Birmingham Accelerating
Seen here in late December 1980 in the Gulf of Oman. We had just been in close formation with Avenger and Apollo and our supporting Royal Fleet Auxiliaries for a photo opportunity. Our arrival was the first full Op Armilla deployment from the UK. Birmingham, Avenger and Olmeda had already been deployed and had been diverted from other duties to fill in before our arrival.
Op. Armilla commenced in late 1980 in response to the outbreak of the Iran-Iraq War in September 1980. It was intended to provide protection to British (and presumably also neutral) merchant shipping if they were threatened by the belligerents. At this point in the operation, we didn't even enter the Persian Gulf!
HMS Birmingham was a Type 42 destroyer laid down by Cammell Laird and Company, Limited, at Birkenhead on 28 March 1972, launched on 30 July 1973 by Lady Empson, wife of Sir Derek Empson and commissioned on 3 December 1976. She was named for the city of Birmingham, England.
"The Brum" spent much of her useful life as Fleet Contingency Ship and spent considerable time in the post-Falklands conflict patrol role. In 1984 she patrolled the Falklands and acted as a radar picket ship along with Broadsword and Ajax. In 1985 she took part in Standing Naval Force Mediterranean, calling at Gibraltar, Palma de Mallorca, Naples, & Messina. On completion of de-ammunitioning at Rosyth and being sent for a successful refit at Rosyth dockyard, she returned to Portsmouth in 1988 for sea trials and re-acceptance to the fleet. Commanded by Roy Clare, now Director of the Maritime Museum in London, her first deployment post-refit was another tour to the Persian Gulf region, returning in March 1989.
Birmingham paid off at Portsmouth on 10 December 1999. In early January 2000, under her own power, she sailed to Devonport where, for the next two months, she was stripped of all her usable equipment. She was eventually towed back to Portsmouth in May 2000 where she was sold for scrap and left Portsmouth under tow for Spain on 20 October 2000.
Taken from aboard HMS Ardent. Scanned from a slide.
Birmingham Accelerating
Seen here in late December 1980 in the Gulf of Oman. We had just been in close formation with Avenger and Apollo and our supporting Royal Fleet Auxiliaries for a photo opportunity. Our arrival was the first full Op Armilla deployment from the UK. Birmingham, Avenger and Olmeda had already been deployed and had been diverted from other duties to fill in before our arrival.
Op. Armilla commenced in late 1980 in response to the outbreak of the Iran-Iraq War in September 1980. It was intended to provide protection to British (and presumably also neutral) merchant shipping if they were threatened by the belligerents. At this point in the operation, we didn't even enter the Persian Gulf!
HMS Birmingham was a Type 42 destroyer laid down by Cammell Laird and Company, Limited, at Birkenhead on 28 March 1972, launched on 30 July 1973 by Lady Empson, wife of Sir Derek Empson and commissioned on 3 December 1976. She was named for the city of Birmingham, England.
"The Brum" spent much of her useful life as Fleet Contingency Ship and spent considerable time in the post-Falklands conflict patrol role. In 1984 she patrolled the Falklands and acted as a radar picket ship along with Broadsword and Ajax. In 1985 she took part in Standing Naval Force Mediterranean, calling at Gibraltar, Palma de Mallorca, Naples, & Messina. On completion of de-ammunitioning at Rosyth and being sent for a successful refit at Rosyth dockyard, she returned to Portsmouth in 1988 for sea trials and re-acceptance to the fleet. Commanded by Roy Clare, now Director of the Maritime Museum in London, her first deployment post-refit was another tour to the Persian Gulf region, returning in March 1989.
Birmingham paid off at Portsmouth on 10 December 1999. In early January 2000, under her own power, she sailed to Devonport where, for the next two months, she was stripped of all her usable equipment. She was eventually towed back to Portsmouth in May 2000 where she was sold for scrap and left Portsmouth under tow for Spain on 20 October 2000.
Taken from aboard HMS Ardent. Scanned from a slide.