 In 2017, showing upgradedmod 1 main gun | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | St Albans |
| Ordered | February 1996 |
| Builder | Yarrow Shipbuilders |
| Laid down | 18 April 1999 |
| Launched | 6 May 2000 |
| Commissioned | 6 June 2002 |
| Refit |
|
| Homeport | Devonport |
| Identification | |
| Nickname(s) | "The Saint"[1] |
| Status | In active service |
| Badge |  |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Type 23frigate |
| Displacement | 4,900 t (4,800 long tons; 5,400 short tons)[2] |
| Length | 133 m (436 ft 4 in) |
| Beam | 16.1 m (52 ft 10 in) |
| Draught | 7.3 m (23 ft 11 in) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | In excess of 28knots (52 km/h; 32 mph) |
| Range | 7,500nautical miles (14,000 km; 9,000 mi) at 15 kn (28 km/h; 17 mph) |
| Complement | 185 (accommodation for up to 218) |
| Electronic warfare & decoys |
|
| Armament |
|
| Aircraft carried |
|
| Aviation facilities |
|
HMSSt Albans is aType 23 frigate of theRoyal Navy. She is thesixth ship to bear the name and is the sixteenth and final ship in the Duke class offrigates.[11] She isbased inDevonport, Plymouth.
The ship was launched on theRiver Clyde on 6 May 2000,[12] built byBAE Systems atYarrows Yard inScotstoun,Glasgow.
On 27 October 2002, before entering operational service,St Albans was struck by theP&OferryPride of Portsmouth when gale-force winds pushed the ferry into the ship whilst secure on her berth in Portsmouth.St Albans suffered damage to the gun deck, the sea boat supports (davits) and the bridge wing. However, no members of the crew were injured.[13] In 2004,Commander Steve Dainton RN took command and the ship was deployed onOperation Oracle duties in theArabian Sea. In July that year the crew were granted theFreedom of the City by theMayor ofSt Albans.
On 13 February 2006,St Albans departed on a six-month deployment to theGulf region. She arrived in the region in early April, where her tasks included protecting Iraqi oil platforms as well as patrol duties in the northern Gulf.[14] During the trip, she provided a diplomatic role by visiting 16 countries, including Algeria, Albania, Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey and Lebanon. By 12 July 2006 she had completed her tour in the Gulf and had begun her long journey back to Portsmouth via theSuez Canal and the eastern Mediterranean. However, on the same day, theconflict between Israel and Lebanon began. As a result, theMinistry of Defence announced on 17 July that year thatSt Albans had been redeployed to assist inOperation Highbrow, the evacuation of British citizens trapped in Lebanon.[15] She arrived in the area on 20 July and the following day picked up 243 evacuees from the dock inBeirut and safely transported them toCyprus.[16] After completing her role in the evacuation, she remained on operational stand-by in the vicinity of Beirut for a short time before being resuming her voyage home. The ship finally arrived back in Portsmouth on 18 August 2006.[17]
Following the ship's successful six-month tour,St Albans underwent maintenance. During this time, the ship received a new commanding officer, Commander Mark Newland RN. The ship stayed in British waters, participated insubmarine training in theIrish Sea, weapon training off the south coast and visited Glasgow on 11 November 2006 to take part inRemembrance Sunday events.
From 5 January until 15 January 2007 the ship was open to the public as part of theLondon Boat Show. Following this, the ship conducted various training exercises and engineering trials in the UK. The ship's crew then went on Easter leave before returning to conduct more training activities. In May 2007,St Albans entered a period of maintenance that lasted over a year, with her crew temporarily reassigned to other vessels for the duration of the work. The maintenance programme took place in dry dock, situated inRosyth, with a skeleton crew of engineers supervising the overhaul of several of the ship's systems. Their work included the installation of a newType 2087 sonar system and converting the ship so that she could operateMerlin helicopters.[18] The upgrade took 15 months and cost £15 million. The ship then returned to her home port of Portsmouth and was accepted back into the fleet in July 2008. The ship was then put through various equipment tests and training routines throughout the later part of the year.
