HMS Chatham (F87)

HMS "Chatham" (F87) is a Type 22 frigate of the Royal Navy. She was guardship to the Royal Yacht "Britannia" when she withdrew from Hong Kong. In May 2000, under "Chatham" was part of the Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) sent to the coast of Sierra Leone to oversee the evacuation of British, EU and Commonwealth nationals as part of Operation Palliser, under the captaincy of George Zambellas.

In March 2003 HMS "Chatham" became the first British warship to fire her guns in anger as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom when she engaged targets on the Al-Faw Peninsula of southern Iraq. Approximately 60 rounds were fired at a variety of targets from her 4.5" gun. In company with HMAS "Anzac" she remained on station for the following 72 hours at immediate readiness to provide fire support to the troops of the Royal Marines as they advanced up the peninsula.

HMS "Chatham" deployed from the UK to the Persian Gulf in January and returned in August. During the deployment, in the run up to and the conduct of the invasion of Iraq the ship spent around 90 days at sea continuously in defence watches in the northern part of the Persian Gulf. At times she came very close to hitting mines laid by Iraqi dhows and tugs in the shallow waters to be found in the area.

HMS "Chatham" also hosted the BBC for the television programme "Shipmates" which charted the life of ordinary sailors in the Royal Navy. In the program "Chatham" was filmed on active service in the Persian Gulf, whilst on an anti-terrorist mission. The show also covered the "Chatham"'s humanitarian relief efforts off the coast of Sri Lanka after the devastating Indian Ocean Tsunami in December 2004. [cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/devon/content/articles/2005/11/15/shipmates_feature.shtml |title=BBC Website - Shipmates |accessdate=2006-10-25]

On April 18, 2005, HMS "Chatham" sent a party ashore at Alexandria in Egypt to provide a burial for the recently-uncovered remains of thirty British sailors and officers who had died during or after the Battle of the Nile in 1798. [Smith, Tannalee. "30 Members of British Fleet Reburied". Associated Press, April 18, 2005.]

On October 31, 2006, she visited the town of Chatham, Massachusetts, on her way to Boston.

In March 2007, she was docked at St. Mary's Island, Chatham, as part of a recruitment drive to encourage local people to join the Navy.

As of 2008 she is on a 8 month deployment to the Iraqi gulf for peacekeeping missions.Fact|date=September 2008

Affiliations

*3 Regiment, Army Air Corps
*Medway Council
*Worshipful Company of Merchant Taylors
*Chatham Dockyard Historic Trust
*Medway Towns Sea Cadet Corps - TS Cornwallis

References