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HMS Nottingham (D91)
Encyclopedia
HMS Nottingham (D91) was a batch two Type 42
destroyer
of the Royal Navy
, named after the city of Nottingham
, England
. She was launched
on 18 February 1980, and commissioned
on 8 April 1983 as the sixth ship to bear the name.
Her Commanding Officer at commissioning was Commander Nigel Essenhigh (in his first major command role) who went on to become First Sea Lord
.
On her first cruise to Oporto
, Portugal
and then Gibraltar
she lost two sailors to a drowning incident while on shore leave visiting a beach in Oporto.
In November 2000, HMS Nottingham completed a major refit, which was intended to extend her operational life to 2012, although she was later placed in reserve and decommissioned on 11 February 2010.
near Lord Howe Island
, 200 miles (321.9 km) off the coast of Australia
. A 160 ft (50 m) hole was torn down the side of the vessel from bow to bridge, flooding five of her compartments and nearly causing her to sink. A major PR crisis for the Royal Navy, the incident was initially PR managed by Commander David Heley Royal Navy (who looked after the UK and New Zealand media) and Lieutenant Commander Steve Tatham Royal Navy (who provided daily commentary to Australian media) before a team was despatched to Australia to assist the ship.
The accident happened in poor weather after a set of manoeuvres to allow a sailor with an emergency medical condition to be evacuated to Lord Howe Island. The captain was not on the ship at the time of the incident, but was ashore having dinner with the island's Marine Services Manager thanking him for the assistance rendered to his crewman.
On 6 August, Nottingham set out on her journey to the port of Newcastle
, north of Sydney
, towed stern-first because of the damage to her bow. In Newcastle, her Sea Dart
missiles were removed and further repairs were carried out.
It was not clear that it was economic to repair her but Nottingham had recently undergone major modifications to her radar and other electronics, and it was determined that it would be less expensive to return her to the UK and repair her than to bring another Type 42 destroyer up to her new specification.
After arriving in Sydney on 15 October, the damaged ship was lifted on board the heavy lifting vessel
MV Swan and welded to her deck for transport. On 28 October, Nottingham left Sydney harbour on board the MV Swan for the journey back to the UK. By 9 December, she had arrived at Portsmouth Harbour for repairs at Fleet Support Limited
. The destroyer HMS Glasgow
was temporarily reactivated to cover for Nottingham while she was being repaired.
On 7 July 2003, the anniversary of the collision, Nottingham was refloated. In April 2004 she sailed again following the £39m repair and refit. The ship returned to duty in July 2004.
On 23 August 2004, Nottingham met the SAS Mendi
, a Valour class frigate
of the South African Navy
at the site where the troopship
SS Mendi
was sunk during the First World War
. The crew laid wreaths in remembrance to those who died in service for their country.
Despite the £39M spent on her in 2004, in April 2008, she was placed in a state of "Extended Readiness" at Portsmouth. With her crew dispersed, she did not sail again before being decommissioned on 11 February 2010. She was put up for auction on 28 March 2011, which resulted in her sale for scrap to Leyal Ship Recycling. She was towed out of Portsmouth en route to Turkey on 19 October 2011.
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...
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...
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...
, named after the city of Nottingham
Nottingham
Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
, England
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...
. She was launched
Ship naming and launching
The ceremonies involved in naming and launching naval ships are based in traditions thousands of years old.-Methods of launch:There are three principal methods of conveying a new ship from building site to water, only two of which are called "launching." The oldest, most familiar, and most widely...
on 18 February 1980, and commissioned
Ship commissioning
Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service, and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to the placing of a warship in active duty with its country's military...
on 8 April 1983 as the sixth ship to bear the name.
Her Commanding Officer at commissioning was Commander Nigel Essenhigh (in his first major command role) who went on to become First Sea Lord
First Sea Lord
The First Sea Lord is the professional head of the Royal Navy and the whole Naval Service; it was formerly known as First Naval Lord. He also holds the title of Chief of Naval Staff, and is known by the abbreviations 1SL/CNS...
.
On her first cruise to Oporto
Porto
Porto , also known as Oporto in English, is the second largest city in Portugal and one of the major urban areas in the Iberian Peninsula. Its administrative limits include a population of 237,559 inhabitants distributed within 15 civil parishes...
, Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
and then Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
she lost two sailors to a drowning incident while on shore leave visiting a beach in Oporto.
In November 2000, HMS Nottingham completed a major refit, which was intended to extend her operational life to 2012, although she was later placed in reserve and decommissioned on 11 February 2010.
Grounding
On 7 July 2002, Nottingham ran aground on the submerged but well-charted Wolf RockWolf Rock, Lord Howe Island
Wolf Rock, or sometimes spelt Wolfe Rock in the past, is a rock and reef east of Lord Howe Island.The rock is named after the Wolf, an ex-Royal Navy gun brig built in 1814, which was working as a whaling ship when on 6 August 1837 it struck an outer reef near Lord Howe Island...
near Lord Howe Island
Lord Howe Island
Lord Howe Island is an irregularly crescent-shaped volcanic remnant in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand, directly east of mainland Port Macquarie, and about from Norfolk Island. The island is about 11 km long and between 2.8 km and 0.6 km wide with an area of...
