HMS ''Southampton'' was a batch two

Type 42 destroyer The Type 42 or ''Sheffield'' class was a class of fourteen guided-missile destroyers that served in the Royal Navy.Marriott, Leo: ''Royal Navy Destroyers since 1945'', , Ian Allan Ltd, 1989 A further two ships of this class were built for and ...

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 ...

. She was named after the city of

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, ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, and built 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 ...

, in Southampton. She was the sixth Royal Navy ship to bear the name.

Operational service

1981–2005

In 1984, ''Southampton'' ran over one of the Shambles Buoys off

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

during the final

Thursday War A Thursday War is the colloquial name given in the Royal Navy for the weekly war-fighting and damage control exercises that are held during Fleet Operational Sea Training (FOST), so named because they are usually held on a Thursday. FOST is respo ...

intended to prepare her to deploy to the Falklands Islands. The collision sank the buoy and resulted in a period in dry dock for repair, after which ''Southampton'' left for a six-month deployment as a Falkland Islands guard ship. On 3 September 1988, whilst serving on the Armilla Patrol, ''Southampton'' was involved in a collision with MV ''Tor Bay'', a

container ship A container ship (also called boxship or spelled containership) is a cargo ship that carries all of its load in truck-size intermodal containers, in a technique called containerization. Container ships are a common means of commercial intermodal ...

in a

convoy A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...

being escorted through the

Straits 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 ...

. Three members of her crew were slightly injured and a hole torn in ''Southampton''s hull. The destroyer was returned to the UK aboard a

semi-submersible Semi-submersible may refer to a self-propelled vessel, such as: *Heavy-lift ship, which partially submerge to allow their cargo (another ship) to float into place for transport *Narco-submarine, some of which remained partially on the surface *S ...

heavy lift ship A heavy-lift ship is a ship, vessel designed to move very large loads that cannot be transported by normal ships. They are of two types: *''Semi-submersible'' ships that take on water ballast to allow the load—usually another vessel—to ...

2006–2011

On 3 February 2006, the ship was involved in the seizing of of

cocaine Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid and central nervous system stimulant, derived primarily from the leaves of two South American coca plants, ''Erythroxylum coca'' and ''Erythroxylum novogranatense, E. novogranatense'', which are cultivated a ...

in the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

Fate

On 31 July 2008, ''Southampton'' was placed in a state of "Extended Readiness" and was decommissioned on 12 February 2009. The ship was auctioned on 28 March 2011 and was later towed from Portsmouth on 14 October 2011 to Leyal Ship Recycling's scrapyard in

Aliağa Aliağa () is a municipality and district of İzmir Province, Turkey. Its area is 379 km2, and its population is 104,828 (2022). The town is situated at about north of İzmir. Aliağa has a large port, mainly for oil and bulk cargo. Its e ...

, Turkey.

Affiliations

*The

Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment (PWRR), also known as the Tigers, is the senior English line infantry regiment of the British Army, second in the line infantry order of precedence to the Royal Regiment of Scotland and part of the Queen ...

(Queen's and Royal Hampshires) *

No. 25 Squadron RAF Number 25 (Fighter) Squadron (alternatively Number XXV (F) Squadron) is a squadron of the Royal Air Force having reformed on 8 September 2018. During the First World War, No. 25 Squadron operated as a fighter-reconnaissance unit and later as a ...

City of Southampton Southampton is a port 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 253,651 at the 2011 census, making it o ...

* Worshipful Company of Fletchers *

Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire This is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire. Since 1688, all the Lords Lieutenant have also been Custos Rotulorum of Hampshire. From 1889 until 1959, the administrative county was named the County of Southampton. * ...

Canford School Canford School is a public school (English fee-charging boarding and day school for pupils aged 13–18). Situated in 300 acres of parkland near to the market town of Wimborne Minster in Dorset, south west England, it is one of the largest ...

Combined Cadet Force The Combined Cadet Force (CCF) is a youth organisation in the United Kingdom, sponsored by the Ministry of Defence (MOD), which operates in schools, sub divided into Royal Navy, Royal Marines, Army and Royal Air Force sections. Its aim is to ...

Mill Hill School Mill Hill School is a 13–18 co-educational Private schools in the United Kingdom, private, Day school, day and boarding school in Mill Hill, London, England that was established in 1807. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' ...

*Old Southamptons (veterans of the previous HMS Southampton) *

Royal Southampton Yacht Club Royal Southampton Yacht Club is located on the Beaulieu River in Hampshire. It received its Royal Charter in 1875 making it one of the oldest Yacht clubs in the UK. History At the first regatta of the 1840 season, the club announced, "...that ...

*Southampton and Fareham Chamber of Commerce and Industry *Southampton

University Royal Naval Unit The University Royal Naval Units (URNU) ( , less commonly ) (formerly Universities' Royal Naval Units) are Royal Navy training establishments under the command of Britannia Royal Naval College, who recruit Officer Cadets from a university or a ...

*TS Southampton ( Sea Cadet Corps) *

Royal Naval Association The Royal Naval Association (RNA) is an association of current and former British Naval Service personnel (Royal Navy, Royal Marines, Women's Royal Naval Service, Queen Alexandra's Royal Naval Nursing Service, Royal Naval Reserve, Royal Marines R ...

Southampton *Southampton RN Officers Association

References

External links

Royal Navy website: HMS ''Southampton''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Southampton (D90) Ships built in Southampton Cold War destroyers of the United Kingdom 1979 ships Type 42 destroyers of the Royal Navy Non-combat naval accidents