HMS Gloucester (D96)
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| Career |  |
|---|---|
| Ordered: | |
| Laid down: | 29 October 1979 |
| Launched: | 2 November 1982 |
| Commissioned: | 11 September 1985 |
| Decommissioned: | |
| Fate: | Active in service as of 2007 |
| Struck: | |
| General Characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 5,200 tonnes |
| Length: | 141 m (462.5 ft) |
| Beam: | 15.2 m (50 ft) |
| Draught: | |
| Propulsion: | COGOG (Combination of Gas or Gas) turbines, 2 shafts 2 turbines producing 36 MW |
| Speed: | 30 knots (56 km/h) |
| Range: | |
| Complement: | 287 |
| Armament: | Sea Dart missiles 114 mm (4.5 in) Mk 8 gun |
| Aircraft: | Lynx HMA8 |
| Motto: | Prorsum ("Onwards") |
HMS Gloucester (D96) is a batch three Type 42 destroyer of the Royal Navy. The ship was built by Vosper Thorneycroft at Woolston, Southampton and launched on 2nd November 1982 by Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Gloucester. The present HMS Gloucester was one of the last four of the class to be built. They have a lengthened hull design giving better seakeeping qualities and greater endurance. Gloucester served in the Gulf War in 1991 where her most notable action was employing her Sea Dart missiles to shoot down an Iraqi Silkworm missile that was threatening the USS Missouri (BB-63).
The ship retains links with the Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment and the City of Gloucester. The ship's crest features a horseshoe, part of the City's Tudor Arms.
During the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict HMS Gloucester was the first Royal Navy vessel to evacuate British nationals from Beirut, docking on 18 July 2006. She made three trips taking evacuees to Cyprus, and was the last Royal Navy ship to leave Beirut. [1]
[edit] External links
| Type 42 destroyer |
| Royal Navy |
| Sheffield | Birmingham | Newcastle | Glasgow | Cardiff | Coventry | Exeter | Southampton | Nottingham | Liverpool | Manchester | Gloucester | Edinburgh | York |
| Argentine Navy |
| Hércules | Santísima Trinidad |
List of destroyers of the Royal Navy |
