HMS Cumberland (F85)
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HMS ''Cumberland'' was a Batch 3
Type 22 frigate The Type 22 frigate also known as the ''Broadsword'' class was a class of frigates built for the British Royal Navy. Fourteen were built in total, with production divided into three batches. Initially intended to be anti-submarine warfare fri ...
of the British
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 ...
. She was launched in 1986 and commissioned on 10 June 1989. The frigate was on station during the
First Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...
and was part of the Devonport Flotilla based at Devonport Dockyard. ''Cumberland'' was decommissioned on 23 June 2011.


History

On commissioning she became part of the 8th Frigate Squadron. Her first commanding officer was Captain
Mike Gregory Michael Keith Gregory (20 May 1964 – 19 November 2007) was an English professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s, and coached in the 1990s and 2000s. He played for Warrington from 1982 to 1994, and won 20 caps fo ...
. Captain Gregory, a submariner, was previously awarded the OBE for the longest continuously submerged patrol in Royal Navy history. The ship's first two deployments were to the US and Canada, in 1989 and 1990 respectively. The first in 1989 called at both
Fort Lauderdale A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
and
Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
where the ship became the focus of an anti-nuclear protest over suspicions that the ship carried nuclear weapons. In 1990, she again crossed the Atlantic to visit
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
, before sailing North to the
St Lawrence Seaway The St. Lawrence Seaway (french: la Voie Maritime du Saint-Laurent) is a system of locks, canals, and channels in Canada and the United States that permits oceangoing vessels to travel from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes of North Americ ...
with a brief stop in
Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
followed by a 10-day visit to
Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
. This was followed by an unscheduled 24-hour stop in
Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348,634 people in its urban area. The ...
to repair some ship equipment damaged in bad weather, and then a visit to St Johns, Newfoundland. She spent the winter of 1990–91 as the Royal Navy surface vessel patrolling 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 ...
. She sailed to South Georgia just before Christmas arriving at
Grytviken Grytviken ( ) is a settlement on South Georgia in the South Atlantic and formerly a whaling station and the largest settlement on the island. It is located at the head of King Edward Cove within the larger Cumberland East Bay, considered the b ...
on 22 December. She sailed along the coast of South Georgia and returned to Grytviken on Christmas Eve. On Christmas Day she hosted the soldiers of the South Georgia garrison aboard for Christmas Day lunch of venison. The stag had been shot the day before by a sniper from the garrison; part of the garrison's duties being to control the deer population on the Island. While in South Georgia the ship manoeuvred into Cumberland Bay where a
glacier A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its Ablation#Glaciology, ablation over many years, often Century, centuries. It acquires dis ...
sweeps into the sea. A photograph of the ship with the glacier as a back-drop was taken from the ship's
Lynx A lynx is a type of wild cat. Lynx may also refer to: Astronomy * Lynx (constellation) * Lynx (Chinese astronomy) * Lynx X-ray Observatory, a NASA-funded mission concept for a next-generation X-ray space observatory Places Canada * Lynx, Ontar ...
helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...
. Ice was collected from the glacier and kept in the ship's freezers for use at cocktail parties during the return leg of her patrol. On 26 September 2000, ''Cumberland'' worked with local fishermen to aid the rescue of survivors of the Greek ferry ''
Express Samina MS ''Express Samina'' ( el, Εξπρές Σάμινα) was a French-built RoPax ferry that struck the charted Portes Islets rocks in the Bay of Parikia off the coast of Paros island in the central Aegean Sea on 26 September 2000. The accident r ...
'' which ran aground two miles off the island of
Paros Paros (; el, Πάρος; Venetian: ''Paro'') is a Greek island in the central Aegean Sea. One of the Cyclades island group, it lies to the west of Naxos, from which it is separated by a channel about wide. It lies approximately south-east of ...
. In 2003 ''Cumberland'' embarked two teams from M Squadron, Special Boat Service (SBS) and (in partnership with RFA ''Wave Knight'') seized 3.6 tonnes of cocaine in the mid-Atlantic as part of an anti-drug operation. In October 2005 she intercepted and boarded a speedboat in the
Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea ( es, Mar Caribe; french: Mer des Caraïbes; ht, Lanmè Karayib; jam, Kiaribiyan Sii; nl, Caraïbische Zee; pap, Laman Karibe) is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico ...
off
Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the cou ...
from which they seized two tonnes of
cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly recreational drug use, used recreationally for its euphoria, euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from t ...
, and detained four suspects. The cocaine was estimated to have a street value of £200 million. During this time Chris Cranmer, the first registered Satanist serving in the Royal Navy, was a technician on board the vessel. On 18 May 2006 ''Cumberland'' escorted
Dee Caffari Denise "Dee" Caffari MBE (born 23 January 1973) is a British sailor, and in 2006 became the first woman to sail single-handedly and non-stop around the world "the wrong way"; westward against the prevailing winds and currents. In February 200 ...
, sailing ''Aviva'', across the finish-line (at Lizard Point) as she became the first woman to sail single-handedly non-stop around the world "the wrong way" (against the prevailing wind and tide). ''Cumberland'' completed an 18-month refit in 2008.BBC News Devon, 22 March 2011, ''HMS Cumberland should be saved, sailors' families say''.
/ref> In October 2008, ''Cumberland'' was assigned to anti-
piracy Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...
duties along with 6 other ships as part of Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 (SNMG2). As part of her duties in SNMG2, on 11 November 2008, ''Cumberland'' went to the aid of a Danish vessel that had come under attack from pirates. The pirates opened fire on two of ''Cumberland''s launches; 3 pirates died when the Royal Marines returned fire on the
dhow Dhow ( ar, داو, translit=dāwa; mr, script=Latn, dāw) is the generic name of a number of traditional sailing vessels with one or more masts with settee or sometimes lateen sails, used in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean region. Typically spor ...
. During her 2010 deployment to 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 ...
, ''Cumberland'' rotated between maritime security patrol duty and escort duty with the French nuclear-powered aircraft carrier ''Charles de Gaulle'' in support of coalition military operations in
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
. This represented an example of
interoperability Interoperability is a characteristic of a product or system to work with other products or systems. While the term was initially defined for information technology or systems engineering services to allow for information exchange, a broader defi ...
pursuant to the recently ratified Franco-British defence co-operation treaty. In February 2011, it was announced that the ship would be scrapped in April 2011 in a government spending review to meet UK government cuts to the
MOD Mod, MOD or mods may refer to: Places * Modesto City–County Airport, Stanislaus County, California, US Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Mods (band), a Norwegian rock band * M.O.D. (Method of Destruction), a band from New York City, US ...
.


