HMS Nottingham (D91)

HMS "Nottingham" (D91), is 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 and is 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 sadly lost 4 sailors to a drowning incident in Oporto.

In November 2000, HMS "Nottingham" completed a major refit, which was intended to extend her operational life to 2012.

On 7 July 2002, "Nottingham" ran aground on the submerged but well-charted Wolf Rock near Lord Howe Island, convert|200|mi|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.

The accident happened in poor weather after a set of manouvers 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 Islands 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. [citeweb|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/hampshire/dorset/3655909.stm|title=Warship at sea after £39m repairs|work=BBC News|date=24 April 2004]

On 23 August 2004, "Nottingham" met the SAS "Mendi", a Valour class frigate at the site where the SS "Mendi", a World War I troopship, sank to lay 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 it is unlikely she will sail again before her planned decomissioning in 2010.

Affiliations

*The Mercian Regiment
*No. 8 Squadron RAF
*No. 56(R) Squadron RAF
*307 (South Nottinghamshire Hussars Yeomanry RHA) Battery, 100 (Yeomanry) Regiment, Royal Artillery
*Worshipful Company of Saddlers
*City of Nottingham

References

External links

* [http://www.royal-navy.mod.uk/server/show/nav.1695 Official HMS "Nottingham" website] of the Royal Navy
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/nottingham/spotlight/hmsnottingham/index.shtml BBC Virtual Tour]
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/nottingham/360/where_to_go/hms_nottingham/ BBC 360° Tour]