HMS Sheffield (D80)
Encyclopedia : H : HM : HMS : HMS Sheffield (D80)
- See HMS Sheffield for other ships of the same name.
| |
| Career |
|
|---|---|
| Ordered: | |
| Laid down: | 15 January 1970 |
| Launched: | 10 June 1971 |
| Commissioned: | 16 February 1975 |
| Fate: | Sunk by Argentine air attack on 4 May 1982 during Falklands War |
| General Characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 4,820 tonnes |
| Length: | 125 m (410 ft) |
| Beam: | 14.3 m (47 ft) |
| Draught: | 5.8 m |
| Propulsion: | 4 Rolls-Royce (2 Olympus and 2 Tyne) producing 36 MW COGAG (Combined Gas and Gas) arrangement |
| Speed: | 30 knots (56 km/h) |
| Range: | |
| Complement: | 287 |
| Armament: | Sea Dart missiles 114 mm (4.5 in) Mk 8 gun |
| Aircraft: | Lynx HAS1 |
| Motto: | |
While the ship was sinking, her crew, waiting to be rescued, sang "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" from Monty Python's Life of Brian.
-->The burnt out hulk was taken in tow by the Rothesay Class Frigate Yarmouth but sank on 10 May 1982 because of bad weather turning the ship into a waterlogged hulk, making it the first Royal Navy vessel sunk in action in almost forty years. Twenty of her crew died during the attack and the wreck is a designated war grave.
The sinking of the Sheffield is sometimes blamed on a superstructure made wholly or partially from aluminium, the melting point and ignition temperature of which are significantly lower than those of steel. However, this story is untrue because the Sheffield's superstructure was made entirely of steel [link]. The confusion is related to the US and British Navies abandoning aluminum after several fires in the 1970s involving ships that had aluminum superstructures. The sinking of the Type 21 frigates HMS Antelope and Ardent, both of which had aluminium superstructures, probably also had an effect on this belief though these cases are disputed. In both cases, it is likely the ships would have been lost in any event, due to amount of explosives involved, though aluminium fires did break out. The fires on these ships did result in one clear change, which was the shift away from the nylon and synthetic fabrics then worn by British sailors. The synthetics had a tendency to melt on to the skin causing more severe burns than if the crew had been wearing non-synthetic clothing.
Roll of Honour
The 20 sailors killed when the HMS Sheffield was sunk.- Petty Officer David R. Briggs, D.S.M.
- Catering Assistant Darryl M. Cope
- Lieutenant Commander David I. Balfour
- Weapons Engineering Artificer Andrew C. Eggington
- Sub-Lieutenant Richard C. Emly
- Petty Officer Cook Robert Fagan
- Cook Neil A. Goodall
- Leading Marine Engineering Mechanic Allan J. Knowles
- Laundryman Lai Chi Keung
- Leading Cook Tony Marshall
- Petty Officer Anthony R. Norman
- Cook David E. Osborne
- Weapons Engineering Artificer Kevin R. F. Sullivan
- Cook Andrew C. Swallow
- Acting Chief Weapons Mechanic Michael E. G. Till
- Weapons Engineering Mechanic Barry J. Wallis
- Leading Cook Adrian K. Wellstead
- Master-at-Arms Brian Welsh
- Lieutenant Commander John S. Woodhead, D.S.C.
- Cook Kevin J. Williams
External links
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