HMS Clyde (P257)
| 300px HMS Clyde in Portsmouth Harbour leaving for deployment to the Falkland Islands | |
| Career (UK) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | HMS Clyde |
| Operator: | Royal Navy |
| Ordered: | 2005 |
| Builder: | VT Shipbuilding |
| Laid down: | 2005 |
| Launched: | 14 June 2006 |
| Sponsored by: | Mrs Lesley Dunt, wife of Vice Admiral Sir Peter Dunt (Retired) |
| Commissioned: | 30 January 2007 |
| Identification: | Pennant number: P257 |
| Motto: |
Clwo "Strength" |
| Status: | in active service, as of 2024[update] |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | River-class patrol vessel |
| Displacement: | 1,850 tonnes |
| Length: | 81.5 m |
| Beam: | 13.6 m |
| Draught: | 3.8 m |
| Propulsion: | 2 × Ruston 12RK 270 engines developing 4,125 kW @ 1,000 rpm |
| Speed: | 21 knots (39 km/h) |
| Range: | 7,800 nautical miles (10,200 km) at 12 knots (22 km/h) |
| Complement: | 36 (room for 20 extra personnel) |
| Armament: |
|
| Aircraft carried: | Flight Deck arrangements of sufficient size to take Lynx, Sea King and Merlin helicopters |
HMS Clyde is the ninth ship in the Royal Navy to bear the name. She was launched on 14 June 2006 in Portsmouth Naval Base by VT Group shipbuilders in Portsmouth, England and is the fourth vessel of the River class and the first of a lengthened variety with a larger displacement of 1,850 tonnes and a 30 mm Oerlikon 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 for 40 years and has been constructed alongside the bow and superstructure sections for the new Type 45 destroyers Daring and Dauntless. She was named in a ceremony on 7 September 2006 as she had not received a traditional launching ceremony.[1]
HMS Clyde was accepted into the Royal Navy in a ceremony at Portsmouth Naval base on 30 January 2007. The White Ensign was then raised for the first time on the offshore patrol vessel built by VT Shipbuilding.[2]
She and her ship's company went through a rigorous series of trials and safety training before undergoing operational sea training in Scotland. After being commissioned into active service she was sent to the South Atlantic to relieve HMS Dumbarton Castle as the Royal Navy's patrol vessel in the area based in the Falkland Islands. Unlike predecessors in this role it is anticipated that Clyde will be able to stay in Atlantic waters for some five years until 2012 when she will return to the United Kingdom for a refit.
External links
References
- ↑ Royal Navy press release on launching of Clyde retrieved 11 September 2006
- ↑ Royal Navy press release on acceptance into fleet retrieved 29 January 2007
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