Name HMS Hampshire Laid down 26 March 1959 Decommissioned 1976 Construction started 26 March 1959 Length 159 m Builder John Brown & Company | Ordered 27 January 1956 Commissioned 15 March 1963 Identification pennant number D06 Launched 16 March 1961 Draft 6.25 m | |
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HMS Hampshire was a County-class destroyer of the Royal Navy. Laid down, in March 1959 a couple of weeks behind the class leader Devonshire, she was classified as a guided missile destroyer, as the Sea Lords regarded the concept of the cruiser and big gun ship as discredited by the perceived failure of the Tiger class and the obsolescence of the heavy gun. The description of guided missile destroyer seemed more likely to win approval from the Treasury and Government for an adequate number of warships the size of small cruisers, which could play many traditional cruiser flagship and command functions, but had no armour around its gun and missile magazine.
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Operational service
From her third Commission in 1967 Hampshire flew the flag of the Flag Officer, Western Fleet (United Kingdom). In July 1969 she was present at Torbay for the Royal Review and presentation of a new colour to the Western Fleet (United Kingdom).
Decommissioning and disposal
In the late 1960s there were plans to upgrade Hampshire and sister destroyers armed with Seaslug Mk 1, with Seaslug Mk 2 and a digital combat system being fitted, but the upgrade of Hampshire and Devonshire was cancelled on 31 March 1967 because of the amount of the time the ships would be out of the operational fleet, with the remaining two upgrades cancelled in 1968.
In 1976 she was the first of the County-class destroyers to be decommissioned. This was at a time the Labour Government was making severe defence cuts under pressure from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). She was cannibalised for spares to service her sister ships and subsequently sold for scrap in 1979.