HMS ''Eskimo'' was a
frigate of the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...
in service from 1963 to 1980. She was scrapped in 1992.
''Eskimo'' was built by
J. Samuel White
J. Samuel White was a British shipbuilding firm based in Cowes, taking its name from John Samuel White (1838–1915).
It came to prominence during the Victorian era. During the 20th century it built destroyers and other naval craft for both the ...
, of
Cowes,
[Gardiner, Robert & Chesneau, Roger (1995). p. 518] at a cost of
£4,670,000. The frigate was launched on 20 March 1961 and commissioned on 21 February 1963 with the pennant number F119.
Service
'Eskimo' began her third commission in October 1966. Sailing from Portsmouth in May 1967, she arrived off Port Said on the morning of 5 June, but due to the outbreak of war between Israel and the surrounding Arab states (the six day war), she was unable to transit the Suez Canal as planned. ‘Eskimo’ then spent some three months in the Mediterranean (based primarily in Malta) before eventually sailing to the Middle East via Gibraltar, Simonstown (South Africa), two Beira patrols, and Mombasa, arriving on station in Bahrain in December of that year. She subsequently replaced her sister ship
''Ashanti'' off
Aden in 1968 in support of the withdrawal of British troops from that colony. ‘Eskimo’ finally returned to the UK in May 1968 having spent a full twelve months away from home. Later in the year she took part in Portsmouth 'Navy Days'. Between 1966 and 1967 she was commanded by
Simon Cassels
Admiral Sir Simon Alastair Cassillis Cassels, (5 March 1928 – 6 March 2019) was a senior Royal Navy officer who served as Second Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Personnel from 1982 to 1986.
Naval career
Cassels joined the Royal Navy in 1947. He ...
.
During 1974 and 1975 she was commanded by
Alan Grose.
Due to a manpower shortage in the Royal Navy, ''Eskimo'' was reduced to the reserve in 1980, being placed into the
Standby Squadron, and in 1981 was put on the disposal list. In 1984 she was cannibalised for spare parts for three Tribal-class frigates sold to
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
. On 16 January 1986, ''Eskimo'' was towed from Portsmouth to Pembroke Dock to be used as a target, but was not used as such. In May 1992 she was towed from Pembroke to Bilbao, Spain to be scrapped.
[http://www.shipstamps.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=8257 shipstamps.co.uk: HMS Eskimo]
References
Publications
* Blackman, Raymond V.B. ''Jane's Fighting Ships 1971–72''. London: Sampson Low, Marston & Co, 1971. .
*
* Gardiner, Robert & Chesneau, Roger (1995), ''Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1947-1995'', Conway Maritime Press, London, .
* Marriott, Leo, 1983. ''Royal Navy Frigates 1945-1983'', Ian Allan Ltd.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eskimo (F119)
Tribal-class frigates
1960 ships