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HMS Cornwall in the Persian Gulf
History
United Kingdom
Name	HMS Cornwall
Operator	Royal Navy
Builder	Yarrow Shipbuilders
Laid down	14 December 1983
Launched	14 October 1985
Sponsored by	Diana, Princess of Wales
Commissioned	23 April 1988
Decommissioned	30 June 2011
Homeport	HMNB Devonport, Plymouth
Identification	Pennant number: F99 IMO number: 4907115 International callsign: GDLU
Motto	Unus et omnes "One and all"
Nickname(s)	"The Fighting 99" "Ice cream frigate"
Fate	Scrapped October 2013
Badge
General characteristics
Class and type	Type 22 frigate
Displacement	5,300 tons
Length	148.1 m (485 ft 11 in)
Beam	14.8 m (48 ft 7 in)
Draught	6.4 m (21 ft 0 in)
Propulsion	2 × Rolls-Royce Spey gas turbines (high speed) 2 × Rolls Royce Tyne gas turbines (cruising) COGAG
Speed	18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph) (cruise) 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph) (maximum)
Complement	250 (max. 301)
Sensors and processing systems	Type 1007 navigation radar Type 967 and 968 surveillance radar 2 × Type 911 Sea Wolf tracking radars UAT Electronic Surveillance System Type 2050 active sonar
Armament	2 × Sea Wolf anti-air system (Total of 72 Sea Wolf missiles) 2 × Quad Harpoon missile launchers (total of 8 Harpoons) 2 × triple magazine launched anti-submarine torpedo tubes (total of 36 torpedoes) 1 × 4.5 in (114 mm) Mk.8 gun 2 × 20 mm GAM-BO1 guns 1 × Goalkeeper CIWS NATO Seagnat Decoy Launchers
Aircraft carried	2 × Lynx Mk.8 helicopters (but only 1 Lynx in peacetime) Armed with 4 × Sea Skua anti-ships missiles 2 × Sting Ray anti-submarine torpedoes 2 × Mk 11 depth charges 2 × Machine guns

HMS Cornwall was a Batch 3 Type 22 frigate of the Royal Navy. She was the first Batch 3 to be built, and the last to decommission. Cornwall was based at HMNB Devonport in Devon, England, part of the Devonport Flotilla.

She was built by Yarrow Shipbuilders and launched by Diana, Princess of Wales at Scotstoun on the River Clyde in October 1985 and commissioned at Falmouth in 1988 by the ship's sponsor, Diana, Princess of Wales (who was also the Duchess of Cornwall).

Service

HMS Cornwall had battle honours from Barfleur in 1692, the Falkland Islands in 1914 and the Dardanelles in 1915.

Cornwall undertook duties in the North and South Atlantic Ocean, Adriatic, Mediterranean, Caribbean and Baltic Seas throughout her time in service, and completed several patrols to the Persian Gulf and deployments to the Far East. In 1996 she served as flagship of the First Sea Lord in Saint Petersburg, during the 300th anniversary celebrations of the Russian Navy, followed by a period as flagship of NATO's Standing Naval Force Atlantic. In 2001 she was part of the Royal Navy Task Force engaged in the invasion of Afghanistan. In 2003 she was again committed to Standing Naval Force Atlantic, supporting Operation Active Endeavour in the Mediterranean

Following the death of the Princess of Wales in 1997 the role of sponsor was assumed by Mary Holborow, Lord Lieutenant of Cornwall.

Ceremonial activities have included acting as flagship for the Battle of the Atlantic Fleet Review in 1993, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Battle of the Atlantic, and in 2002 delivering a 21-gun salute as part of celebrations of the Golden Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II.

On 28 January 2006 Cornwall was rededicated, following a period of docked maintenance, in a ceremony at Falmouth attended by Lady Mary Holborow.

On 23 March 2007, fifteen sailors and Royal Marines from HMS Cornwall were detained by elements of the Navy of the Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution following a routine search of a vessel suspected of smuggling, in the vicinity of disputed territorial waters.

In February 2011, while operating in the Gulf of Aden as part of the Combined Maritime Forces, boarding teams from HMS Cornwall participated in the rescue of five Yemeni fishermen and the capture of 17 Somali pirates from a fishing dhow, which had been seized by pirates on 11 November 2010.

