''Regina Maria'' (F222) is a
Type 22 frigate of the
Romanian Naval Forces, formerly a Royal Navy ship named HMS ''London'' (F95). It is named after Queen
Marie of Romania
Marie (born Princess Marie Alexandra Victoria of Edinburgh; 29 October 1875 – 18 July 1938) was the last Queen of Romania as the wife of King Ferdinand I.
Marie was born into the British royal family. Her parents were Prince Alfred, D ...
, wife of King
Ferdinand I of Romania.
Service
HMS ''London'' was a
Type 22 frigate of the
Royal Navy, originally named ''Bloodhound'' but renamed ''London'' at the request of the
Lord Mayor of London.
She was flagship of the Royal Navy task force during the 1991
Gulf War.
She was decommissioned on 14 January 1999 and sold to the
Romanian Navy on 14 January 2003, being commissioned as ''Regina Maria'' on 21 April 2005. Before the sale the
Sea Wolf and
Exocet missile systems were removed, and the only armament the ship had when delivered was two 30 mm BMARC cannons and two three-tube anti-submarine torpedo launchers. The Romanian Navy had a 76 mm
OTO-Melara gun system fitted forward where the Exocets had been mounted, but no missile systems or additional weapons have been fitted. There has since been some controversy over the price for which Romania purchased the ship.
Commanding officers
Gallery
File:HMS London F95 aft.jpg, HMS ''London''
File:HMS London F95 starboard bow.jpg, HMS ''London'' (F95) docked in port during Operation Desert Shield.
File:ReginaMaria2005.jpg, Romanian frigate ''Regina Maria'' at the Trafalgar 200th Anniversary.
File:Українсько-американське навчання “Сі Бриз - 2016” (28075164024).jpg, ''Regina Maria'' during exercise Sea Breeze 2016.
See also
*
NMS Regina Maria (
Regele Ferdinand-class destroyer
The ''Regele Ferdinand'' class was a pair of destroyers built in Italy for the Romanian Navy during the late 1920s. The sister ships were the most modern and powerful warships of the Axis powers in the Black Sea during World War II. During the ...
), a World War II-era namesake
References
Publications
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:London (F95)
1984 ships
Type 22 frigates of the Royal Navy
Gulf War ships of the United Kingdom
Type 22 frigates of the Romanian Naval Forces