum ship within the National Museum of the Royal Navy.[12][13] HMS Bristol was transferred to the Disposal reserve ships organisation on 1 December 2020.

Notes

  1. ^ Although the 1980-81 edition of Jane's Fighting Ships shows her as a light cruiser.

References

  1. ^ "Type 82 General Purpose Destroyer". HMS Bristol - Type 82 Destroyer. 20 April 2006. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
  2. ISSN 1740-0716
    .
  3. ISBN 0-7110-1817-0
    .
  4. ^ a b "Table V: List and particulars of new ships which have been accepted or are expected to be accepted into HM service during the Financial Year ended 31st March 1973". Defence Estimates, 1973-74 (Report). Ministry of Defence. p. XII-96.
  5. ISBN 0-415-36431-0
    .
  6. Teesside Gazette
    . Retrieved 9 March 2019.
  7. ^ "Yard contract will safeguard 100 jobs". Shields Gazette. 28 October 2010. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
  8. ^ "Bristol is back - minus her mast". The News. 13 April 2011. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
  9. ^ "HMS Bristol". Royal Navy. Archived from the original on 25 August 2010. Retrieved 3 November 2010.
  10. ^ "Warship HMS Bristol leaves A&P Tyne at Hebburn after refit". The Journal. 11 April 2011. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
  11. Ships Monthly
    January 2021 page 15
  12. ^ Cotterill, Tom (9 June 2020). "Fresh calls to save Portsmouth one-of-a-kind warship from being scrapped". www.portsmouth.co.uk. The News: Portsmouth. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  13. ^ "End of an era for Royal Navy's unique destroyer". Royal Navy. 28 October 2020. Retrieved 30 October 2020.

External links

50°48.760′N 1°06.036′W / 50.812667°N 1.100600°W / 50.812667; -1.100600 (HMS Bristol)

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