HMS Cardiff (D108)

HMS Cardiff in Portsmouth, circa 2005
History
UK
Builder	Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering
Laid down	6 November 1972
Launched	22 February 1974
Commissioned	24 September 1979
Decommissioned	14 July 2005
Motto	Acris in cardine rerum - Keen in emergency
Honours and awards	2 x battle honours (Falklands & Gulf), Navy News "Ship of the Month" (January 1996), Freedom of the City of Cardiff
Status	Awaiting disposal
Notes	Deck code: CF
Badge	HMS Cardiff's crest
General characteristics
Type	Type 42 destroyer
Displacement	4,000 t
Length	125 m (410 ft)
Beam	14.3 m (47 ft)
Draught	5.8 m (19 ft)
Propulsion	2 x COGOG (Combined Gas or Gas) turbines producing 36 MW, driving 2 shafts
Speed	30 kn (56 km/h)
Range	4,000 nmi (7,400 km) at 18 kn (33 km/h)
Complement	287-301
Armament	2 x Sea Dart Surface-to-air missile launchers 1 x 4.5 inch (114 mm) Mk.8 gun 2 x 20 mm Oerlikon guns 2 x Phalanx Close-in weapon system 2 x triple anti-submarine torpedo tubes NATO Seagnat and DLF3 decoy launchers
Aircraft carried	Lynx HAS.3

For other ships with the same name, see HMS Cardiff.

HMS Cardiff (D108) is a Type 42 destroyer, the third ship of the Royal Navy to be named in honour of the Welsh capital city of Cardiff. She was built by Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering Ltd in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria and launched on 22 February, 1974.

During her career, Cardiff served in the Falklands War, where she shot down the last enemy aircraft of the conflict, and accepted the surrender of a 700-man-strong Argentine garrison at the settlement of Port Howard. During the 1991 Gulf War, Cardiff was part of the British contribution to the Coalition, and her Lynx helicopter sank two Iraqi minesweepers. Later, she participated in the build-up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq as part of the Royal Navy's "Armilla Patrol", by thwarting attempts to smuggle oil out of the country, however she was not involved with the actual invasion.

Cardiff was decommissioned in July 2005, having earned two battle honours for service in the Falklands and Gulf wars. She is currently moored up in Portsmouth Harbour next to her sister ship HMS Newcastle. Former servicemen have made calls for her to become a local tourist attraction, although at present she is still awaiting a decision as to her fate.

Construction

See also: Type 42 destroyer

Cardiff was built in the first batch of Type 42 Sheffield-class destroyers. Her keel was laid down on 6 November 1972, at Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering Ltd in Cumbria, costing over £30,000,000 (double her original quoted price). The build was interrupted by a labour shortage at Vickers. This problem was surmounted by towing her to Swan Hunter in Tyne and Wear where she was completed.

Live Sea Dart missile loaded on launcher

Type 42s were designed as "anti-aircraft" vessels, with the Sea Dart, a surface-to-air missile system capable of hitting targets up to 30 nautical miles away, fitted as Cardiff 's primary weapon. Her secondary weapon system was a 4.5 inch Mark 8 naval gun, capable of firing 21 kilogram (46 lb) shells to a range of 22,000 metres (72,000 ft). After the Falklands War, in which two Type 42s were sunk by enemy aircraft, the entire class was equipped with the Phalanx close-in weapon system, a Gatling cannon that fires 3,000 rounds per minute, designed to shoot down anti-ship missiles.

Cardiff was launched on 22 February 1974, by Lady Caroline Gilmore. Following fitting-out and sea trials she was commissioned on 24 September 1979, with Captain Barry Wilson in command.

Operational history

Early career

Cardiff 's first year of active service was very busy, she steamed over 13,000 miles (21,000 km). She attended Cardiff city's 75th anniversary of being awarded city status and made her first international visit, to Ghent in Belgium. She practised firing Sea Darts on a range off Aberporth, South Wales and co-ordinated the search for the survivors of a ship wreck, the MV Pool Fisher which sank off the Isle of Wight in November 1979 with the loss of most of her crew.