Decommissioning and disposal

On 26 April 2011 she returned to Plymouth for the last time, and decommissioned on 30 June 2011. Her decommissioning pennant was presented to the Davidstow Airfield and Cornwall at War Museum on 5 October 2011. The ship's bell was presented to Truro Cathedral on 18 October 2011.

She was later towed to HMNB Portsmouth, where she lay with sister ships HMS Cumberland, HMS Campbeltown, HMS Chatham. All four were put up for sale in January 2013 and in July sold to Swansea Drydocks for demolition. She left Portsmouth, being towed to Swansea, on 24 October 2013.

Should a future ship be named Cornwall, her ship's company will be able to visit Truro to revive the Royal Navy's links with the County and return the Bell to the County's affiliated ship.

Commanding officers

Affiliations

Cornwall was affiliated with a number of military and civilian organisations and bodies:

• County of Cornwall
• HMS Cornwall 1939-1942 Association
• 3rd Battalion The Rifles, formerly the 2nd Battalion, The Light Infantry
• Worshipful Company of Leathersellers
• Cornish Rugby Football Union
• TS St Petroc, Padstow
• TS Queen Charlotte, Guildford
• TS Pellow, Truro
• TS Robert Hitchens, Falmouth and Penryn
• 6th Falmouth Sea Scout Group
• CCF Colston's Collegiate, Bristol
• CCF Berkhamsted Collegiate School, Herts
• Cornish Royal Naval Association
• Accenture
• 99 Squadron RAF
• Devon & Cornwall RNA Units.

References

1. ^ http://www.navynews.co.uk/news/1278-a-sad-day-for-cornwall-and-gloucester.aspx
2. "Royal Navy Bridge Card, February 2009" (PDF). Retrieved 20 June 2009.
3. ^ http://website.lineone.net/~david-carrington/Militaria/RoyalNavy/Major.htm
4. "UK sailors captured at gunpoint". BBC News. 23 March 2007. Retrieved 5 January 2010.
5. "British Navy confirms rescue of pirated ship in Gulf of Aden". CNN.com. 16 February 2010. Retrieved 16 February 2010.
6. "HMS Cornwall returns to Plymouth base for final time". BBC. 26 April 2011. Retrieved 27 April 2011.
7. "Ship's Bell presented to Cathedral". Retrieved 18 October 2012.
8. "Four Royal Navy frigates in Portsmouth Harbour for sale". BBC News. 14 January 2013. Retrieved 14 January 2013.
9. "Third frigate leaves Portsmouth for the scrapyard". BBC News. 24 October 2013. Retrieved 24 October 2013.
10. "HMS Cornwall presents Ship's Bell to Truro Cathedral". Retrieved 18 October 2012.
11. Mackie, Colin. "II: Royal Navy- Captains Commanding Warships". British Armed Forces (1900–). Retrieved 19 January 2014.
12. "HMS Cornwall at Royal Navy website". Archived from the original on 9 June 2008. Retrieved 20 June 2009.

Publications

• Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) . 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.

External links

• MaritimeQuest HMS Cornwall F-99 pages
• MaritimeQuest HMS Cornwall F-99 message board
• BBC profile
• HMS Cornwall (F99) service history at helis.com database
• HMS Cornwall

v t e Type 22 frigates
Royal Navy	Broadsword Battleaxe Brilliant Brazen Boxer Beaver Brave London Sheffield Coventry Cornwall Cumberland Campbeltown Chatham
Brazilian Navy	Greenhalgh (ex-Broadsword) Dodsworth (ex-Brilliant) Bosísio (ex-Brazen) Rademaker (ex-Battleaxe)
Chilean Navy	Almirante Williams (ex-Sheffield)
Romanian Naval Forces	Regele Ferdinand (ex-Coventry) Regina Maria (ex-London)
Preceded by: Type 21 frigates Followed by: Type 23 frigates
List of frigates of the Royal Navy

• Use dmy dates from October 2012
• 1985 ships
• Ships built on the River Clyde
• Military history of Cornwall
• Type 22 frigates of the Royal Navy