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HMS Clyde (P257)
Encyclopedia
HMS Clyde is the ninth ship in the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
to bear the name. She was launched on 14 June 2006 in Portsmouth Naval Base by VT Group
VT Group
VT Group plc was a British defence and services company, formerly known as Vosper Thornycroft. The Company had diversified from shipbuilding into various engineering and support services, becoming involved in many areas of provision through five main operating groups: VT Communications, VT...
shipbuilders in Portsmouth
Portsmouth
Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and is the fourth vessel of the River class
River class patrol vessel
The River class is a class of three offshore patrol vessels in the Royal Navy, replacing the seven ships of the Island class. A fourth, modified vessel based on the River class has also been built for the Royal Navy, replacing the Castle class, for duties in the Falklands...
and the first of a lengthened variety with a larger displacement of 1,850 tonnes and a 30 mm Oerlikon
Oerlikon Contraves
Rheinmetall Air Defence AG is a division of German armament manufacturer Rheinmetall, created when the company's Oerlikon Contraves unit was renamed on 1 January 2009 and integrated with Rheinmetall's other air-defence products...
KCB gun in place of the 20 mm gun fitted to other River-class ships.
Clyde was the first ship built entirely in Portsmouth Naval base
HMNB Portsmouth
Her Majesty's Naval Base Portsmouth is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the British Royal Navy...
for 40 years and has been constructed alongside the bow and superstructure sections for the new Type 45 destroyer
Type 45 destroyer
The United Kingdom's Type 45 destroyer is an air defence destroyer programme of the Royal Navy which will replace its Type 42 destroyers. The first ship in the class, HMS Daring, was launched on 1 February 2006 and commissioned on 23 July 2009. The ships are now built by BAE Systems Surface Ships...
s Daring
HMS Daring (D32)
HMS Daring is the lead ship of the Type 45 or 'D' class of air defence destroyer in the Royal Navy and the seventh ship to hold that name.She was launched in 2006 on the Clyde and conducted contractor's sea trials during 2007 and 2008...
and Dauntless
HMS Dauntless (D33)
HMS Dauntless is the second ship of the Type 45 class of air defence destroyer built for the Royal Navy...
. She was named in a ceremony on 7 September 2006 as she had not received a traditional launching ceremony.
HMS Clyde was accepted into the Royal Navy in a ceremony at Portsmouth Naval base on 30 January 2007. The White Ensign
White Ensign
The White Ensign or St George's Ensign is an ensign flown on British Royal Navy ships and shore establishments. It consists of a red St George's Cross on a white field with the Union Flag in the upper canton....
was then raised for the first time on the offshore patrol vessel built by VT Shipbuilding.She and her ship's company went through a rigorous series of trials and safety training before undergoing operational sea training off Scotland.
After being commissioned into active service she was sent to the South Atlantic to relieve HMS Dumbarton Castle
HMS Dumbarton Castle (P265)
HMS Dumbarton Castle was an offshore patrol vessel of the British Royal Navy. Her main role was the protection of the offshore assets of the United Kingdom, including oil and gas installations and fisheries out to the 200 mile limit....
as the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
's patrol vessel in the area based in the Falkland Islands
Falkland Islands
The Falkland Islands are an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean, located about from the coast of mainland South America. The archipelago consists of East Falkland, West Falkland and 776 lesser islands. The capital, Stanley, is on East Falkland...
. Unlike predecessors in this role Clyde will be stay in South Atlantic waters for the foreseeable future, with a contract in place for her to remain in the Falkland Islands until 2018.
In January 2011, the government of Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
denied HMS Clyde access to Rio de Janeiro in solidarity with the Argentinian cause over the Falkland Islands sovereignty dispute, as Uruguay
Uruguay
Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
had done with HMS Gloucester
HMS Gloucester (D96)
HMS Gloucester was a Batch 3 Type 42 destroyer of the Royal Navy. The ship was built by Vosper Thorneycroft at Woolston, Southampton and launched on 2 November 1982 by The Duchess of Gloucester. HMS Gloucester was one of the modified last four of the class to be built, having a lengthened hull...
the previous September.