Falklands War (1982)

See also: British naval forces in the Falklands War

On 2 April 1982, the disputed British overseas territory of the Falkland Islands was invaded by neighbouring Argentina. The United Kingdom, nearly 8,000 miles (13,000 km) away, assembled and dispatched a naval task force comprising aircraft carriers, submarines and approximately 7,000 troops, to recapture the islands. The conflict ended in June with the surrender of the Argentine forces.

Just over a month before the start of the war, Cardiff, under the command of Captain Michael Harris, had deployed to the Persian Gulf to start her turn on the "Armilla Patrol", a British deployment with ships stationed in the Gulf for six-month tours. Cardiff relieved sister ship and class lead HMS Sheffield (which would be sunk by an Exocet missile during the conflict). Cardiff was redeployed on 23 April, leaving the Armilla group and sailing to Gibraltar, before rendezvousing with the Bristol Group (a group of British warships already heading south to islands) on 14 May.

The crew of the TC-92, an Argentine Boeing 707 nearly downed by Cardiff

During the journey down to the islands, Cardiff 's crew performed various training exercises, including air defence (involving simulated attacks by British Harrier and Jaguar aircraft), Nuclear Biological Chemical Defence (NBCD) drills, diver training, first aid lectures and practising Exocet (a type of anti-ship missile) countermeasures. While still en route, the group encountered a military Boeing 707 from the Argentine Air Force, no. TC-92 of "Grupo 1, De Transporte Aereo Escuadron II" (English: 2nd Air Transport Squadron, Group 1), flying towards them. Cardiff fell back from formation and fired two Sea Dart missiles at it; one fell short and the other exploded close to the target, but the plane was unharmed. Cardiff was also tasked with the collection four Special Air Service (SAS) troopers, who had parachuted from a C-130 Hercules passing over the destroyer.

Cardiff 's arrival in the Total Exclusion Zone (TEZ - the area where the majority of the war's hostilities took place) on 26 May, allowed HMS Glasgow (damaged in an Argentine air attack on May 12) to return home for repairs. Cardiff 's primary role was to form part of the anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) picket, protecting British ships from air attack and attempting to ambush Argentine aircraft that were re-supplying Port Stanley Airport. She was also required to fire at enemy positions on the islands with her 4.5-inch gun; in one engagement firing 277 high-explosive (HE) rounds, although later problems with the gun prevented continual use.

Canberra bomber B-108 of Grupo de Bombardeo 2. This Argentinian aircraft, the last to be lost during the Falklands War, was shot down by Cardiff.

Shortly after arrival she was involved in the infamous final Exocet raid against HMS Invincible (there is controversy over whether the missile actually hit it's target). In the early hours of 6 June, Cardiff shot down a friendly Army Air Corps Gazelle helicopter (no. XX377 of 656 Squadron) over Pleasant Peak, killing all four occupants. The factors contributing to the incident were a lack of "Identification Friend or Foe" (IFF) on the helicopter, and poor communication between the army and navy. The number "205" was painted at the crash site as a memorial (51.783600°S 58.467786°W / -51.783600; -58.467786), the significance of the "205" is for the helicopter's two passengers who were from 205 Signal Squadron. Approximately an hour later Cardiff spotted four landing craft carrying troops from the 2nd Battalion, Scots Guards. She had been told there were no other British forces in the area, so assumed they were Argentinian, and fired illuminating "star shells" over them in preparation to attack. When the Guards saw the star shells and realised Cardiff 's intentions, they exchanged signals with the ship via Aldis lamp and another "blue on blue" incident was avoided.

