.jpg) HMSSheffield | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | HMSSheffield |
| Ordered | 14 November 1968[1][2] |
| Builder | Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering Ltd |
| Laid down | 15 January 1970 |
| Launched | 10 June 1971 |
| Sponsored by | Queen Elizabeth II |
| Commissioned | 16 February 1975[1] |
| Identification | Pennant number: D80 |
| Motto |
|
| Nickname(s) | Shiny Sheff |
| Fate | Sunk on 10 May 1982 |
| Notes | Foundered under tow followingExocet missile attack and subsequent fire |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Type 42 destroyer |
| Displacement | 4,820 tonnes |
| Length | 125 m (410 ft 1 in) |
| Beam | 14.3 m (46 ft 11 in) |
| Draught | 5.8 m (19 ft 0 in) |
| Propulsion | 4Rolls-Royce (2Olympus TM3B and 2Tyne) producing 36 MW COGOG (combined gas or gas) arrangement |
| Speed | 30knots (56 km/h; 35 mph) |
| Complement | 21 officers and 249 ratings[3] |
| Armament |
|
| Aircraft carried | Lynx HAS1 |
HMSSheffield was aType 42guided missile destroyer and the secondRoyal Navy ship to be named after the city ofSheffield inYorkshire. Commissioned on 16 February 1975 theSheffield was part of the Task Force 317 sent to theFalkland Islands during theFalklands War. She was struck and heavily damaged by anExocet air-launchedanti-ship missile from an ArgentineSuper Étendard aircraft on 4 May 1982 and foundered while under tow on 10 May 1982.
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The first of the Type 42 class,Sheffield, was initially fitted with the odd-looking "Mickey Mouse" ears on her funnel tops which were in fact exhaust deflectors – "Loxton bends" – for theRolls-Royce Olympus TM3Bgas turbines, to guide the high-temperature exhaust efflux sidewards and minimise damage to overhead aerials. As this provided a prominent target for then-newinfrared homing missiles, onlySheffield and the next two in the class, the ArgentinianHércules andSantísima Trinidad, had these 'ears'.Sheffield was the only one of her class to not be fitted with STWS II triple anti-submarine torpedo tubes.[3]
Ordered in 1968Sheffield waslaid down on 15 January 1970 and built byVickers Shipbuilding and Engineering atBarrow-in-Furness. An explosion during construction killed two dockyard workers[4] and damaged a section of hull which was replaced with a section from an identical ship,Hércules, being built for theArgentine Navy.[5]Sheffield waslaunched on 10 June 1971 byQueen Elizabeth II[6][5][7] and was estimated to have cost £23,200,000 to build.[8]
As the first of her class of Royal Navy destroyers,Sheffield spent her first years trying out the new systems and theSea Dart missile system, particularly as the intended Sea Dart trials ship,HMS Bristol, suffered serious fires and problems with its steam systems restricting its use in the late 1970s. It was not until 1980 thatSheffield became effective, with Sea Dart and partial installation of electronic warfare Abbey Hill systems.[9] Following a refit in the early 1980s, significant design issues with the ship's Type 909 radar (which was responsible for control and targeting of the Sea Dart missiles) were identified.[3] The ship lacked anelectronic countermeasures (ECM) jammer.[10]
In June 1981 she participated in Exercise Roebuck, following which she fired five Sea Dart missiles. Following participation in Exercise Ocean Safari she sailed in November 1981 to undertake patrols in the Indian Ocean andPersian Gulf.
