HMS Puma
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| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | HMS Puma (F34) |
| Ordered | 28 June 1951 |
| Builder | Scotts Shipbuilding and Engineering Co Ltd |
| Laid down | 16 November 1953 |
| Launched | 30 June 1954 |
| Commissioned | 27 April 1957 |
| Decommissioned | 1972 |
| Fate | Scrapped 1976 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Leopard-class frigate |
| Propulsion | 8 x ASR1 V16 diesel engines, turbocharged, 1,260 BHP @ 900 RPM. |
| Speed | 25.4 kn. clear weather, calm, no wind. |
| Range | 7,500 nmi @ 16 kn |
| Complement | 228 |
HMS Puma (F34), was a Leopard-class Type 41 anti aircraft frigate of the British Royal Navy, named after the puma (Puma concolor).
Operational Service
In 1958 Puma began her third commission from Portland. During this commission she visited many foreign ports including Gibraltar, Las Palmas, Dakar, Bathurst, Freetown, Monrovia, Abidjan, Port Harcourt, Takoradi, Simonstown, Tristan da Cunha and Gough Island, East London, Diego Suarez, Durban, Montevideo, Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro, Ascension Isles, Port Elizabeth, St. Helena, Copenhagen, and Gdynia. She was paid off at Plymouth in 1961. During this commission she took part in naval exercises and served in the Iceland Patrol.[1]
A major refit of Puma took place in Portsmouth Dockyard between 1963 and 1964 and the ship eventually re-commissioned for service in 1965, where she spent the year touring the UK recruiting.[2] In 1966 she sailed for a foreign leg of her commission travelling to West and South Africa, as well as the South Atlantic, and South America, before returning to Plymouth in 1967.[3] In 1971 she undertook a Fishery Protection patrol in the Arctic and Barents Seas, using the northern Norwegian town of Honingsvag as a base, before paying off in Chatham in early 1972.
Commanding officers
| From | To | Captain |
|---|---|---|
| 1957 | 1958 | Commander M F Fell DSO DSC RN |
| 1958 | 1960 | Captain Richard Clayton RN |
| 1961 | 1963 | Captain D B N Mellis DSC RN. |
| 1964 | 1966 | Captain M N Lucey RN |
| 1966 | 1967 | Captain C J Cunningham DSC RN |
References
- ^ Thompson, P (ed), The Third Commission of the Frigate HMS Puma, 1959-1961(NAAFI, London, S.E.11. 1st.ed., N.D. c1961)
- ^ http://www.axfordsabode.org.uk/pdf-docs/puma01.pdf
- ^ http://www.axfordsabode.org.uk/pdf-docs/puma02.pdf
- ^ Royal Navy Senior Appointments, Colin Mackie
Publications
- Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.
- Marriott, Leo, 1983. Royal Navy Frigates 1945-1983, Ian Allen Ltd. ISBN 07110 1322 5
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