Cardiff 's Sea Dart launcher, showing wear from use

On 13 June , Cardiff’s Lynx helicopter (no. 335 of 815 NAS) was attacked by two Argentine Dagger aircraft. The Lynx evaded the enemy jets; the pilot, Lieutenant Clayton, was "mentioned in dispatches" for his efforts. Later that day, Cardiff shot down what would later prove to be the last Argentine aircraft lost during the war, Canberra bomber B-108 of "Grupo de Bombardeo 2" (English: Bombing Group 2). The pilot, Captain Pastrán, survived but the navigator, Captain Casado, was killed. Argentina surrendered on 14 June: Cardiff was required to accept the surrender of a 700-strong Argentine garrison in the settlement of Port Howard on West Falkland a day later. Members of her crew were used to man a captured Argentine patrol boat in Port Stanley, which was renamed HMS Tiger Bay, in honour of the Tiger Bay dock area in Cardiff. The boat, originally Islas Malvinas GC82, had been damaged by gunfire from HMS Alacrity's Lynx earlier in the war on 1 May, near Kidney Island. Cardiff spent the rest of June acting as the Local Anti Air Warfare Coordinator around the islands.

Over the course of the war, Cardiff fired nine Sea Dart missiles and one Mk 46 torpedo. She returned to the United Kingdom on 28 July 1982, having left the Falklands three weeks earlier along with HMS Exeter and HMS Yarmouth. Her commanding officer, Captain Michael Harris handed over command on 24 August 1982, after the annual maintenance period. After the war, all Type 42 destroyers were fitted with Oerlikon 30 mm twin cannons port and starboard, for protection against airborne threats. These were later replaced by the Phalanx close-in weapon system.

Gulf War (1990–91)

When on 2 August 1990 Saddam Hussein's Iraq invaded the country of Kuwait, British Secretary of State for Defence, Tom King soon announced that the UK military contribution to the region was to be increased. The coalition (a group of allied nations, formed especially for the Gulf War) naval force planned to enter the Persian Gulf heading northwards, neutralising the Iraqi navy as they went. Then begin conducting Naval Gunfire Support (NGS) and Mine Counter-measure (MCM) missions in preparation for the main amphibious landing force.

Cardiff 's Lynx helicopter (no. 335) with a Sea Skua missile

In September, Cardiff, HMS Brazen and HMS London were formed intoGroup X-ray and sailed to relieve HM Ships Battleaxe, Jupiter and York, who were already in the area. (Armilla Group Whiskey). Cardiff and HMS Gloucester were to form part of the air defence barrier protecting the three US aircraft carrier battle groups (USS Midway, Ranger and Roosevelt). She had other responsibilities, inluding surface surveillance operations and boarding vessels in the Gulf (i.e Iraqi fishing boats) to maintain the security around the task force.

Royal Navy Lynxes worked in combination with US Seahawks during the Gulf War. The American helicopters lacked an effective anti-ship missile, but had superior surveillance capability compared to the British Lynx. They would locate hostile boats for the British helicopter, which would then attack the target with its Sea Skua missiles. In total, Lynx helicopters flew nearly 600 sorties during the Gulf War and their crews maintained flying rates three times their norm.

Cardiff 's Lynx helicopter (no. 335 of 815 NAS) saw more of the combat in the Gulf War than its ship. On 24 January, no. 335 spotted three Iraqi minesweepers off Qaruh Island, attacking and skinking two. Later that day, the island was captured by coalition forces and was the first Kuwaiti territory to be liberated. Five days later, with Lynxes from Gloucester and Brazen, no. 335 attacked invading Iraqi vessels en route to the Battle of Khafji. Cardiff and her group were relieved in late January by Group Yankee, comprising HM Ships Brave, Brilliant, Exeter and Manchester.

Post Gulf War

Since the Gulf War, Cardiff 's deployments have included a deployment with the Standing Naval Force Mediterranean (a post Cold War NATO immediate reaction force in the Mediterranean) and counter-narcotics patrols in the West Indies, during which she also assisted relief tasks on the island of Eleuthera in the wake of Hurricane Andrew. Cardiff later returned to the Gulf for seven months.