, 200 miles (321.9 km) off the coast of Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. A 160 ft (50 m) hole was torn down the side of the vessel from bow to bridge, flooding five of her compartments and nearly causing her to sink. A major PR crisis for the Royal Navy, the incident was initially PR managed by Commander David Heley Royal Navy (who looked after the UK and New Zealand media) and Lieutenant Commander Steve Tatham Royal Navy (who provided daily commentary to Australian media) before a team was despatched to Australia to assist the ship.
The accident happened in poor weather after a set of manoeuvres to allow a sailor with an emergency medical condition to be evacuated to Lord Howe Island. The captain was not on the ship at the time of the incident, but was ashore having dinner with the island's Marine Services Manager thanking him for the assistance rendered to his crewman.
On 6 August, Nottingham set out on her journey to the port of Newcastle
Newcastle, New South Wales
The Newcastle metropolitan area is the second most populated area in the Australian state of New South Wales and includes most of the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie Local Government Areas...
, north of Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, towed stern-first because of the damage to her bow. In Newcastle, her Sea Dart
Sea Dart missile
Sea Dart or Guided Weapon System 30 is a British surface-to-air missile system designed by Hawker Siddeley Dynamics and built by British Aerospace from 1977...
missiles were removed and further repairs were carried out.
It was not clear that it was economic to repair her but Nottingham had recently undergone major modifications to her radar and other electronics, and it was determined that it would be less expensive to return her to the UK and repair her than to bring another Type 42 destroyer up to her new specification.
After arriving in Sydney on 15 October, the damaged ship was lifted on board the heavy lifting vessel
Heavy lift ship
A heavy lift ship is a vessel designed to move very large loads that cannot be handled by normally equipped ships. They are of two types: semi-submerging capable of lifting another ship out of the water and transporting it; and vessels that augment unloading facilities at inadequately equipped...
MV Swan and welded to her deck for transport. On 28 October, Nottingham left Sydney harbour on board the MV Swan for the journey back to the UK. By 9 December, she had arrived at Portsmouth Harbour for repairs at Fleet Support Limited
Fleet Support Limited
Fleet Support Limited is a British company formed to run HMNB Portsmouth's Fleet Maintenance and Repair Organisation on a commercial basis. The FMRO was an agency of the Ministry of Defence responsible for repair and maintenance of Royal Navy vessels. FSL performs this task but also undertakes...
. The destroyer HMS Glasgow
HMS Glasgow (D88)
HMS Glasgow was a Type 42 destroyer of the Royal Navy. The last of the Batch 1 Type 42 destoyers, Glasgow was commissioned in 1977. The destroyer fought during the Falklands War, and on 12 May 1982 was damaged by bombs from Argentine A-4 Skyhawks. Glasgow operated with the INTERFET peacekeeping...
was temporarily reactivated to cover for Nottingham while she was being repaired.
On 7 July 2003, the anniversary of the collision, Nottingham was refloated. In April 2004 she sailed again following the £39m repair and refit. The ship returned to duty in July 2004.
On 23 August 2004, Nottingham met the SAS Mendi
SAS Mendi (F148)
SAS Mendi is the last of four Valour class frigates built for the South African Navy by the European South African Corvette Consortium and entered service in March 2007.-Construction:...
, a Valour class frigate
Valour class frigate
The South African Valour class frigates are the major surface ships of the South African Navy. Their German manufacturer designates these warships as the MEKO A-200SAN class, member of its MEKO family of naval ships...
of the South African Navy
South African Navy
The South African Navy is the navy of the Republic of South Africa.-Formation:The South African Navy can trace its official origins back to the SA Naval Service, which was established on 1 April 1922....
at the site where the troopship
Troopship
A troopship is a ship used to carry soldiers, either in peacetime or wartime...
SS Mendi
SS Mendi
SS Mendi was a steamship of the Elder Dempster Line, chartered by the British government as a troopship, which sank off the Isle of Wight in 1917 with the loss of 646 lives...
was sunk during the First World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. The crew laid wreaths in remembrance to those who died in service for their country.
Despite the £39M spent on her in 2004, in April 2008, she was placed in a state of "Extended Readiness" at Portsmouth. With her crew dispersed, she did not sail again before being decommissioned on 11 February 2010. She was put up for auction on 28 March 2011, which resulted in her sale for scrap to Leyal Ship Recycling. She was towed out of Portsmouth en route to Turkey on 19 October 2011.
Affiliations
- The Mercian Regiment
- No. 8 Squadron RAF
- No. 56(R) Squadron RAFNo. 56 Squadron RAFNumber 56 Squadron is one of the oldest and most successful squadrons of the Royal Air Force, with battle honours from many of the significant air campaigns of both World War I and World War II...
- 307 (South Nottinghamshire Hussars Yeomanry RHA) Battery, 100 (Yeomanry) Regiment, Royal Artillery100th (Yeomanry) Regiment Royal Artillery100th Regiment Royal Artillery is a British Territorial Army Royal Artillery regiment that has three gun batteries, all equipped with the L118 Light Gun.- The Batteries are :...
- Worshipful Company of SaddlersWorshipful Company of SaddlersThe Worshipful Company of Saddlers is one of the most ancient of the Livery Companies of the City of London. The Guild of Saddlers, the Company's predecessor, is thought to have been an Anglo-Saxon Craft Guild – it certainly existed at some point in the eleventh century. The Guild became a Company...
- City of Nottingham
External links
- Official HMS Nottingham website of the Royal Navy
- BBC Virtual Tour
- BBC 360° Tour