HMS ''Sluys'' was a 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 ...

(RN). She was named in honour of the

Battle of Sluys The Battle of Sluys ( , ), also called the Battle of l'Écluse, was a naval battle fought on 24 June 1340 between Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of France, France. It took place in the roadstead of the port of Sluis, Sluys (French ''É ...

which occurred in 1340 during the

Hundred Years' War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a conflict between the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of France, France and a civil war in France during the Late Middle Ages. It emerged from feudal disputes over the Duchy ...

, and which resulted in a decisive English victory over a French fleet. ''Sluys'' was built by

Cammell Laird Cammell Laird is a British shipbuilding company. It was formed from the merger of Laird Brothers of Birkenhead and Johnson Cammell & Co of Sheffield at the turn of the twentieth century. The company also built railway rolling stock until 1929, ...

Birkenhead Birkenhead () is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liverpool. It lies within the Historic counties of England, historic co ...

. She was launched on 28 February 1945 and commissioned on 30 September 1946. In 1967, the ship was transferred to

Pahlavi Iran The Imperial State of Iran, officially known as the Imperial State of Persia until 1935, and commonly referred to as Pahlavi Iran, was the Iranian state under the rule of the Pahlavi dynasty. The Pahlavi dynasty was created in 1925 and lasted ...

and renamed ''Artemiz''. In 1985, the ship was renamed again, this time ''Damavand''.

Royal Navy service

Upon commission, ''Sluys'' joined the

5th Destroyer Flotilla The British 5th Destroyer Flotilla, or Fifth Destroyer Flotilla, was a naval formation of the Royal Navy from 1910 to 1942 and again from 1947 to 1951. History The flotilla was formed in February 1910 and disbanded in 1942. Its first commander ...

, part of the

Home Fleet The Home Fleet was a fleet of the Royal Navy that operated from the United Kingdom's territorial waters from 1902 with intervals until 1967. In 1967, it was merged with the Mediterranean Fleet creating the new Western Fleet. Before the First ...

, which was based in the UK. In 1947, ''Sluys'', along with her

sister ship A sister ship is a ship of the same Ship class, class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They o ...

, escorted the

aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and hangar facilities for supporting, arming, deploying and recovering carrier-based aircraft, shipborne aircraft. Typically it is the ...

, which was flying the flag of the

First Sea Lord First Sea Lord, officially known as First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff (1SL/CNS), is the title of a statutory position in the British Armed Forces, held by an Admiral (Royal Navy), admiral or a General (United Kingdom), general of the ...

, to Norway, where the small group made a variety of fly-the-flag visits to ports, as well as performing other duties. In 1953, ''Sluys'' was decommissioned and subsequently placed in Reserve.

Transfer and sale to Iran

''Sluys'' was sold to

in 1967 after a major rebuild by

Vosper Thornycroft VTG (formerly VT Group) is a privately held United States defense and services company, with its origins in a former British shipbuilding group, previously known as Vosper Thornycroft. The British part of VTG was integrated into Babcock Interna ...

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

that took three years to complete, completely changing her outline. This resulted in the ship having a fully enclosed bridge and a revised anti-aircraft fit of four single 40mm Bofors guns and a quadruple

Sea Cat Seacat was a British short-range surface-to-air missile system intended to replace the ubiquitous Bofors 40 mm gun aboard warships of all sizes. It was the world's first operational shipboard point-defence missile system, and was designed so th ...

missile system. A new plated mainmast carried a

Plessey The Plessey Company plc was a British electronics, defence and telecommunications company. It originated in 1917, growing and diversifying into electronics. It expanded after World War II by acquisition of companies and formed overseas compani ...

AWS 1 long range search radar. The sale was made despite stresses between the UK and Iran during the 1960s, which were centred on tensions and disputes in the Middle East. ''Sluys'' was renamed ''Artemiz'' upon joining the

Iranian Navy The Islamic Republic of Iran Navy (IRIN; ), also referred as the Iranian Navy (abbreviated NEDAJA; ), is the naval warfare service branch of Iran's regular military, the Islamic Republic of Iran Army (''Artesh''). It is one of Iran's two maritim ...

. After some time, the ship was awarded the pennant number 51. On 30 November 1971, ''Artemiz'' took part in the Iranian occupation of the Tunb islands in the

Strait of Hormuz The Strait of Hormuz ( ''Tangeh-ye Hormoz'' , ''Maḍīq Hurmuz'') is a strait between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. It provides the only sea passage from the Persian Gulf to the open ocean and is one of the world's most strategica ...

. In 1975-76, ''Artemiz'' underwent another refit, this time taking place at

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

, South Africa. The destroyer received four

Standard Standard may refer to: Symbols * Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs * Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification Norms, conventions or requirements * Standard (metrology), an object ...

missile launchers with a launch capability of eight missiles. In 1985 ''Artemiz'' underwent a further refit, this time carried out by the Russians and received, amongst other things, a brand new Russian surface-to-air missile system to replace the British Sea Cat. However, she did keep her original 4.5-inch Mk 4 turrets, albeit with an updated radar and fire control system. The ship was then renamed ''Damavand'' and also received two

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

-made twin 23 mm/80 anti-aircraft guns. ''Damavand'' was stricken around 1996

References

Publications

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sluys (D60) Battle-class destroyers of the Royal Navy Ships built on the River Mersey 1945 ships Cold War destroyers of the United Kingdom Destroyers of Iran

Royal Navy service

Transfer and sale to Iran

See also

References

Publications