Libya operations

On 22 February 2011,
British Foreign Secretary The secretary of state for foreign, Commonwealth and development affairs, known as the foreign secretary, is a minister of the Crown of the Government of the United Kingdom and head of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. Seen ...
William Hague William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...
announced that ''Cumberland'', while transiting the Mediterranean on her return to the UK for decommissioning, would be redeployed to Libyan waters to assist in Operation Deference, the evacuation of British citizens and other nationals affected by the
2011 Libyan civil war The First Libyan Civil War was an armed conflict in 2011 in the North African country of Libya that was fought between forces loyal to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi and rebel groups that were seeking to oust his government. It erupted with the Liby ...
. ''Cumberland'' entered the
Port of Benghazi The Port of Benghazi is a major seaport in the city of Benghazi, Libya, on the Mediterranean Sea coast within the Gulf of Sidra. History A natural seaport, it was founded as Euesperides by the ancient Greeks of Cyrenaica in the 6th century BC. Af ...
on 24 February. The ship left the same day with an international collection of 454 passengers that included 129 British nationals plus European and American nationals,Hansard 17 Mar 2011, Column 513W
states that on Thursday 24 February, Sunday 27 February, and Sunday 6 March "she evacuated over 400 entitled persons including over 120 British nationals."
and transferred them to safety in Malta.
/ref> All European Union citizens were entitled to rescue by the ''Cumberland'', but needed to carry a passport or other document that could serve as proof of nationality; would-be passengers were advised to telephone the British embassy in Malta.Sofia Echo, 6 March 2011, ''Bulgarians, other EU citizens offered evacuation from Benghazi on HMS Cumberland''.
/ref> In March 2011, ''Cumberland'' took part in
Operation Ellamy Operation Ellamy was the codename for the United Kingdom participation in the 2011 military intervention in Libya. The operation was part of an international coalition aimed at enforcing a Libyan no-fly zone in accordance with the United Nation ...
, the British role in the coalition action during the
2011 Libyan civil war The First Libyan Civil War was an armed conflict in 2011 in the North African country of Libya that was fought between forces loyal to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi and rebel groups that were seeking to oust his government. It erupted with the Liby ...
by enforcing a naval blockade. The life of the ''Cumberland'' has been extended so that the UK "armed forces remain equipped to protect in this conflict."Hansard 23 Mar 2011, Column 940
/ref> ''Cumberland'' was transferred to
Operation Unified Protector Operation Unified Protector was a NATO operation in 2011 enforcing United Nations Security Council resolutions 1970 and 1973 concerning the Libyan Civil War and adopted on 26 February and 17 March 2011, respectively. These resolutions imposed ...
under
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
command at the end of March.


Decommissioning and disposal

On 18 April 2011 ''Cumberland'' made her final entry into her base-port of Devonport from an intense and successful patrol involving oil production protection in the Gulf, counter-piracy operations, evacuating refugees from Libya and enforcing an arms embargo against the country's ruler. The ship was decommissioned under the Strategic Defence and Security Review, with a decommissioning ceremony taking place on 23 June. She was laid up at Portsmouth and in July 2013 sold to Turkish company Leyal for demolition.


Affiliations

''Cumberland'' was affiliated with a number of military and civic bodies: *
The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment (King's, Lancashire and Border) The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment (King's, Lancashire and Border) (LANCS) is an infantry regiment of the line within the British Army, part of the King's Division. Headquartered in Preston, Lancashire, Preston, it recruits throughout the North Wes ...
* County of Cumbria * Worshipful Company of Glovers *The Cumberland Association *The Cumberland Hotel (Marble Arch) *Pride of Cumbria air ambulance *Royal Thames Yacht Club *Batchworth Sea Scouts *TS John Paul (Sea Cadets) *TS Rodney (Sea Cadets) *TS Royalist (Sea Cadets) *Sedbergh CCF (Combined Cadet Force) *St Dunstan's CCF *Roedean School *TS Cumberland – The City of Carlisle Sea Cadets ( Sea Cadets) www.carlisleseacadets.org


Commanding officers


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cumberland (F85) Ships built on the River Clyde 1986 ships History of Cumberland Type 22 frigates of the Royal Navy