HMS Avenger (F185)
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HMS ''Avenger'' was a Type 21 frigate of the
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
. Built by Yarrow Shipbuilders Ltd,
Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
, Scotland, she was completed with Exocet launchers in 'B' position.


Royal Navy service

With the appointment of Captain Hugo White in 1981, ''Avenger'' became leader of the 4th Frigate Squadron. ''Avenger'' was a late arrival at the
Falklands War The Falklands War () was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British Overseas Territories, British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and Falkland Islands Dependenci ...
, as she didn't leave the UK until 10 May 1982, arriving on 25 May - a record for any ship involved in the operations, and a great distance to have covered in 14 days. The Rolls-Royce Olympus turbines of Type 21 frigates enabled them to maintain high speeds, but at the time the Royal Navy preferred this information not to be publicised. Avenger had averaged 28 knots and the Type 21s became nicknamed the Boy Racers. Captain White led ''Avenger'' in the Falklands War surviving an attack by an Exocet missile which it shot out of the sky with the 4.5 inch mark 8 gun on the focsle of the ship. Her divers salvaged a 20mm Oerlikon from the wreck of HMS ''Antelope'' which was remounted to increase her anti-aircraft capability, referred to on board as "Antelope's Avenger". She also assisted with naval gunfire support during the campaign. On 11 June she was conducting naval bombardments of Port Stanley in preparation for an amphibious assault by British troops. She directly struck a house where civilians were sheltering, killing three Falkland Islander women and wounding several others. They were the only British civilian casualties of the Falklands War. During the Falklands deployment, an alarming crack in the ship's hull progressively worsened with the stormy South Atlantic weather. On return to UK, she was taken in for refitting, with a steel plate being welded down each side of the ship to eliminate the problem. At the same time modifications were made to reduce hull noise. On 4 May 1983, HMS Avenger, and sister ship HMS Ambuscade, were on the Royal Navy 'Armilla' patrol, a permanent presence in the Persian Gulf during the 1980s and 1990s. The Avenger's commanding officer, Captain Peter Woodhead, was returning from a visit ashore in the ships Westland Lynx, ( registration XZ249) when it suffered a tail rotor control failure and, nose down, plunged into the sea off Muscat,
Oman Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman’s coastline ...
. The Lynx helicopter never resurfaced from its entry into the sea and for a short time there was no sign of the aircrew or ship's captain. As HMS Avenger approached the crash sight the crew observed some green clothed bodies breaking the surface on the water. When it was suggested to the Captain that a Westland Lynx helicopter from the Royal Army of Oman would be taking him and the other three crew members to the nearest hospital in Oman, he informed the medics "there is no fucking way I am getting into that helicopter". Captain Woodhead and the three other crew members survived the incident, with Woodhead sustaining a non-life changing injury to his back. After the war she remained leader of the 4th Frigate Squadron until 1986.


Pakistan Navy service

''Avenger'' was decommissioned and sold to
Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...
on 23 September 1994, where she was refitted and renamed ''Tippu Sultan''. She was the third ship to carry this name and remained in service with the Pakistan Navy as part of the 25th Destroyer Squadron until on 27 April 2020 she was expended as a target.


Notes


Publications

* * Marriott, Leo, 1983. ''Royal Navy Frigates 1945-1983'', Ian Allan Ltd, Surrey. {{DEFAULTSORT:Avenger (F185) Type 21 frigates Falklands War naval ships of the United Kingdom 1975 ships