She was undergoing maintenance atMombasa whenCaptain James Salt took over command on 26 January 1982. Both Salt (whose most recent service had been in submarines) and his second in command (who had been an anti-submarine helicopter observer) had little or no relevant experience in surface ships and little experience in air defence.[3][11]
In March 1982 the ship transited north through the Suez Canal to participate inExercise Spring Train, which was held in the Atlantic Ocean.[3]
In response to theArgentine invasion of theFalkland Islands,Sheffield was ordered on 2 April 1982 to join the task force being assembled to retake the islands.[3] Ammunition and supplies were loaded, loose fittings stowed, and unnecessary memorabilia disembarked. All carpets were removed except for those on Deck 1 and above (which subsequently caught fire when she was hit). To avoid her being mistaken for the ArgentineHércules andSantísima Trinidad, a vertical black marking was painted on the funnel and down to the side to her waterline to aid recognition.[3]
Departing for the South Atlantic on 2 April,[12]Sheffield reachedAscension Island on 14 April, accompanied byHMS Arrow,HMS Brilliant,HMS Coventry,HMS Glasgow to be later joined byRFA Appleleaf. They joined other vessels of the Task Force 317 and commenced operations in the Total Exclusion Zone around the Falklands on 1 May 1982.[3]
It was British policy that any Royal Navy vessel that suspected itself to be under missile attack turn toward the threat, accelerate to maximum speed and firechaff to prevent the ship being caught defenceless. The codeword used to start this procedure was 'handbrake', which had to be broadcast once the signal of the Super E Agave radar ofSuper Étendard aircraft was picked up.[13] Within the task force, the threat from theType 209 submarine was seen as a higher priority than the threat from the air. Following the sinking ofGeneral Belgrano, Captain Salt had ordered the ship to change course every 90 seconds to counter any potential Argentine submarine threat.[14]
Sheffield was first detected by anArgentine Naval AviationLockheed SP-2H Neptune (2-P-112) patrol aircraft at 07:50 on 4 May 1982. The Neptune kept the British ships under surveillance, verifyingSheffield's position again at 08:14 and 08:43. TwoArgentine Navy Super Étendards, both armed withAM39 Exocets, took off fromRío Grande naval air base at 09:45 and met with anArgentine Air ForceKC-130H Hercules tanker to refuel at 10:00. The two aircraft were 3-A-202, piloted by mission commanderCapitán de Fragata (Lieutenant Commander)Augusto Bedacarratz, and 3-A-203, piloted byTeniente (Lieutenant) Armando Mayora.[15]
In the two weeks leading up to the attack, Argentinian pilots had been practising tactics against their own ships, including Type 42 destroyers of the same class asSheffield, and therefore knew the radar horizon, detection distances, and reaction times of the ship radar, as well as the optimal procedure to programme the Exocet missile for a successful attack profile.[16] The technique they used is known colloquially as "Pecking the Lobes", in reference to the aircraft probing theside lobes of the emitting radar using theradar warning receiver. The aircraft could avoid detection by avoiding themain lobe of the emitting radar.[17]
At 10:35, the Neptune climbed to 1,170 metres (3,840 ft) and detected one large and two medium-sized contacts. A few minutes later, the Neptune updated the Super Étendards with the positions. Flying at very low altitude, at approximately 10:50 both Super Étendards climbed to 160 metres (520 ft) to verify these contacts, but failed to locate them and returned to low altitude. They later climbed again and after a few seconds of scanning, the targets appeared on their radar screens.[18][19]
Both pilots loaded the coordinates into their weapons systems, returned to low level, and after last minute checks, each launched an AM39 Exocet missile at 11:04 while 20 to 30 miles (32 to 48 km) away from their targets. The Super Étendards did not need to refuel again from the KC-130, which had been waiting, and landed at Río Grande at 12:04.[citation needed]
Supporting the mission were an Argentine Air ForceLearjet 35 as a decoy and twoIAI Daggers as the KC-130 escorts.[18][19]
At approximately 10:00 on 4 May,Sheffield was at defence watches (second degree readiness), the southernmost of three Type 42 destroyers (the others being HMSGlasgow and HMSCoventry operating as a forward anti-aircraft picket 18 to 30 miles (29 to 48 km) to the west of the main task force which were south-east of the Falklands. The weather was fair and the sea calm with a 2-metre swell.HMS Invincible, which was with the main task force, was responsible for Anti-Air Warfare Coordination (AAWC).Sheffield had relieved hersister shipCoventry as the latter was having technical trouble with herType 965 radar.[20]
Prior to the attack,Sheffield's radar operators had been experiencing difficulty distinguishingMirage and Super Étendard aircraft, and the destroyer may have lacked effectiveIFF orradar jamming.[21] Despite intelligence briefings that identified an Exocet attack by Super Étendards as possible,Sheffield had assessed the Exocet threat as overrated for the previous two days, and disregarded another as a false alarm.
