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HMS Arrow (F173)
Encyclopedia
HMS Arrow (F173) was a Type 21 frigate
Type 21 frigate
The Type 21 frigate or Amazon-class frigate was a Royal Navy general-purpose escort designed in the late 1960s, built in the 1970s and that served throughout the 1980s into the 1990s.-History:...
of the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
. Built by Yarrow Shipbuilders Ltd, Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, Scotland, she was completed with Exocet
Exocet
The Exocet is a French-built anti-ship missile whose various versions can be launched from surface vessels, submarines, helicopters and fixed wing aircraft. Hundreds were fired in combat during the 1980s.-Etymology:...
launchers in 'B' position.
Falklands War service
Arrow participated in the Falklands WarFalklands War
The Falklands War , also called the Falklands Conflict or Falklands Crisis, was fought in 1982 between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the disputed Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands...
, and had the dual distinction of being both the first British warship to fire on the enemy (whilst firing on land forces at Port Stanley), and the first British warship to be hit by enemy fire (from an Argentine Air Force
Argentine Air Force
The Argentine Air Force is the national aviation branch of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic. , it had 14,606 military and 6,854 civilian staff.-History:...
fighter aeroplane). On 4 May 1982 she assisted in extinguishing the fires and evacuating the crew of the Type 42 destroyer
Type 42 destroyer
The Type 42 or Sheffield class, are guided missile destroyers used by the British Royal Navy and the Argentine Navy. The first ship of the class was ordered in 1968 and launched in 1971, and today three ships remain active in the Royal Navy and one in the Argentinian Navy...
Sheffield
HMS Sheffield (D80)
HMS Sheffield was the second Royal Navy ship to be named after the city of Sheffield in Yorkshire. She was a Type 42 Guided Missile Destroyer laid down by Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering at Barrow-in-Furness on 15 January 1970, launched on 10 June 1971 and commissioned on 16 February 1975.An...
, which had been struck by an Exocet missile. The crew showed conspicuous bravery in this rescue effort, saving 225 of the crew of HMS Sheffield, and Arrow's captain, Commander
Commander
Commander is a naval rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service. Commander is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the armed forces, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Commander as a naval...
(later Captain
Captain (naval)
Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The NATO rank code is OF-5, equivalent to an army full colonel....
) Paul Bootherstone was subsequently awarded the Distinguished Service Cross
Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom)
The Distinguished Service Cross is the third level military decoration awarded to officers, and other ranks, of the British Armed Forces, Royal Fleet Auxiliary and British Merchant Navy and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries.The DSC, which may be awarded posthumously, is...
for gallantry during the action. Arrow also helped extinguish the fires on the Rothesay class frigate
Rothesay class frigate
The Rothesay class, or Type 12M frigates were a class of frigates serving with the Royal Navy, South African Navy and the New Zealand Navy....
Plymouth
HMS Plymouth (F126)
HMS Plymouth is a Rothesay class frigate, which served in the United Kingdom Royal Navy from 1959 to 1988. She was named after the English city of Plymouth...
, on 8 June 1982.
The silhouette of HMS Arrow is to be found, along with the date 1 May, painted on the side of Argentine Air Force Dassault Mirage 5
Dassault Mirage 5
The Dassault Mirage 5 is a supersonic attack aircraft designed in France by Dassault Aviation during the 1960s, and manufactured in France and a number of other countries. It was derived from Dassault's popular Mirage III fighter, and spawned several variants of its own.-Early development:The...
/IAI Finger serial number C-412, along with a similar silhouette representation of HMS Brilliant
HMS Brilliant (F90)
HMS Brilliant was a Type 22 frigate of the Royal Navy.She was part of the Task Force that took part in the Falklands War, with Captain John Coward in command...
and the date 21 May, implying a successful action by the aircrew against these vessels. These kill markings are however overstated, and refer merely to damage which both ships suffered during the conflict, which may or may not have been caused by this particular aircraft. HMS Arrow was slightly damaged by cannon fire on 1 May 1982, and HMS Brilliant was slightly damaged by cannon fire on 21 May 1982 outside San Carlos Water
San Carlos Water
Not to be confused with the San Carlos River.San Carlos Water is a bay/fjord on the west coast of East Falkland, facing onto the Falkland Sound.-Name:...
. The aircraft was reportedly observed still bearing these distinguishing marks as late as November 2005 (twenty-three years after the conflict) at the multi-national Exercise Ceibo in Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
.
Arrow also supported troops of the Second Battalion the Parachute Regiment (2 Para) in the successful landing at Goose Green
Goose Green
Goose Green is a settlement in Lafonia on East Falkland in the Falkland Islands. It lies on Choiseul Sound, on the east side of the island's central isthmus, south-southwest of Darwin. With a population of about 70, it is the second largest settlement of the Falkland Islands.Goose Green has a shop...
, which eventually led to the recapture of Port Stanley from the enemy.
Later Royal Navy service
By the mid-1980s Arrow was suffering from cracking in her hull. Much of this had first arisen during the Falklands conflict, when engineers were obliged to weld steel plates and girders to parts of the ship where cracks were opening up in the aluminium superstructure. After the war she was taken in for refitting, with a large steel plate being welded down each side of the ship. At the same time modifications were made to reduce hull noise. The vessel continued in service until 1994, and was decommissioned and removed from the fleet on 1 March that year.Pakistan Navy service
Following decommissioning Arrow was transferred to PakistanPakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
and renamed PNS Khaibar. The Exocet
Exocet
The Exocet is a French-built anti-ship missile whose various versions can be launched from surface vessels, submarines, helicopters and fixed wing aircraft. Hundreds were fired in combat during the 1980s.-Etymology:...
missile system was not transferred to Pakistan and Khaibar had her obsolete Sea Cat missile
Sea Cat missile
Sea Cat was a British short-range surface to air missile system intended to replace the ubiquitous Bofors 40 mm gun aboard warships of all sizes. It was the world's first operational shipboard point-defence missile system and was designed so that the Bofors guns could be replaced with minimum...
launcher removed. A quadruple Harpoon missile launcher was fitted in place of the Exocet launchers and a Phalanx CIWS
Phalanx CIWS
The Phalanx CIWS is an anti-ship missile defense system. It is a close-in weapon system and was designed and manufactured by the General Dynamics Corporation, Pomona Division...
was fitted in place of the Sea Cat launcher. SRBOC chaff
Mark 36 SRBOC
The BAE Systems Mark 36 Super Rapid Blooming Offboard Chaff is a short-range mortar that launches chaff or infrared decoys from naval vessels to foil anti-ship missiles...
launchers and 20 mm and 30 mm guns were fitted. Khaibar remains in service with the Pakistan Navy
Pakistan Navy
The Pakistan Navy is the naval warfare/service branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. Pakistan's Navy is responsible for Pakistan's coastline along the Arabian Sea and the defense of important civilian harbors and military bases...
, who purchased from the United Kingdom Government all six surviving Type 21 frigates of the eight originally built (two were lost in the Falklands).