HMS Bulwark (L15)
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| Career |  |
|---|---|
| Ordered: | 18 July 1996 |
| Laid down: | 27 January 2000 Barrow-in-Furness, England |
| Launched: | 15 November 2001 Barrow-in-Furness, England |
| Commissioned: | 10 December 2004 |
| Decommissioned: | |
| Fate: | Active in service as of 2007. |
| Struck: | |
| General Characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 18,500 t - 21,500 t |
| Length: | 176 m |
| Beam: | 25.6 m waterline, 28.9 m maximum |
| Draught: | |
| Propulsion: | 2 x Wärtsilä 6.25 MW and 2 x Wärtsilä 1.56 MW diesel generators operating at 6.6 kV driving two AC motors through twin shafts and a bowthruster unit. |
| Speed: | 18 knots (33 km/h) |
| Range: | 7,000 nautical miles (13,000 km) |
| Complement: | 325 |
| Armament: | 2 Goalkeeper CIWS 4 × 7.62 mm machine guns / 2 × 20 mm cannon. |
| Aircraft: | |
| Motto: | |
HMS Bulwark is an Albion-class landing platform dock, the UK's newest class of amphibious assault warship and built in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England, UK. For numerous reasons, delays caused the delivery date to be put back, with the ship entering service in December 2004. Coupled with Albion and HMS Ocean, as well as other amphibious ships, it provides a much improved and potent amphibious capability for the Royal Navy.
The 64 metre flight deck is able to take two Sea King HC4 medium-lift helicopters and stow a third. The deck is also capable of supporting a CH-47 Chinook heavy-lift helicopter. Though the Albion design does not have a hangar, the ship does have sufficient equipment to support helicopter operations.
The ship also supports a permanently-embarked marines Landing craft unit, 4 Assault Squadron Royal Marines.
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[edit] Service History
HMS Bulwark departed the UK in January 2006 for a six month East of Suez maiden deployment. She conducted counter terrorist and counter piracy tasks in waters off of The Horn of Africa. HMS Bulwark then headed for the northern Persian Gulf to become the flagship of Task Force 158, providing security for Iraqi oil platforms.
At the start of the summer of 2006 HMS Bulwark was near Spain. Due to the 2006 Israel-Lebanon crisis, on 15 July 2006 she was ordered to divert to Lebanon and to support operations evacuating British citizens from the conflict area[1]. On 20 July, she evacuated approximately 1,300 people from Beirut in the biggest British evacuation[2]. On completion of her extended deployment the ship returned to the United Kingdom.
[edit] Affiliations
- County Durham
- Worshipful Company of Coachmakers and Coach Harness Makers
- The Royal Irish Regiment (27th (Inniskilling) 83rd and 87th and Ulster Defence Regiment)
- The Bulwark Association
- Bristol Adventure Sea Cadet Corps
[edit] References
[edit] See also
| Albion-class landing platform dock |
| Albion | Bulwark |
List of amphibious assault ships of the Royal Navy |
