HMS Lincoln (F99)

HMS ''Lincoln'' (F99) was a ''Salisbury''-class or Type 61 aircraft direction frigate of the Royal Navy.

History

She was built by Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company in Govan on the River Clyde. The ship was laid down in 1955, launched 6 April 1959, and completed 7 July 1960. She was named after the city of Lincoln, Lincolnshire.

On Tuesday 13 July 1965 she recommissioned in Singapore Dockyard under the command of Commander D C Nairne RN and served in the Far East during the Indonesian Conflict, she also visited Subic Bay during exercises with the US Navy and Hong Kong where she was guard ship. Returning to Singapore she sailed for Plymouth in 1966.
In October 1973 she took part in the Second Cod War under the command of Commander D Howard, and after being rammed in the stern during the First Cod War Commander Howard took steps to stop this happening again. This involved mounting two lengths of railway line protruding from the stern. This had the desired effect in protecting the stern of the ship. However, damage was caused to both port and starboard sides of the ship when the ship was positioned between a target trawler and the gunboat ''Aegir''. After a successful deployment the ship returned to Chatham to undergo repairs.

In April 1974 HMS ''Lincoln'' was decommissioned at Chatham and placed in the reserve fleet. With the serious damage being suffered by British frigates in late 1975, due to aggressive ramming by Icelandic gunboats, in the Third Cod War in 1976, ''Lincoln'' received a short refit for patrol duties with improved wooden padding on the bow area for ramming reinforcement. It has been suggested that ''Lincoln'' was selected for this ramming role as it was the one Type 61, not fitted with hull stabilizer fins.Marriott, (1983)p50 She was engaged in sea trials before commencing active service, when settlement was reached over the fishing conflict.

In 1976 the New Zealand Government sought to purchase a second hand Royal Navy ship to replace HMNZS ''Taranaki'', and HMS ''Lincoln'' was one of four RN frigates that was offered for sale. The New Zealand Government rejected the offer for ''Lincoln'', as her 174 Sonar had been removed and could not easily be refitted. Remaining in British service, ''Lincoln'' carried out a tour of duty in the Arctic Circle and served as the guard ship in Gibraltar during late 1976. She was finally returned to the standby squadron in Chatham in December 1977. She was proposed for sale to Egypt in 1978, but that deal also did not proceed.

In 1979 ''Lincoln'' served her final active commission as a training ship for submarine engineers, as her engines were akin to those aboard the ''Oberon''-class submarine. She was also used in Arctic waters alongside HMS ''Bulwark'', to provide radar cover for the initial sea trials of the Sea Harrier aircraft. ''Lincoln''s 966 and 986 radars were used in combination with ''Bulwark''s 986 radar to provide tracking over Scandinavia. The 986 radar had been fitted to three Type 61s, ''Bulwark'' and ''Ark Royal'' in around 1970, as a partial replacement for the complex 984 3D radar previously fitted to the carriers. In 1981 ''Lincoln'' was unsuccessfully proposed for sale to the Bangladesh Navy.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Lincoln (F99)
Salisbury-class frigates
1959 ships
Ships built on the River Clyde