HMS Brave (F94)
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| Career (UK) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | HMS Brave |
| Operator: | Royal Navy |
| Builder: | Yarrow Shipbuilders |
| Laid down: | 24 May 1982 |
| Launched: | 19 November 1983 by Lady Bryson, wife of Admiral Sir Lindsay Bryson KCB, the Controller of the Navy |
| Commissioned: | 4 July 1986 in Portsmouth, Hampshire. Captain W.C. McKnight LVO RN in command. |
| Decommissioned: | 23 March 1999 |
| Motto: | Fortis Fortuna Adiuvat "Fortune Favours the Brave" |
| Fate: | Sunk as a target vessel by HMS Sceptre and HMS Argyll |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Type 22 frigate |
| Displacement: | 5,300 tonnes |
| Length: | 148.1 m (486 ft 9 in) |
| Beam: | 14.8 m (48 ft 6 in) |
| Draught: | 6.4 m (21 ft) |
| Propulsion: | 2 × Rolls-Royce Spey SM1A Gas Turbines; 2 × Rolls-Royce Tyne RM1C Gas Turbines |
| Speed: | 18 knots (33 km/h) cruise 30 knots (56 km/h) maximum |
| Complement: | 250 (19 officers, 73 senior ratings, 173 junior ratings) |
| Armament: | GWS25 Mod 3 Seawolf SAM launcher 4 × MM38 Exocet SSM launchers 2 × 40/60 Bofors guns 2 × STWS torpedo tubes |
| Aircraft carried: | Lynx HAS3 Mk.8 helicopter |
HMS Brave (F94) was a Type 22 frigate of the Royal Navy. She was built by Yarrow Shipbuilders Ltd, Glasgow, Scotland. HMS Brave was decommissioned on 23 March 1999 and was expended as a target in August 2004by HMS Sceptre and HMS Argyll.
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[edit] First commission and trials
She cost some £250m to build and spent most of her first commission (1985-1987) as a trials ship. She achieved various firsts in her weapons and communications fit. Thus, from 1985-1987, HMS Brave had a number of civilian military contractors' personnel embarked and Commander Coyote, the Seawolf Trials mascot, became a familiar figure on board. She had a reputation as a "happy ship". It was not until the autumn of 1987 that she undertook Basic Operational Sea-Training (BOST) at Portland and joined the Fleet as a fully worked-up unit.
[edit] Ship's officers
In her first commission she was part of the 9th Frigate Squadron and commanded by Captain W C (Paddy) McKnight LVO Royal Navy. The heads of department were:
- Executive Officer and First Lieutenant - Lieutenant-Commander Graham Edmonds RN
- Operations Officer - Lieutenant-Commander Nigel Chambers RN
- Marine Engineering Officer - Commander Barry Semke RN
- Weapons Engineering Officer - Commander Peter Tait RN
- Supply Officer - Lieutenant-Commander Lester May RN
and
- Captain's Secretary - Lieutenant Mark P Cooter RN
[edit] Programme
Her programme from 1986 to 1987 included visits to Lowestoft, Gibraltar, Funchal, Madeira, Porto, London - alongside HMS Belfast in December 1986, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Alicante and Torquay. In January 1991 she was deployed to active service in the Gulf war. Whilst there she took onboard the admiral of the fleet for the sea based task force. Her duties included guarding the gun ships, sonar tasks and mine watching. On a couple of occasions she came close to mines which had been dispatched by the Iraq military. Her main task during normal service was sonar patrols and between 1990 and 1992 carried out many successful patrols of the waters around the UK.
[edit] Affiliations
She was at first affiliated to Waveney District and the port of Lowestoft, Suffolk; this followed from the last ship of the name's Second World War association with the Suffolk town of Beccles. Other associations included the Royal Irish Rangers, the Worshipful Company of Haberdashers, the Algerines Association, and Sea Cadet and Combined Cadet Force units. She had also forged a liaison with the Mohawk Indians in Canada. TS Mohawk - Blackburn Sea Cadet Unit (Commanding Officer - Lieutenant G L Barrow RNR) had a strong liaison with the ship. Her final affiliation was with the town of Dover in 1996.
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