HMS Eastbourne (F73)
![]() HMS Eastbourne in May 1969
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History | |
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Name | HMS Eastbourne |
Ordered | 6 March 1951 |
Builder | Vickers Armstrongs, Newcastle-on-Tyne (completed at Barrow) |
Laid down | 13 January 1954 |
Launched | 29 December 1955 |
Commissioned | 9 January 1958 |
Decommissioned | 1984 |
Reclassified | Training ship in 1971 |
Identification | Pennant number: F73 |
Fate | Sold for scrapping in 1985 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Template:Sclass- |
Displacement | |
Length | |
Beam | 41 ft (12.5 m) |
Draught | 17 ft (5.18 m) |
Propulsion | Y-100 plant; 2 Babcock & Wilcox boilers, 2 English Electric steam turbines, 2 shafts, 30,000 shp (22 MW) |
Speed | 30 kn (56 km/h) |
Range | 370 tons oil fuel, 4,200 nmi (7,780 km) at 12 knots (22 km/h) |
Complement | 152, later 225 |
Sensors and processing systems |
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Armament |
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HMS Eastbourne was a Whitby-class or Type 12 anti-submarine frigate of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom.
Operational service
Early in her career Eastbourne was the leader of the 4th Frigate Squadron and in 1966 was leader of the Dartmouth Training Squadron.[1] In 1972, Eastbourne replaced Rapid as the 'afloat' training ship for the artificer apprentices at HMS Caledonia. During their 14 weeks aboard ship, the apprentices were trained in general engineering and were examined for their auxiliary machinery certificates. She also took part in the Royal Navy's Fleet Review in celebration of HM the Queen's Silver Jubilee.[2]
Harbour training ship
In 1976 Eastbourne was dispatched to Iceland to assist in the Cod War and on 20 May she was damaged in a collision with the Icelandic gunboat Baldur.[3] During the subsequent repairs in Rosyth in 1977, a hull inspection found that Eastbourne was no longer fit for sea, though her machinery was still in good condition. Her propellers were removed, and 'brake wheels' were fitted as a replacement. This enabled her to be steamed at full power with no forward movement. This enabled the apprentices to assist in operation of her machinery at full power, with the added benefit of churning the dockyard basin water up to improve its aeration. Officers under training from Royal Naval Engineering College Manadon were also able to be trained onboard before their first sea draft.
In the 1980s, Eastbourne remained moored at Rosyth Dockyard alongside Duncan as harbour training ship for the marine engineering artificer apprentices of Caledonia. Once Caledonia was scheduled to close, both Eastbourne and Duncan were de-stored and paid off for disposal in March 1984. Training of the marine engineering artificer apprentices was transferred to HMS Sultan.
Commanding officers
From | To | Captain |
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1958 | 1959 | Lieutenant Commander Richard Clinton Mayne RN |
1959 | 1961 | Captain John R G Trechman RN |
1961 | 1962 | Commander Peter Campbell LVO RN |
1965 | 1966 | Commander R R Squires RN |
1971 | 1971 | Commander Wright RN |
1977 | 1977 | Lieutenant Commander C K D Cobley RN |
References
- ^ The Navy List, (HMSO, Spring 1966)
- ^ Official Souvenir Programme, 1977. Silver Jubilee Fleet Review, HMSO
- ^ Archives, The National. "The Discovery Service". discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
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, Surrey.