HMS St Albans (F83)

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Career

Ordered:	February 1996
Laid down:	18 April 1999
Launched:	6 May 2000
Commissioned:	6 June 2002
Decommissioned:
Fate:	Active in service as of 2006.
Struck:
General Characteristics
Displacement:	4,900 tonnes
Length:	133 m (463 ft)
Beam:	16.1 m (52.9 ft)
Draught:
Propulsion:	CODLAG (Combined Diesel-electric and Gas): 2 Rolls-Royce Spey boost turbines 4 Paxman Valenta diesel engines 2 GEC electric motors
Speed:
Range:
Complement:	185
Armament:	2 ASuW Harpoon quad launchers Vertical launch system Sea Wolf missiles BAE 4.5 inch (110 mm) Mk 8 gun 2 Oerlikon 30 mm guns 4 Sting Ray torpedo tubes Seagnat and DFL3 decoy launchers
Aircraft:	Lynx HMA8 or Merlin helicopter
Motto:

HMS St Albans (F83) is a Type 23 frigate of the Royal Navy. It is the sixth ship to bear the name and is the sixteenth and final ship in the Duke class of frigates.

Its current commanding officer is Commander Mark Newland RN, who took command in September 2006. Its base is Portsmouth.

1 History
2 Evacuation of British citizens from Lebanon
3 Current status
4 References
5 External links

[edit] History

The ship was launched on Saturday 6th May 2000. It was built at BAE Systems' Yarrows Yard in Scotstoun, Glasgow and was launched on the Clyde.

On the 27 October 2002, before it had even entered into operational service, HMS St Albans collided with the P&O ferry Pride of Portsmouth when gale force winds pushed the ferry into the ship whilst returning to its berth in Portsmouth. HMS St Albans was damaged in several parts of the deck, the gun deck, the sea boat supports and the bridge wing. However, no members of the crew were injured.

In 2004, Commander Steve Dainton RN took command and the ship was deployed on Operation Oracle duties in the Arabian Sea.

In July 2004 the crew were granted "Freedom of the City" by the Mayor of St Albans.

On the 13th February 2006, HMS St Albans departed on a 6 month deployment to the Gulf region. It arrived in the region in early April, where its tasks included protecting Iraqi Oil Platforms as well as patrol duties in the Northern Gulf. During the trip, it provided a diplomatic role by visiting 16 countries, including Algeria, Albania, Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey and Lebanon (before the 2006 conflict with Israel.)

[edit] Evacuation of British citizens from Lebanon

As of the 12th July 2006, the ship had completed its tour in the Gulf and had begun its long journey back to Portsmouth. However, on the same day, the conflict between Israel and Lebanon began. As a result, it was announced on Monday 17th July by The Ministry of Defence that HMS St Albans, which was on a route that would take it through the eastern Mediterranean (via the Suez canal), had been redeployed to assist in the evacuation of British Citizens trapped in Lebanon. It arrived in the area on Thursday 20th July and on Friday 21st July it picked up 243 evacuees from the dock in Beirut and safely transported them to Cyprus. After completing its role in the evacuation, it remained on operational stand-by in the vicinity of Beirut for a short time before being ordered to return home, their original aim. The ship finally arrived back in Portsmouth on 18th August 2006.

[edit] Current status

Following the ship's successful 6-month tour, the ship underwent maintenance. During this time, the ship received a new CO, Commander Mark Newland RN. He has taken over from Commander Steve Dainton RN, HMS St Albans' CO for the past two years. Since the maintenance, the ship has stayed in British waters, participating in submarine training in the Irish Sea, weapon training off the South Coast and visiting Glasgow on the 11th November 2006 to take part in Rememberance Sunday events. The ship has since returned to Portsmouth where it's crew will disembark for Christmas leave and is due to appear at the London Boat Show in January.

See HMS St Albans for other ships of the same name.

Type 23 frigate