HMS London (F95)

HMS London was a Type 22 frigate of the Royal Navy, originally named Bloodhound but renamed London at the request of the Lord Mayor of London.

HMS London
History
United Kingdom
Name: HMS London
Namesake: London
Operator: Royal Navy
Builder: Yarrow Shipbuilders
Laid down: 7 February 1983
Launched: 27 October 1984
Commissioned: 5 June 1987
Decommissioned: 14 January 1999
Identification: Pennant number: F95
Fate: Sold to Romania on 14 January 2003
Romania
Name: Regina Maria
Namesake: Marie of Edinburgh
Acquired: 14 January 2003
Commissioned: 21 April 2005
Identification: Pennant number: F222
Status: In active service
Badge:
General characteristics
Class and type: Type 22 frigate
Displacement: 5,300 tonnes
Length: 148.1 m (486 ft)
Beam: 14.8 m (49 ft)
Draught: 6.4 m (21 ft)
Propulsion:
Speed:
  • 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph) (cruise)
  • 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph) (max)
Complement: 250
Armament:
Aircraft carried:

She was flagship of the Royal Navy task force during the 1991 Gulf War.

She was decommissioned on 14 January 1999 and sold to the Romanian Navy on 14 January 2003, being commissioned as Regina Maria on 21 April 2005 after Queen Marie of Romania, wife of King Ferdinand I of Romania. Before the sale the Sea Wolf and Exocet missile systems were removed, and the only armament the ship had when delivered was two 30mm BMARC cannons and two three-tube anti-submarine torpedo launchers. The Romanian Navy had a 76 mm OTO-Melera gun system fitted forward where the Exocets had been mounted, but no missile systems or additional weapons have been fitted. There has since been some controversy over the price for which Romania purchased the ship.[1]

Commanding officers

FromToCaptain
19861987Captain Robert Fisher RN
19871989Captain Douglas Littlejohns RN
19891990Captain James Taylor RN
19901991Captain Iain Henderson RN
19911992Captain Mark Stanhope RN
19921994Captain Timothy McClement RN
19941996Commander Alan Brooks RN
19961998Commander Iain Greenlees RN
19981999Commander Thomas McBarnet RN

See also


References

  1. Leigh, David (13 June 2006). "We paid three times too much for UK frigates, Romania says". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 14 June 2006.

Publications

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