St Albans left Portsmouth on 19 January 2009 to conduct maritime security patrols in the Mediterranean. The ship joined aNATO Task Group in the Mediterranean, protecting busy shipping trade routes.St Albans was also a part of the rapid-responseNATO Response Force (NRF). The ship also visited ports inMajorca, Italy and Egypt whilst in the region. She arrived on the Clyde on 7 May 2009 at 1500hrs, heading forFaslane.[19]
St Albans was deployed in thePersian Gulf until mid-2010. She left Portsmouth on 1000hrs on 1 February on a deployment including supporting international efforts in "tackling piracy, illegal trafficking, and smuggling."[20] Later in that deploymentSt Albans helped theIraqi government "protect their oil platforms, and provide security to ensure regional stability".[20] After completing her tour in the Middle East, she visitedGrand Harbour, Malta for four days in July 2010 on her way back to the United Kingdom.[21]
2011 sawSt Albans become affiliated with theMarketors' Company in addition to theWorshipful Company of Haberdashers. The warship helped in the recovery of a diver who had got into difficulties nearSalcombe on 26 March 2011, although the diver was pronounced dead on arrival at hospital.[22] On 1 July 2011,St Albans rescued 13 sailors off the coast of Oman from the stricken tanker MVPavit, which had spent three days drifting in a heavy storm after losing power.St Albans used herMerlin helicopter embarked from829 Naval Air Squadron to winch the crew to safety. The rescued sailors were later transferred to their sister ship, the MVJag Pushpa. After operating in theMiddle East conducting counter-terrorism and anti-piracy operations, having relieved the frigateHMS Iron Duke,[23][24] She returned to Portsmouth, via Malta and Lisbon, in December 2011.[25]
In March 2012,St Albans visited thePool of London where she entertained a number of her affiliate organisations and other guests before returning to her home port of Portsmouth to conduct exercises in theWestern Approaches. In May, she visited Iceland, where the captain Commander Tom Sharpe andBritain's Ambassador to Iceland Ian Whitting cast a wreath intoHvalfjörður, once a staging point for theArctic convoys to theSoviet Union. After a return to Portsmouth, she sailed up theElbe toHamburg to take part in the port's 823rd birthday celebrations. In June,St Albans visited the home of theGerman Navy inKiel, joining in the huge maritime event attended by 50 countries, 2,000 yachts and pleasure craft and more than 5,000 yachtsmen and women. Before joining in the celebrations, members of the ship's company, two platoons and the ship's guard headed to a remembrance service and wreath laying at theCommonwealth Cemetery at Nordfriedhof.[26]
St Albans continued her home duties visiting theChannel Islands andHolyhead with an extended tour visitingStavanger,Oslo andAmsterdam. During this deployment she was the last ship to fire the Royal Navy's4.5" Mk.8 Mod 0 gun off Stavanger.[27] In May 2013 she was handed over to BAe Systems for a refit in Portsmouth Harbour, her home port, silently coached into C lock. She remained in dock until spring 2014 to be modernised for another 10 years. On 10 December 2013, CommanderCatherine Jordan RN took command of the ship.[28][29][30]
The refit was a mid-life upgrade, modernizing the ship for the following ten years – it cost £25million and was completed on time in spring 2014.[28] It fitted her with the all-electric'Kryten' 4.5" Mod1 gun and the mid-life upgrade to herSea Wolf missile system together with a wide range of more detailed improvements. A new crew was then assembled and the ship undertook an extended period of trials developing her military capability and testing her systems integration. During the trials the ship visited Plymouth and Falmouth.
Passing the Material Assessment and Safety Check on 3 November 2014,St Albans wasrelaunched on 1 August 2014, before rejoining the fleet.[28] In December 2014St Albans visited London, mooring alongsideHMS Belfast in thePool of London, and then sailed across the North Sea and down theNieuwe Maas to visitRotterdam.
Still based in Portsmouth, she continued trials in the Western English Channel and then visitedTrondheim in Norway and continued live firing trials. After completing her extensiveFlag Officer Sea Training trails, based at Plymouth, she enteredWest India Dock, London on 7 July 2015 and then sailed back to Portsmouth. She arrived on 16 July 2015 and became theGuard ship for the PortsmouthAmerica's Cup races later that month.St Albans sailed for a nine-month mission to the Middle East on 27 November 2015, carrying a Merlin HM2 andScanEagleunmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).[31]
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Whilst crossing the Mediterranean she was involved with the seizure of 320 kg (710 lb) ofcocaine with a street value of more than £1 million. On 11 January 2016,Defence SecretaryMichael Fallon announced that "HMSSt Albans will shortly join theCharles de Gaulle aircraft carrier group" as part of operations against the Islamic State group.[32] She arrived back in Portsmouth on 5 August 2016.
In January 2017 she escorted the Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov along theEnglish Channel on the latter's return voyage from Syria toKola Bay.[33]
During February 2017 she conducted theSubmarine Command Course off the Norwegian Coast and was then awarded the Fleet Effectiveness Flag. She then went into dry dock 'C' in Portsmouth for most of July 2017. Whilst indry dock, theband of theRoyal Yeomanry played under the keel. She returned to service on 29 August 2017 and was operational north of Scotland where she was "man marking" the Russian carrierAdmiral Kuznetsov. From 23 to 25 December, she escorted the Russian frigate Admiral Gorshkov which was conducting sea trials in theNorth Sea close to UK waters.[34]
It was reported in November 2018 that she took part in anti-submarine warfare exercises withAstute.[35]
St Albans entered refit in Devonport in July 2019, led byBabcock defence firm. Her refit required around 1.2 million working hours and involved replacing all four diesel engines, installing LED lighting, adapting the ship for the future anti-surface guided weapon systemSea Venom, replacing the originalSea Wolf air defence system withSea Ceptor, upgrading the ships sensors with the newType 997 Artisan air-search radar and fitting the submarine-hunting Type 2150sonar in place of 2050.St Albans became the Royal Navy's most advanced frigate, thanks to those improvements.[36] The vessel returned to sea for trials in March 2024.[37]
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Duke-class frigates take their names fromBritish dukedoms and HMSSt Albans is named after theDukes of St Albans,[38] among whosedescendants is the seventh and presentMarqués de Valero de Urría, William Beauclerk, who formerly served as alieutenant onHMY Britannia.[39]
HMSSt Albans'affiliations include:
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