On 14 October 1994, in response to renewed Iraqi deployment of troops near the Kuwaiti border, a US-led military operation called Vigilant Warrior began. The operation was designed to deter Saddam's "sabre-rattling" by sending large amounts of allied military forces to Kuwait; HMS Cornwall and Cardiff were the UK's contribution. The operation ended on 21 December 1994 when Saddam pulled his forces back.

Personnel from Cardiff guard the crew of an Iraqi oil tanker during her last Armilla Patrol, in late 2002.

In 1995, upon her return to the UK from Operation Vigilant Warrior, Cardiff participating in Strong Resolve (a quadrennial NATO exercise in dual crisis management). Operational Sea Training (OST) at Portland followed in preparation for assuming the duty of Fleet Ready Escort, this role requires a ship to be available to deploy anywhere in the world at short notice. After completing OST she attended the 50th VE Day anniversary in Copenhagen and Oslo and provided navigational sea training for frigate and destroyer navigating officer candidates. A visit to her namesake city of Cardiff for VJ Day celebrations followed and then she sailed to Plymouth for a trials and weapon training programme. She then took part in Bright Star (a multi-national biennial exercise in Egypt. In November of the same year, Cardiff became the first Royal Navy ship to enter the Lebanese capital of Beirut for 27 years, followed by visits to Tunisia and Gibraltar.

In 2000, as part of Atlantic Patrol Task North (the Royal Navy's contribution to the North Atlantic), Cardiff spent six months in the Caribbean with RFA Black Rover. They provided relief aid to the island of Caye Caulker, near Belize, in the wake of Hurricane Keith. In addition to clearing routes, distributing supplies, making buildings and electrical cables safe, Cardiff 's surgeon and medical team monitored sanitation. In the same year she participated in the US Navy Fleet Battle Exercise as an integree to the Digital Fires Network.

Cardiff conducted her last Armilla Patrol in early 2003. During her time in the Persian Gulf region, Cardiff prevented more than £2,000,000 of illegal cargo being smuggled out of Iraq, inspected 178 vessels and seized more than 25,000 tonnes of oil. The destroyer was relieved by HMS Richmond before the beginning of the Iraq War and returned to Portsmouth on 4 April 2003.

In 2005, she participated in the Trafalgar 200 International Fleet Review, just two weeks before she was decommissioned. In this post Gulf War period, the Royal Navy's first female chaplain also served onboard.

File:HMS Cardiff rusted name.jpg

Cardiff 's starboard quarter (rear) in 2007, her name is rusted

Decommissioning and fate

Cardiff was originally to be replaced by the first of the Royal Navy's next generation Type 45 destroyer, HMS Daring (expected to commission in 2009); however, in July 2004, it was announced that she would be withdrawn from service in accordance with the Delivering Security in a Changing World review with a number of other vessels.

Cardiff was decommissioned on 14 July 2005 after making a final visit to her namesake city, where members of the public were allowed on board. She now resides in Portsmouth Harbour (50.818486°N 1.130644°W / 50.818486; -1.130644) awaiting a decision as to her fate. Her bell has been removed and is mounted in the north aisle of St John's Parish Church in Cardiff. A Conservative Welsh Assembly Member and former naval servicemen in Cardiff have called for the ship to be made into a local tourist attraction. HMS Dragon (a Type 45 destroyer) has been announced as the next Royal Navy ship to be affiliated with the city of Cardiff.

External links

• hmscardiff.co.uk Website run by former crew
• exequielmartinez.com.ar A former Argentine veteran turned artist's depiction of the Bristol Group's encounter with the Argentine Boeing 707
• seayourhistory.org.uk Contains numerous photos of Cardiff 's return from the Gulf War
• BBCnews.co.uk Photos of Cardiff on BBC News website

50°49′6.55″N 1°7′50.32″W