HMS Devonshire was the first of the County-classdestroyers and the first Batch 1 ship of the Royal Navy. The ship was built by Cammell Laird in Birkenhead near Liverpool. With a displacement of 5,440 tonnes (6,850 tonnes full load), Devonshire was named after the English county of Devon. She was launched on 10 June 1960 and delivered to the navy two years later.
A Seaslug missile roars away from HMS Devonshire's twin launcher for the first time. At this early stage of firing, the boosters can be seen still attached to the weapon, May 1962
In 1962 Devonshire was commissioned and became the first operational Royal Navy ship to fire the Seaslug missile.[1] Following work up, she sailed for the Mediterranean, followed by a return to her home port of Portsmouth. From here she then sailed for Bermuda and the United States.[2] She returned to Portsmouth just before the end of 1962. Captain George Cunningham Leslie OBE, served as Commanding officer from 1965 to 1966.
On 31 August 1966, Devonshire collided with the tanker British Sovereign off the mouth of the River Elbe. No-one was injured on either ship.[3]
Captain Peter Buchanan served as Commanding Officer from 1973 to 1974. Devonshire was involved in patrol duties in the Persian Gulf and the Caribbean Sea, but was not involved in any armed conflict of the United Kingdom. Like the other first batch of County-class ships, Devonshire was fitted with the Seaslug anti aircraft missile defence system. She attended the 1977 Silver Jubilee Fleet Review off Spithead when she was part of the First Flotilla.[4]
Decommissioning and disposalEdit
Devonshire was decommissioned under defence cuts in 1978, though was immediately offered for sale to Egypt, but the sale did not go through. Laid up in Portsmouth harbour for six years, the ship was used as a target, first for testing the new Sea Eagle anti-ship missile, then sunk by HMS Splendid as a target on 17 July 1984 (two days after the Sea Eagle test) in the North Atlantic, whilst testing the Mark 24-Mod-2 Tigerfish torpedo.
ReferencesEdit
^"Royal Navy, including Administration, 1961-1970".
^Commissioning Book, HMS Devonshire 1962-1964, HMSO
^"Collision court acquittal". Navy News. November 1966. p. 15. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
Marriott, Leo, Royal Navy Destroyers since 1945, Ian Allan, ISBN0-7110-1817-0
McCart, Neil, 2014. County Class Guided Missile Destroyers, Maritime Books. ISBN978-1904459637
External linksEdit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to HMS Devonshire (D02).
firing of Seaslug from HMS Devonshire
October 21, 2023
devonshire, other, ships, with, same, name, devonshire, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, devonshire, . For other ships with the same name see HMS Devonshire This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources HMS Devonshire D02 news newspapers books scholar JSTOR September 2014 Learn how and when to remove this template message HMS Devonshire was the first of the County class destroyers and the first Batch 1 ship of the Royal Navy The ship was built by Cammell Laird in Birkenhead near Liverpool With a displacement of 5 440 tonnes 6 850 tonnes full load Devonshire was named after the English county of Devon She was launched on 10 June 1960 and delivered to the navy two years later HMS Devonshire during Portsmouth Navy Day 1980HistoryUnited KingdomNameHMS DevonshireOrdered24 January 1956BuilderCammell LairdLaid down9 March 1959Launched10 June 1960Commissioned15 November 1962Decommissioned1978IdentificationPennant number D02FateSunk as a target on 17 July 1984General characteristicsClass and typeCounty class destroyerDisplacement5 440 tonnes 6 850 tonnes full load Length158 6 m 520 ft 4 in Beam53 ft 16 m Draught20 ft 6 1 m PropulsionCOSAG Combined steam and gas turbines 2 shaftsSpeed31 5 knots 58 3 km h Range3 500 nautical miles 6 500 km Complement470Armament1 Seaslug GWS 2 twin arm SAM launcher 36 missiles 2 Seacat GWS 21 twin arm SAM launcher 60 missiles 4 4 5 in 114 mm 45 DP 2 twin gunned turret 2 20 mm AA 2 triple tubes for 12 inch 324 mm ASW torpedoAircraft carried1 Lynx or Wessex helicopterAviation facilitiesFlight deck and enclosed hangar for embarking one helicopter Contents 1 Operational service 2 Decommissioning and disposal 3 References 4 Publications 5 External linksOperational service Edit nbsp A Seaslug missile roars away from HMS Devonshire s twin launcher for the first time At this early stage of firing the boosters can be seen still attached to the weapon May 1962In 1962 Devonshire was commissioned and became the first operational Royal Navy ship to fire the Seaslug missile 1 Following work up she sailed for the Mediterranean followed by a return to her home port of Portsmouth From here she then sailed for Bermuda and the United States 2 She returned to Portsmouth just before the end of 1962 Captain George Cunningham Leslie OBE served as Commanding officer from 1965 to 1966 On 31 August 1966 Devonshire collided with the tanker British Sovereign off the mouth of the River Elbe No one was injured on either ship 3 Captain Peter Buchanan served as Commanding Officer from 1973 to 1974 Devonshire was involved in patrol duties in the Persian Gulf and the Caribbean Sea but was not involved in any armed conflict of the United Kingdom Like the other first batch of County class ships Devonshire was fitted with the Seaslug anti aircraft missile defence system She attended the 1977 Silver Jubilee Fleet Review off Spithead when she was part of the First Flotilla 4 Decommissioning and disposal EditDevonshire was decommissioned under defence cuts in 1978 though was immediately offered for sale to Egypt but the sale did not go through Laid up in Portsmouth harbour for six years the ship was used as a target first for testing the new Sea Eagle anti ship missile then sunk by HMS Splendid as a target on 17 July 1984 two days after the Sea Eagle test in the North Atlantic whilst testing the Mark 24 Mod 2 Tigerfish torpedo References Edit Royal Navy including Administration 1961 1970 Commissioning Book HMS Devonshire 1962 1964 HMSO Collision court acquittal Navy News November 1966 p 15 Retrieved 17 August 2018 Official Souvenir Programme 1977 Silver Jubilee Fleet Review HMSOPublications EditColledge J J Warlow Ben 2006 1969 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 Marriott Leo Royal Navy Destroyers since 1945 Ian Allan ISBN 0 7110 1817 0 McCart Neil 2014 County Class Guided Missile Destroyers Maritime Books ISBN 978 1904459637External links Edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to HMS Devonshire D02 firing of Seaslug from HMS Devonshire Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title HMS Devonshire D02 amp oldid 1161689232, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
