'Important reminder' as loss of HMS Sheffield honoured by Royal Navy as veteran hosted aboard HMS Medway
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The commemoration marked the 44th anniversary of the loss of HMS Sheffield
Emotional Royal Navy sailors paid tribute to sailors who lost their lives after HMS Sheffield was sunk during the Falklands War.
A Falklands veteran was hosted aboard the Portsmouth-based patrol vessel HMS Medway to mark the 44th anniversary of the loss. Commander Mike Norman was the destroyer’s Executive Officer when she was struck by an Argentine Exocet missile on May 4, 1982.
The loss saw 20 personnel dead and another 26 injured. Cdr Norman joined HMS Medway in the South Atlantic for a remembrance service over the wreck, some 160 nautical miles east of the Falkland Islands. It was his first visit to the site in more than 40 years.
A wreath was cast into the water before Cdr Norman read out the names of the shipmates who perished. Cdr Norman recalled the moment the Exocet struck the ship’s starboard side, including that approximately half of those who died did so on impact including several chefs in the galley and weapons specialists in the computer room below the ops room.
He said the remaining victims died due to smoke inhalation and carbon monoxide poisoning as the fires spread through the ship’s decks. The veteran described the difficult hours following the impact, noting the terrible heat from the fires that raged for hours within the ship despite valiant efforts to fight it while awaiting rescue.
The loss of HMS Sheffield became a watershed moment for the Royal Navy. The lessons learned from this tragic loss improved firefighting systems, breathing apparatus, the removal of flammable internal materials and knowing your escape routes
HMS Medway’s Commanding Officer, Cdr James Tibbitts, said: “It was a huge privilege to host Commander Norman on board and that it served as an important reminder to be ready for the unexpected; that all members of the military must not lose sight of what we may be called upon to do.”
The service came after the offshore patrol vessel returned from supporting the British Antarctic Survey in South Georgia. HMS Medway took over as the Royal Navy’s permanent presence in the South Atlantic islands from sister ship HMS Forth, who had served in that role for more than six years.