14th July 2005. Paying off. HMS Cardiff makes her way into Portsmouth.
Picture: Malcolm Wells/The News Portsmouth ( 053301-99 )14th July 2005. Paying off. HMS Cardiff makes her way into Portsmouth.
Picture: Malcolm Wells/The News Portsmouth ( 053301-99 )
14th July 2005. Paying off. HMS Cardiff makes her way into Portsmouth. Picture: Malcolm Wells/The News Portsmouth ( 053301-99 )

21 memories of Royal Navy ship HMS Cardiff

HMS Cardiff, a Type 42 destroyer, was launched on February 22, 1974, commissioned on September 24, 1979 and decommissioned on July 14, 2005.

She served in the Falklands War, shooting down the last Argentine aircraft of the conflict and during the 1991 Gulf War her Lynx helicopter sank two Iraqi minesweepers.

Speaking at The Type 42’s decommissioning ceremony in the Naval Base, Commander Mike Beardall, the ship’s commanding officer, said: ‘Our decommissioning will naturally be tinged with sadness, but nevertheless it will also be filled with pride as we look back and remember the achievements throughout the ship’s life.

‘The Royal Navy is a forward looking organisation and it is time for our older warships, like HMS Cardiff, to be replaced by investing in modern and more capable units better able to meet the challenges of the future.’

He added: ‘We must not forget the contribution the ship has made over the last 26 years of her commission – a period which has seen great global change, with new threats constantly emerging. HMS Cardiff has been a work-horse of the fleet throughout and has always risen to meet every challenge.’

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‘The Royal Navy is a forward looking organisation and it is time for our older warships, like HMS Cardiff, to be replaced by investing in modern and more capable units better able to meet the challenges of the future.’

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