HMS Manchester (D95)

The current HMS "Manchester" (D95) is a Type 42 (Batch 3) destroyer in the 5th Destroyer Squadron of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy.

She was laid down in 1978 at Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering, launched in 1980 and commissioned in 1982. In 1991, during the Gulf War, she participated in numerous operations in the Persian Gulf, aimed at primarily upholding the trade blockade imposed on Iraq during Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait. She won the lineage its newest battle honour - Persian Gulf 1991.

"Manchester" has recently been on a six-month deployment to the Caribbean, mainly on counter-drug operations and a display of security to Britain's Overseas Territories in the region. This deployment ended in December 2003 and culminated in a £19 million drug bust.

In 2004, "Manchester" acted in the role of Fleet Ready Escort (FRE). In September "Manchester" sailed from Portsmouth to take part in Exercise Destiny Glory O4, a large NATO exercise in the Mediterranean, as part of an RN naval task force comprising of HMS "Invincible", HMS "Southampton" and the Royal Fleet Auxiliary "Fort George". During the deployment "Manchester" visited a number of ports in the Mediterranean.

In the autumn of 2005, HMS Manchester was deployed in the Mediterranean as part of a NATO taskforce. During the four month deployment she was employed in a counter terrorist role alongside other European and American ships.

Her nickname is the "Busy Bee", from the bee emblem on the ship's crest. This emblem is taken from the crest of the city of Manchester and is also depicted in local industry, such as the Strangeways Brewery of Boddingtons.

4 July 2007 saw her docked at Pier 7 in Brooklyn, New York, before meeting up with a group of American ships to conduct communication tests and other training exercises.

Affiliations

*The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment (King's, Lancashire and Border)
*Worshipful Company of World Traders
*Manchester City F.C.
*Sale R.F.C.