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 HMSCumberland andUSSDwight D. Eisenhower | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | HMSCumberland |
| Operator | Royal Navy |
| Builder | Yarrow Shipbuilders |
| Laid down | 12 October 1984 |
| Launched | 21 June 1986 |
| Commissioned | 10 June 1989 |
| Decommissioned | 23 June 2011[1] |
| Homeport | HMNB Devonport,Plymouth |
| Identification |
|
| Motto |
|
| Nickname(s) | The Fighting Sausage (after the Cumberland sausage)[3] |
| Fate | Sold for scrap November 2013 |
| Badge |  |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Type 22 frigate |
| Displacement | 5,300 tons |
| Length | 148.1 m (486 ft 9 in) |
| Beam | 14.8 m (48 ft 6 in) |
| Draught | 6.4 m (21 ft) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed |
|
| Complement | 250 (max. 301) |
| Armament |
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| Aircraft carried | |
HMSCumberland was a Batch 3Type 22 frigate of theRoyal Navy. She was launched in 1986 and commissioned on 10 June 1989. The frigate was on station during theFirst Gulf War and was part of the Devonport Flotilla based atDevonport Dockyard.Cumberland was decommissioned on 23 June 2011.
On commissioning she became part of the8th Frigate Squadron. Her first commanding officer was CaptainMike Gregory. Captain Gregory, a submariner, was previously awarded theOBE for the longest continuously submerged patrol in Royal Navy history.[citation needed]
The ship's first two deployments were to the US and Canada, in 1989 and 1990 respectively. The first in 1989 called at bothFort Lauderdale andBaltimore where the ship became the focus of an anti-nuclear protest over suspicions that the ship carried nuclear weapons. In 1990, she again crossed the Atlantic to visitNew York, before sailing North to theSt Lawrence Seaway with a brief stop inMontreal followed by a 10-day visit toToronto. This was followed by an unscheduled 24-hour stop inHalifax, Nova Scotia to repair some ship equipment damaged in bad weather, and then a visit toSt John's, Newfoundland.
She spent the winter of 1990–91 as the Royal Navy surface vessel patrolling theFalkland Islands. She sailed toSouth Georgia just before Christmas arriving atGrytviken on 22 December. She sailed along the coast of South Georgia and returned to Grytviken on Christmas Eve. On Christmas Day she hosted the soldiers of the South Georgia garrison aboard for Christmas Day lunch of venison. The stag had been shot the day before by a sniper from the garrison; part of the garrison's duties being to control the deer population on the Island. While in South Georgia the ship manoeuvred into Cumberland Bay where aglacier sweeps into the sea. A photograph of the ship with the glacier as a back-drop was taken from the ship'sLynxhelicopter. Ice was collected from the glacier and kept in the ship's freezers for use at cocktail parties during the return leg of her patrol.
On 26 September 2000,Cumberland worked with local fishermen to aid the rescue of survivors of the Greek ferryExpress Samina which ran aground two miles off the island ofParos.
In 2003Cumberland embarked two teams from M Squadron, Special Boat Service (SBS) and (in partnership withRFAWave Knight) seized 3.6 tonnes of cocaine in the mid-Atlantic as part of an anti-drug operation. In October 2005 she intercepted and boarded a speedboat in theCaribbean Sea offNicaragua from which they seized two tonnes ofcocaine, and detained four suspects. The cocaine was estimated to have a street value of £200 million.[5]
During this time Chris Cranmer, the first registeredSatanist serving in the Royal Navy, was a technician on board the vessel.[6] On 18 May 2006Cumberland escortedDee Caffari, sailingAviva, across the finish-line (atLizard Point) as she became the first woman to sail single-handedly non-stop around the world "the wrong way" (against the prevailing wind and tide).
Cumberland completed an 18-month refit in 2008.[7]
In October 2008,Cumberland was assigned to anti-piracy duties along with 6 other ships as part ofStanding NATO Maritime Group 2 (SNMG2).[8] As part of her duties in SNMG2, on 11 November 2008,Cumberland went to the aid of a Danish vessel that hadcome under attack from pirates. The pirates opened fire on two ofCumberland's launches; 3 pirates died when the Royal Marines returned fire on thedhow.[9]
During her 2010 deployment to thePersian Gulf,Cumberland rotated betweenmaritime security patrol duty and escort duty with theFrench nuclear-powered aircraft carrierCharles de Gaulle in support of coalition military operations inAfghanistan. This represented an example ofinteroperability pursuant to therecently ratified Franco-British defence co-operation treaty.[10]
In February 2011, it was announced that the ship would be scrapped in April 2011 in a government spending review to meet UK government cuts to theMOD.[11]
On 22 February 2011,British Foreign SecretaryWilliam Hague announced thatCumberland, while transiting the Mediterranean on her return to the UK for decommissioning, would be redeployed to Libyan waters to assist in Operation Deference, the evacuation of British citizens and other nationals affected by the2011 Libyan civil war.[12]Cumberland entered thePort of Benghazi on 24 February. The ship left the same day with an international collection of 454 passengers that included 129 British nationals plus European and American nationals,[13][14] and transferred them to safety in Malta.[15] All European Union citizens were entitled to rescue by theCumberland, but needed to carry a passport or other document that could serve as proof of nationality; would-be passengers were advised to telephone the British embassy in Malta.[16]
In March 2011,Cumberland took part inOperation Ellamy, the British role in the coalition action during the2011 Libyan civil war by enforcing a naval blockade.[17] The life of theCumberland has been extended so that the UK "armed forces remain equipped to protect in this conflict."[18]
Since frigatesHMSWestminster andCumberland began enforcing the United Nations Resolution with other Allied naval forces on Friday [18 March 2011], the dictator's ships had shown "a very marked reluctance" to leave their bases... As well as ensuring arms do not slip through the naval cordon drawn across the Gulf of Sirte, both ships are using their surveillance suites to monitor activities along the Libyan coast, providing vital intelligence for the overall mission. Both frigates remain on station off the Libyan coast in full defence posture – defence watches, anti-flash, upper deck guns manned.[19]
Cumberland was transferred toOperation Unified Protector underNATO command at the end of March.[20][21]
On 18 April 2011Cumberland made her final entry into her base-port of Devonport from an intense and successful patrol involving oil production protection in the Gulf, counter-piracy operations, evacuating refugees from Libya and enforcing an arms embargo against the country's ruler. The ship was decommissioned under the Strategic Defence and Security Review, with a decommissioning ceremony taking place on 23 June.[1] She was laid up at Portsmouth and in July 2013 sold to Turkish company Leyal for demolition.[22][23]
Cumberland was affiliated with a number of military and civic bodies:[24]
In 2011, HMS Cumberland was docked in Benghazi port, and deployed in Libyan territorial waters, on Thursday 24 February, Sunday 27 February, and Sunday 6 March
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