On 29 November the first section of the fifth British Type 26 frigate’s was laid down. The ship will be commissioned as HMS Sheffield. She will be the fourth ship to bear the name ‘Sheffield’ and have the famous nickname of ‘Shiny Sheff’.
Watched by veterans of one of the most famous names in recent Royal Navy history, apprentices at BAE Systems’ Govan set to work with welding torches on steel plate which in the coming months and years will become part of a new Sheffield.
Military, political and business leaders were among those invited into the workshop on the south bank of the Clyde to mark the milestone – there are now five of eight Type 26 warships in various stages of completion at BAE’s two facilities in Glasgow, being built to succeed the ageing Type 23 flotilla. The new ships are in order Glasgow, Cardiff, Belfast and Birmingham. The first two are fitting out, while the others are under construction.
The program is part of a wider multi-billion-pound programme to replace the entire frigate force; three of five Type 31 frigates are also under construction on the Forth. Collectively the two classes are creating/sustaining thousands of jobs – not merely on the rivers where the ships are being built, but UK wide; some 120 British firms are involved in supporting the Type 26s alone.
And in return for the investment, the RN will get eight frigates at the leading edge of anti-submarine warfare, quieter and more stealthy than anything which has gone before, packed from bow to stern with the latest tech to hunt-down hostile underwater threats, operated by dedicated men and women trained to the very highest standard.
It will be the principal role of Sheffield when she enters service next decade to protect both the UK’s Carrier Strike Groups and the submarines carrying the nation’s nuclear deterrent from any prying eyes/threats below the surface of the ocean.
In addition, unique ‘mission bays’ allow the Navy’s new PODS – shipping-container-sized boxes packed with equipment to support a specific operation, such as disaster relief, minehunting, or raids by Royal Marines – to be fitted easily if required, enhancing the versatility and capability of the City-class.
“Seeing the next Type 26 start the construction journey is a tangible representation of the success of the programme – thanks to the hard work put in by the DE&S and BAE Systems teams,” said Commodore Steve Roberts, the Senior Responsible Owner for the Type 26 programme.
“These advanced anti-submarine warfare ships will provide the Royal Navy with a world-class cutting-edge capability to protect our Nation’s interests well into the future.”
Sources: RN & BAE
