| HMS Fife (D20) | |
|---|---|
|
HMS Fife HMS Fife | |
| Career (UK) |  |
| Name: | HMS Fife |
| Ordered: | 26 September 1961 |
| Builder: | Fairfield Shipbuilding |
| Laid down: | 1 June 1962 |
| Launched: | 9 July 1964 |
| Commissioned: | 21 June 1966 |
| Decommissioned: | June 1987 |
| Identification: | Pennant number: D20 |
| Fate: | Sold to Chile on 12 August 1987 |
| Career (Chile) |  |
| Name: | Blanco Encalada |
| Acquired: | August 1987 |
| Commissioned: | 1988 |
| Decommissioned: | 12 December 2003 |
| Fate: | Sold for scrap in November 2005 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type: | County-class destroyer |
| Displacement: |
6,200 tonnes 6,800 tonnes (full load) |
| Length: | 158.9 m (521 ft) |
| Beam: | 16 m (52 ft) |
| Draught: | 6.2 m (20 ft) |
| Propulsion: | COSAG (Combined steam and gas) turbines, 2 shafts |
| Speed: | 30+ knots |
| Range: | 3,500 nautical miles (6,500 km) at 28 knots (52 km/h) |
| Capacity: | 440-471 |
| Armament: |
|
| Aircraft carried: | 1× Wessex HAS Mk 3 helicopter (in Chilean service, 2× Cougar helicopters) |
| Aviation facilities: | Flight deck and enclosed hangar for embarking one helicopter. (In Chilean service, it was enlarged and expanded for embarkation of two helicopter during refit in 1987) |
HMS Fife was the first unit of the Batch 2 County-class destroyers of the Royal Navy. She was subsequently sold to Chile and scrapped in 2005.
[]
She had 'B' turret removed and replaced with four Exocet launchers in the mid-1970s. In 1977, she attended the Silver Jubilee Fleet Review and formed part of the 2nd Flotilla.[1] In 1979, Fife provided assistance to the Caribbean island of Dominica after the island was severely hit by Hurricane David. She was under refit during the Falklands War and so did not take part in the conflict.
Refit 1986[]
In 1986, Fife underwent a refit to convert her into a moving training ship. The removal of her Sea Slug missile system was completed in June 1986, which created space for extra messdecks and classrooms for officers under training. One messdeck still used hammocks and these officers are possibly the last men in the Royal Navy to sleep in hammocks; they were told so at the time. In September 1986 she undertook a Dartmouth Training Ship deployment to the Mediterranean returning to Portsmouth early December.
A "hut" was built where the sea slug launcher had once stood, aft of the helicopter pad. This grey box was actually a satellite navigation classroom and attracted much attention from a Russian Kashin-class destroyer, which regularly "buzzed" Fife for some close quarter photographs ... no doubt intrigued by the new structure.[citation needed]
Her second Dartmouth Training Ship deployment in January 1987 took her via Brest into the Mediterranean, in company with Intrepid. Her final voyage in the Royal Navy was to lead a Dartmouth Training Ship deployment to North America, in which she and Juno sailed into the Great Lakes. On her return to Great Britain in June 1987 she landed the officers under training at Dartmouth and then proceeded to Portsmouth where she was decommissioned.
[]
The ship was sold to Chile on 12 August 1987 and renamed Blanco Encalada. She was taken into refit at Talcahuano on her arrival and, taking advantage of the removed Sea Slug, her deck was extended aft and a new, larger hangar constructed. The rebuild was completed in May 1988. In 1996 Blanco Encalada's Sea Cat launchers were removed and she was fitted with the Barak SAM. Blanco Encalada was decommissioned from the Chilean Navy on 12 December 2003 and was sold for scrap in November 2005.
Chilean destroyer Blanco Encalada gets underway from Valparaiso, during Exercise Teamwork South '99
Commanding Officers[]
| From | To | Captain |
|---|---|---|
| 1965 | 1967 | Captain Robert H Graham RN |
| 1967 | 1969 | Captain Peter G Lachlan RN |
| 1969 | 1971 | Captain W David S Scott RN |
| 1971 | 1973 | Captain G A de G Kitchin RN |
| 1973 | 1975 | Captain David Hallifax RN |
| 1975 | 1975 | Captain David M Eckersley-Maslin RN |
| 1976 | 1977 | Captain G C Lloyd RN |
| 1977 | 1978 | Captain J Jeremy Black RN |
| 1978 | 1980 | Captain R G Fry OBE RN |
| 1982 | 1984 | Captain Clifford J Caughey RN |
| 1984 | 1985 | Captain Jonathan J R Tod RN |
| 1985 | 1987 | Captain William J Davis RN |
References[]
- ↑ Official Souvenir Programme, 1977. Silver Jubilee Fleet Review, HMSO
Publications[]
- Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8. OCLC 67375475.
See also[]
- List of ship launches in 1964
- List of ship commissionings in 1966
- List of ship commissionings in 1987
- List of ship decommissionings in 1987
- List of ship decommissionings in 2003
The original article can be found at HMS Fife (D20) and the edit history here.