As the Type 965 could not detect low-flying aircraft, the two incoming enemy aircraft were not detected flying at 98 feet (30 m).[22] The two planes were detected at a distance of only 40 nautical miles (74 km) by the UAA1, a radar warning receiver. This was then confirmed by the 965M long range aircraft warning radar ofGlasgow when the aircraft popped up to 120 feet (37 m) above sea-level for a radar check at 45 nautical miles (83 km).[23] TheGlasgow immediately went to action stations, and communicated the warning codeword 'Handbrake' byUHF andHF to all task force ships. The radar contacts were also seen byInvincible, which directedSea Harriers on combat patrol to investigate, but they detected nothing. The AAWC onInvincible declared the radar contacts as false and left the Air Warning at yellow, instead of raising it to red.[3]
In response toGlasgow's warning, an order to stand to was issued to the crews of the 4.5 inch gun, Sea Dart and 20 mm guns. The aircraft were detected on the forward Type 909 radar but not on the aft set.[3]Sheffield's UAA1 sensor was then blocked by an unauthorised transmission by the ship's satellite communications systems (SCOT). No information was received via data link fromGlasgow. Seven seconds later, the first Exocet missile was fired, in response to whichGlasgow fired its chaff. OnboardSheffield, it was not until smoke from the missile was sighted by lookouts that the crew realised they were under attack. The bridge officers did not call the captain to the bridge, made no call toaction stations, made no evasive measures, and made no effort to prepare the 4.5-inch gun, the Sea Dart missiles, or order chaff to be fired.[13][11] The antiair warfare officer was called to the operations room by the principal warfare officer, arriving just before the first missile hit.
Two Exocets had been launched, the second missile being sighted byYarmouth and missingSheffield, splashing into the sea 0.5 miles (0.43 nmi) off herport beam.[24] The Exocet that struckSheffield hit her on the starboard side at deck level 2, travelling through the junior ratings' scullery and breaching the Forward Auxiliary Machinery Room/Forward Engine Room bulkhead 2.4 metres (7.9 ft) above the waterline, creating a hole in the hull roughly 1.2 metres (3.9 ft) by 3 metres (9.8 ft). Contemporary accounts suggested that the missile failed to explode, despite disabling the ship's electrical distribution systems and breaching the pressurised sea water fire main. The damage to the fire system severely hampered any firefighting response and eventually doomed the ship to be consumed by the fire.[10]
At the time of the hit, the captain was off duty in his cabin after having previously visited the operations room, whileSheffield's anti-air warfare officer (AAWO) was in the wardroom chatting to the stewards, and his assistant was in the heads.[3]Sheffield andCoventry were chatting over UHF and communications ceased until an unidentified message was heard flatly stating, "Sheffield is hit."[20]
The flagship,HMS Hermes, dispatched the escorts HMSArrow andYarmouth to investigate, and a helicopter was launched. Confusion reigned untilSheffield's Lynx helicopter unexpectedly landed aboardHermes carrying the air operations officer and operations officer,[20] confirming the strike.
With the principal fire fighting systems out of action due to the loss of the fire main, the crew were reduced to fighting the fire using portable electrically powered pumps and buckets. The control of firefighting lacked cohesion and was uncoordinated with no emergency HQ being established, while crew members were unclear as to where Command was located.Arrow andYarmouth assisted in fighting the fire from the outside (to little effect) by stationing themselves to port and starboard respectively.[3]
The crew ofSheffield fought for almost four hours to save the ship before Captain Salt made the decision to abandon ship due to the risk of fires igniting the Sea Dart magazine, the loss of the combat capability of the destroyer, and the exposed position to air attack ofArrow andYarmouth. Most of theSheffield's crew climbed over ontoArrow, a few transferred by GeminiRHIB toYarmouth, while some were taken by helicopter toHermes.[3] AsSheffield's crew departed inArrow, Sub-lieutenant Carrington-Wood led the crew in singing "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" fromMonty Python's Life of Brian.[25][26]
Over the next six days from 4 May 1982, as the ship drifted, five inspections were made to see if any equipment was worth salvaging. Orders were issued to shore up the hole inSheffield's starboard side and tow the ship toSouth Georgia.[13] Before these orders were issued, the burnt-out hulk had already been taken under tow byYarmouth. The high seas that the ship was towed through caused slow flooding through the hole in the ship's side, causing a list to starboard and which eventually causedSheffield to roll over and sink on the edge of the Total Exclusion Zone in 1,000 fathoms (6,000 ft; 1,800 m) of water at53°04′S56°56′W / 53.067°S 56.933°W /-53.067; -56.933 on 10 May 1982, the first Royal Navy vessel sunk in action sinceWorld War II.[27]
Of the 281 crew members, 20 (mainly on duty in the galley area and computer room) died in the attack with another 26–63[28][29] injured, mostly from burns, smoke inhalation or shock. Only one body was recovered. The survivors were taken to Ascension Island on the tankerBritish Esk.[10] The wreck is awar grave and designated as aprotected place[30] under theProtection of Military Remains Act 1986.
