HMS ''York'' was a Batch III Type 42

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...

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 F ...

. Launched on 20 June 1982 at

Wallsend Wallsend is a town in North Tyneside, England, at the eastern end of Hadrian's Wall. It has a population of 43,842 and lies east of Newcastle upon Tyne. History Roman Wallsend In Roman times, this was the site of the fort of Segedunum. This fo ...

Tyne and Wear Tyne and Wear () is a metropolitan county in North East England, situated around the mouths of the rivers Tyne and Wear. It was created in 1974, by the Local Government Act 1972, along with five metropolitan boroughs of Gateshead, Newcastl ...

and sponsored by Lady Gosling, ''York'' was the last Type 42 ordered. The ship's crest was the White Rose of York, and the "red cross with lions passant" funnel badge was derived from the

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...

of the

City of York The City of York is a unitary authority area with city status in the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England. The district's main settlement is York, and it extends to the surrounding area including the town of Haxby and the villages of E ...

. With a maximum speed of , she was the Royal Navy's fastest destroyer.

Operational history

1985-1990

In the summer of 1990, HMS ''York'' was serving on a routine patrol in the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Persis, Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a Mediterranean sea (oceanography), me ...

as part of The Armilla Patrol which had been undertaken by a series of Royal Navy warships over many years. On 2 August that year,

Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein ( ; ar, صدام حسين, Ṣaddām Ḥusayn; 28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. A leading member of the revolution ...

's forces invaded Kuwait. Instead of heading off to the

Far East The ''Far East'' was a European term to refer to the geographical regions that includes East and Southeast Asia as well as the Russian Far East to a lesser extent. South Asia is sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons. The ter ...

and Australia for series of "waving the flag" port visits, she remained on patrol in the Persian Gulf for an extra three months. This period was conducted when at sea mostly on a war-ready footing, involving virtually everyone onboard working Defence Watches (basically six hours on, six off) round the clock.

1990-2000

Following refit at Rosyth, York rededicated on 30 June 1995 and then worked up to full readiness undertaking operational sea training and a JMC. She then deployed to the Far East and Middle East with visits to Malaysia, Bangladesh, Oman, UAE, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

2001-2010

In 2001, she tested a

RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile The RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) is a small, lightweight, infrared homing surface-to-air missile in use by the German, Japanese, Greek, Turkish, South Korean, Saudi Arabian, Egyptian, Mexican, UAE, and U.S. Navies. It was original ...

. 2002 York deployed early in January in response to the 9-11 bombings. She relieved HMS Southampton which was part of a large exercises in the med and gulf that had been cancelled and diverted to take up station in the Gulf. As Southampton had already been away for several months York sailed and took over so she could return to the UK. Whilst on the deployment the ship visit Salala oman, Dubai, Mumbai India, Gibraltar, Greece and Crete with the ships company enjoying some well earned rest in Kavos on the way home. York arrived back into Portsmouth in June. In 2003, ''York'' took part in the

invasion of Iraq The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Ba'athist Iraq, Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one mont ...

providing air cover and area protection for the

aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a ...

. In 2004, she was fitted with the MOD 1 variant of the mark 8 4.5-inch gun. She and were the only two Type 42s to be so fitted. In July 2006, ''York'' joined in evacuating British citizens from

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

in the

2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict The 2006 Lebanon War, also called the 2006 Israel–Hezbollah War and known in Lebanon as the July War ( ar, حرب تموز, ''Ḥarb Tammūz'') and in Israel as the Second Lebanon War ( he, מלחמת לבנון השנייה, ''Milhemet Leva ...

making several trips in and out of

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

, ferrying evacuees to

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

. In February 2010, ''York'' and the auxiliary were deployed to the

Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about from Cape Dubouzet ...

coinciding with a period of increased tensions between the United Kingdom and

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

over the former's plans to begin drilling for oil in the seas surrounding the islands.

2011-2012

In February 2011, ''York'' was deployed to

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

to assist in the evacuation of British nationals from

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...

. On 21 April 2011, ''York'' arrived at the

East Cove Military Port Mare Harbour is a small settlement on East Falkland, on Choiseul Sound. It is mostly used as a port facility and depot for RAF Mount Pleasant, as well as a deepwater port used by the Royal Navy ships patrolling the South Atlantic and Antarctica, ...

in the

, beginning patrol duties for the islands. On 12 December 2011, ''York'' spotted the with its carrier group northeast of

Orkney Orkney (; sco, Orkney; on, Orkneyjar; nrn, Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) north ...

, off the coast of northern Scotland, and shadowed the carrier for a week. This was the first time ''Admiral Kuznetsov'' had deployed near UK waters and the closest in 20 years that a Russian naval task group had deployed to the UK. She then sailed around the top of Scotland and into the Atlantic past western Ireland, where she conducted flying operations with her Sukhoi Su-33 Flanker jets and

Kamov Ka-27 The Kamov Ka-27 (NATO reporting name 'Helix') is a military helicopter developed for the Soviet Navy, and currently in service in various countries including Russia, Ukraine, Vietnam, China, South Korea, and India. Variants include the Ka-29 ...

helicopters in international airspace. Hms_york_sea_dart

On 13 April 2012, ''Edinburgh'' fired the last ever operational

Sea Dart missile Sea Dart, or GWS.30 was a Royal Navy surface-to-air missile system designed in the 1960s and entering service in 1973. It was fitted to the Type 42 destroyers (United Kingdom and Argentina), Type 82 destroyer and s of the Royal Navy. Originally ...

s after a thirty-year career. As such ''York '' completed her career without the system being operational. ''York'' entered

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

harbour for the final time on 20 September 2012, and was decommissioned on 27 September 2012. In August 2012, the ship was put up for sale. D98-HMS-York

Affiliations

* The Yorkshire Regiment (14th/15th, 19th and 33rd/76th Foot)

References

External links

Royal Navy Website: HMS York (D98)

Navy News – Ships of the Royal Navy – HMS York

YouTube Video of HMS York at full speed
{{DEFAULTSORT:York (D98) 1982 ships Cold War destroyers of the United Kingdom Gulf War ships of the United Kingdom History of York Ships built by Swan Hunter Ships built on the River Tyne Type 42 destroyers of the Royal Navy