HMS Glasgow (D88)

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HMS Glasgow in 1994
History
United Kingdom
Name	HMS Glasgow
Builder	Swan Hunter, Tyne and Wear, United Kingdom
Laid down	16 May 1974
Launched	14 April 1976
Commissioned	25 May 1979
Decommissioned	1 February 2005
Homeport	Rosyth / Portsmouth
Identification	Pennant number: D88 IMO number: 4907012
Motto	Memor Es Tuorum (Be mindful of your ancestors)
Fate	Scrapped 2009
Badge
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 (19 ft)
Propulsion	Combined gas or gas (COGOG) turbines, 2 shafts 2 × Olympus TM3B 2 × Tyne
Speed	30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph)
Complement	287
Armament	Sea Dart surface-to-air missile twin-arm launcher 1 × 4.5 inch (114 mm) Mk 8 gun 2 × Phalanx 20 mm (from 1989) 2 × Oerlikon 20 mm 2 × STWS Mk 2 triple torpedo tubes
Aircraft carried	Lynx HMA8
Aviation facilities	Sea Scua, torpedoes

HMS Glasgow was a

She was built at

The ship was rammed by the Soviet cruiser Admiral Isakov on 27 May 1981, while in the Barents Sea collecting information on new Soviet equipment.^[3]

Falklands War

Glasgow was among the five

Glasgow was deployed towards the South Atlantic direct from Gibraltar, where 18 Royal Navy frigates and destroyers were taking part in "Exercise Spring Train". On Friday 2 April 1982, 8 of the frigates and destroyers (Antrim, Arrow, Brilliant, Coventry, Glamorgan, Glasgow, Plymouth and Sheffield) were ordered by CINCFLEET (Commander-in-Chief Fleet) to "store ship" ready to sail south. The stores, fuel and ammunition required for full operational readiness came from a combination of sources, but mostly from the other ships already in Gibraltar at that time. Using a 'buddy ship' replenishment approach, the ships with less suitable sensor and weapon suites went alongside the deploying ships to transfer stores and ammunition, either by hand or using helicopter vertical replenishment (VERTREP). There were also a number of crew exchanges between the ships deploying and ships returning to the UK i.e. juniors under 17.5 years or crew with other compassionate and operational situations.^[5]

Glasgow saw action early in the war when, on 2 May, her Lynx helicopter severely damaged the Argentine naval vessel Alferez Sobral. On 4 May, Glasgow detected an Exocet missile fired at the task force and warned the fleet. However Sheffield failed to receive the warning and was hit, later sinking. Down to two Type 42s (Exeter and Cardiff would not arrive until the end of May), Glasgow and Coventry were left as the long-range defence of the fleet.

Following the loss of Sheffield, a new air defence tactic was devised to try to maximise the task group's remaining assets; the two remaining Type 42 destroyers paired up with the two Type 22 frigates. The pairs were then deployed much further ahead of the main force in an effort to draw attacking aircraft away from the carrier groups. The idea was that if Sea Dart was unable to neutralise the threat, the short-range Sea Wolf advanced point-defence missile fitted to the frigates could be used. Coventry was paired with Broadsword and Glasgow paired with Brilliant. This combination of ships created a long-range (30 nmi), short-range guided missile capability along with shore bombardment or naval gunfire support (NGS) using the Type 42's 4.5-inch guns (range 12 nmi).

This picketing tactic was effective in drawing Argentine aircraft attacks away from the carrier groups and moderately effective in drawing them away from San Carlos Bay. The pairs would take turns positioning themselves closer to the islands, shelling Argentinean positions and then waiting for the aircraft to come.

On 12 May, Glasgow and the Type 22 frigate Brilliant were on a "42-22" combo around 15 miles south west of Port Stanley. At 11:00 Glasgow was carrying out shore bombardment of Argentinean positions. Then later in the afternoon a wave of four

Despite the losses in the first wave, a second wave of Grupo 5 Skyhawks attacked, but Brilliant's Sea Wolf failed and the jets each released three bombs. One bomb from Skyhawk (C-248) piloted by Lt Fausto Gavazzi damaged Glasgow, passing clean through the aft engine room without exploding. It damaged fuel systems and disabled the two Tyne cruising engines. A third wave of aircraft was detected but they did not engage the ships. On his return flight, Lt Gavazzi was shot down by friendly fire over Goose Green and killed. Gavazzi was posthumously promoted to Capitan for his bravery.

Lt Gavazzi's bomb had hit Glasgow 3 feet above the waterline on the starboard side where damage control teams quickly plugged the hole. The exit hole was much more difficult to access behind machinery and closer to the waterline, so the ship was temporarily patched until it could reach calmer waters. The Glasgow was no longer fully operationally effective due to a limited speed of 10 knots and returned to the main group. Glasgow eventually returned home to be repaired in Portsmouth Dockyard. Glasgow then returned to the South Atlantic after the end of the war (August 1982) on routine Atlantic Patrol South.^[4][7][8]

Post-war

In later years, Glasgow served on a variety of missions including acting as the

It was announced in July 2004, as part of the Delivering Security in a Changing World review, that Glasgow would be decommissioned in January 2005. Glasgow was formally decommissioned on 1 February 2005. On 7 January 2009 she was towed from Portsmouth to Turkey for breaking up.

References