HMS Devonshire (D02)
Encyclopedia
HMS Devonshire (D02) was the first of the County-class
destroyer
s and the first Batch 1 ship of the Royal Navy
. The ship was built by Cammell Laird
in Birkenhead
near Liverpool
. With a displacement of 5,440 tonnes (6,850 tonnes full load), Devonshire was named after the English
county of Devon
. She was launched on 10 June 1960 and delivered to the navy two years later.
The ship was involved in patrol duties in the Persian Gulf
and the Caribbean
, but was not involved in any armed conflict of the United Kingdom. Like the other first batch of County Class ships, Devonshire was fitted with the Sea Slug
anti aircraft missile defence system.
Devonshire was decommissioned under defence cuts in 1978, though was immediately offered for sale to Egypt
, but the sale did not go through. Laid up in Portsmouth
harbour for six years, the ship was used as a target, first for testing the new Sea Eagle Air-Launched Cruise Missile, then sunk by as a target on 17 July 1984 (two days after the Sea Eagle test) in the North Atlantic, whilst testing the Mark 24-Mod-2 Tigerfish torpedo
.
Her name was also used in the James bond film Tomorrow Never Dies
County class destroyer
The County class was a class of guided missile destroyers, the first such vessels built by the Royal Navy. Designed specifically around the Sea Slug anti-aircraft missile system, the primary role of these ships was area air-defence around the aircraft carrier task force in the nuclear-war...
destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
s and the first Batch 1 ship 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...
. The ship was built by Cammell Laird
Cammell Laird
Cammell Laird, one of the most famous names in British shipbuilding during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, came about following the merger of Laird, Son & Co. of Birkenhead and Johnson Cammell & Co. of Sheffield at the turn of the twentieth century.- Founding of the business :The Company...
in Birkenhead
Birkenhead
Birkenhead is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in Merseyside, England. It is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite the city of Liverpool...
near Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
. With a displacement of 5,440 tonnes (6,850 tonnes full load), Devonshire was named after the English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
county of Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
. She was launched on 10 June 1960 and delivered to the navy two years later.
The ship was involved in patrol duties in the Persian Gulf
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf, in Southwest Asia, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.The Persian Gulf was the focus of the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War, in which each side attacked the other's oil tankers...
and the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
, but was not involved in any armed conflict of the United Kingdom. Like the other first batch of County Class ships, Devonshire was fitted with the Sea Slug
Sea Slug missile
Sea Slug was a first generation surface-to-air missile designed by Armstrong Whitworth for use by the Royal Navy...
anti aircraft missile defence system.
Devonshire was decommissioned under defence cuts in 1978, though was immediately offered for sale to Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, but the sale did not go through. Laid up in Portsmouth
Portsmouth
Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
harbour for six years, the ship was used as a target, first for testing the new Sea Eagle Air-Launched Cruise Missile, then sunk by as a target on 17 July 1984 (two days after the Sea Eagle test) in the North Atlantic, whilst testing the Mark 24-Mod-2 Tigerfish torpedo
Mark 24 Tigerfish
The Mk 24 Tigerfish torpedo was a heavyweight acoustic homing torpedo used by the Royal Navy for several years. The early Mod0 and Mod1 variants were unreliable and unsuccessful, and were issued to the RN even though they failed Fleet Weapon Acceptance...
.
See also
- List of ship launches in 1960
- List of ship commissionings in 1962
- List of ship decommissionings in 1978
- List of shipwrecks in 1984
Her name was also used in the James bond film Tomorrow Never Dies