In response to the loss of the ship, aMinistry of Defence (MOD) Board of Inquiry was convened inHMS Nelson on 7 June 1982. They reported their findings on 28 June 1982. The board's report severely criticized the ship's fire-fighting equipment, training and procedures identifying that the critical factors leading to loss ofSheffield were:[31]
Captain Salt's handling of the ship following the impact of the missile, and his later decision to abandon the ship, were not faulted. The board, however, found that the principal warfare officer and the anti-air warfare officer (AAWO) were guilty of negligence.Admiral John Fieldhouse, the commander in chief of the navy, decided not tocourt-martial them, undertake any other disciplinary action or any form of formal administrative proceedings.
It was not until 2006, following an extensive campaign by ex-RN personnel, that a heavily censored summary of the board's findings that concealed all of the board's key conclusions and criticisms, including the findings of negligence was released by the Ministry of Defence under UK Freedom of Information laws.[10]
In 2015, a MOD re-assessment of the attack concluded that the Exocet warhead did indeed detonate insideSheffield, with the results supported by analysis using modern damage analysis tools not available in 1982 and evidence from weapon hits and trials conducted since the end of the Falklands campaign.[32]
In 2017, a complete copy of the report was issued, revealing information that according toThe Guardian had been "suppressed" from the summary of the board's findings in the 2006 release.The Guardian explained the missing information as being due to the British Government's attempts to sell off the remaining Type 42 destroyers at the same time. In the "uncensored" report, multiple issues that left the ship unprepared for the attack were identified, including findings of negligence against two officers, who according toThe Guardian "escaped court martial and did not face disciplinary action, apparently in order to avoid undermining the euphoria that gripped much of the UK at the end of the war". Among other findings, the "uncensored" report showed that the ship was not sufficiently prepared to ward off an attack, during the attack the anti-air warfare officer was not in the operations room, while his assistant had gone to the toilet. The anti-air warfare officer did not believeSheffield was within the range of attack of the Argentinian Air Force.[11]
The sinking ofSheffield is sometimes blamed on a superstructure made wholly or partially frommagnesium-aluminium alloy, the melting point and ignition temperature of which are significantly lower than those ofsteel. However, this is incorrect asSheffield's superstructure was made entirely of mild steel. The confusion is related to the US and British navies abandoning aluminium alloys after several fires in the 1970s involvingUSS Belknap andHMS Amazon and other ships that had aluminium alloy superstructures.[33][a] The sinking of theType 21 frigatesAntelope andArdent, both of which had aluminium alloy superstructures, probably also had an effect on this belief, though these cases are again incorrect and the presence of aluminium alloy had nothing to do with their loss.[34][35]
The fires inSheffield and other ships damaged by fire caused a later shift by the Royal Navy from thenylon and synthetic fabrics then worn by British sailors. The synthetics had a tendency to melt onto the skin, causing more severe burns than if the crew had been wearing non-synthetic clothing.[citation needed]
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| Preceded by | HMS Sheffield 1971–1982 | Succeeded by |
 Royal Navy | |
|---|---|
 Argentine NavyHércules class | |
| |
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in 1982 | |
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| Shipwrecks |
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| Other incidents |
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53°04′S56°56′W / 53.067°S 56.933°W /-53.067; -56.933[citation needed]
