A historic Navy destroyer last week left Britain for the last time to be sold for scrap in Turkey after a campaign to turn it into tourist attraction in Edinburgh ended in failure.
It had been hoped that HMS Edinburgh (D97), the last of the Royal Navy’s Type 42 destroyers, would find a new home in Leith. But after proposed costs for the venture were deemed too high, the ship was sold to a Turkish scrap merchant, a fate which befell her sister ships, HMS Manchester and HMS Liverpool.
The Type 42s, of which the most famous were Falklands veterans Sheffield and Coventry, were small ships, designed to be just 3500-tons standard displacement with a length of 392 feet at the waterline making them more frigate than destroyer. Equipped with the Sea Dart twin surface-to-air missile system, Edinburgh fired the last ever operational Sea Dart missiles in 2012.
HMS Edinburgh conducted the last ever Sea Dart missile firing at the North Western Scottish range of Benbecula. The Ship fired five missiles, three single missiles and a two missile salvo at an Unmanned Drone target. HMS Edinburgh conducted the final Sea Dart Missile firing at the North Western Scottish range of Benbecula. The Ship fired five missiles, three single missiles and a two missile salvo at an Unmanned Drone target. This is the last time the 30 year old missile system will be fired as it is due to be replaced by the Sea Viper system fitted to the latest Type 45 destroyers. (MoD Crown Copyright)
16 were completed of which 2, ironically, were sold to Argentina and one of these, the 38 year old ARA Hércules (B-52) which has been converted to an APD style vessel capable of transporting 250 Argentine marines, will soon be the last Type 42 afloat.
