HMS Hampshire (D06)

HMS Hampshire was a County-class destroyer destroyer of the Royal Navy. Laid down, in March 1959 a couple of weeks behind the class leader HMS Devonshire (D02), she was classified as a guided missile destroyer, as the Sea Lords regarded the concept of the cruiser and big gun ship as discredited by the perceived failure of the Tiger-class cruiser and the obsolescence of the heavy gun. The description of guided missile destroyer seemed more likely to win approval from the Treasury and Government for an adequate number of warships the size of small cruisers, which could play many traditional cruiser flagship and command functions, but had no armour around its gun and missile magazine.

Construction and design
Hampshire was one of two County-class destroyers ordered under the British Admiralty's 1955–56 shipbuilding programme. She was laid down at John Brown & Company's Clydebank shipyard on 26 March 1959 and launched by Princess Margaret on 16 March 1961. The ship was completed on 15 March 1963, and was the fifth ship of that name to serve with the Royal Navy.

Hampshire was 521 ft long overall and 505 ft between perpendiculars, with a beam of 54 ft and a draught of 20 ft. Displacement was 6200 LT normal and 6800 LT deep load. The ship was propelled by a combination of steam turbines and gas turbines in a Combined steam and gas (COSAG) arrangement, driving two propeller shafts. Each shaft could by driven by a single 15000 shp steam turbine (fed with steam at 700 psi and 950 F) from Babcock & Wilcox boilers ) and two Metrovick G6 gas turbines (each rated at 7500 shp), with the gas turbines being used for high speeds and to allow a quick departure from ports without waiting for steam to be raised. Maximum speed was 30 kn and the ship had a range of 3500 nmi at 28 kn.

A twin launcher for the Seaslug anti-aircraft missile was fitted aft. The Seaslug GWS1 was a beam riding missile which had an effective range of about 34000 yd. Up to 39 Seaslugs could be carried horizontally in a magazine that ran much of the length of the ship. Close-in anti-aircraft protection was provided by a pair of Seacat (missile) launchers, while two twin QF 4.5 inch Mark V gun mounts were fitted forward. A helicopter deck and hangar allowed a single Westland Wessex helicopter to be operated.

A Type 965 long-range air-search radar and a Type 278 height-finding radar was fitted on the ship's mainmast, with a Type 992Q navigation radar and an array of ESM aerials were mounted on the ship's foremast. Type 901 fire control radar for the Seaslug missile was mounted aft. Type 184 sonar was fitted.

Operational service
On 18 June 1963, Hampshire interrupted trials, to host the burial at sea of Admiral Cunningham, off the Nab Tower, near the Isle of Wight. In March 1964, as part of efforts to reinforce British forces in the Far East in response to the escalating Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation, Hampshire left Britain, arriving at Singapore on 13 April.

From her third Commission in 1967 Hampshire flew the flag of the Flag Officer, Western Fleet (United Kingdom). In July 1969 she was present at Torbay for the Royal Review and presentation of a new colour to the Western Fleet (United Kingdom).

Decommissioning and disposal
In the late 1960s there were plans to upgrade Hampshire and sister destroyers armed with Seaslug Mk 1, with Seaslug Mk 2 and a digital combat system being fitted, but the upgrade of Hampshire and Devonshire was cancelled on 31 March 1967 because of the amount of the time the ships would be out of the operational fleet, with the remaining two upgrades cancelled in 1968.

In 1976 she was the first of the County-class destroyers to be decommissioned. This was at a time the Labour Government was making severe defence cuts under pressure from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). She was cannibalised for spares to service her sister ships and subsequently sold for scrap in 1979, being broken up at Briton Ferry by Thos. W. Ward.

Commanding officers
Notable commanding officers include R A Trowbridge from 1967-1969 and R P Clayton between 1969 and 1970.

In media
The Hampshire appears in the UFO episode "Destruction", as it is used to secretly place sealed tanks filled with lethal gas from an unnamed war under water.