Name HMS Sutherland Ordered January 1992 Commissioned 4 July 1997 Construction started 14 October 1993 Weight 4,900 tons | Laid down 14 October 1993 Length 133 m Launched 9 March 1996 | |
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Sponsored by Lady Christina Walmsley | ||
Royal navy type 23 frigate hms sutherland f81 launches stingray torpedo hd
HMS Sutherland is a Type 23 frigate of the British Royal Navy. She is the thirteenth ship in the Duke class of frigates and is the third ship to bear the name, more than 200 years since the name was last used.
Contents
- Royal navy type 23 frigate hms sutherland f81 launches stingray torpedo hd
- 1997 2000
- 2001 2010
- 2011 Present
- Affiliations
- References
She was launched in 1996 by Lady Christina Walmsley, wife of Sir Robert Walmsley KCB. Before this occasion, Royal Navy ships had always been launched with a bottle of champagne, but Lady Walmsley broke with tradition and used a bottle of Macallan Scotch whisky.
There is a keen golfing community on-board, and the crew sometimes use the facilities of their affiliate golf course in the Royal Burgh of Dornoch.
1997-2000
She was deployed to the Falkland Islands in the winter 1998/1999. In 2000, she was part of the task force NTG2000, the first time Royal Navy ships have circumnavigated the globe since 1986.
2001-2010
After berthing in Invergordon, HMS Sutherland was granted the freedom of the county of Sutherland at a ceremony in Dornoch on 18 September 2004. A subsequent visit to Invergordon in March 2011 was cut short, with "operational commitments" as the given reason. This was eventually revealed as her deployment as part of the UK Response Force Task Group's (RFTG) first deployment, named COUGAR' 11. She returned to Invergordon in April 2013.
2011-Present
In May 2011, she made a port visit to Patras, Greece following participation in exercises off Crete, after which she became involved in the operations off the Libyan coast.
On 16 June 2011, Sutherland visited Souda Bay in Crete to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Crete, before sailing to Kalamata in Greece to conduct further World War II memorials.
On 24 July 2011, Sutherland returned to the coast of Libya as part of Operation Ellamy.
On 18 October 2011, Sutherland passed through Tower Bridge in London and docked next to HMS Belfast, returning through the bridge on 22 October 2011.
In 2012, she was part of the COUGAR 12 task group.
She took part in Exercise Joint Warrior 2013.
Sutherland to part in 2016 Exercise Griffin Strike, a UK-French combined exercise. Sutherland escorted the Russian Frigate Admiral Grigorovich through the English Channel in May 2016.