There have been three warships to bear the name Manchester in the Royal Navy from a small stores ship in the early 1800s to today's modern Type 42 destroyer. The current ship was named after the city of Manchester in the north-west of England, and retains close links with the city.

HMS Manchester (1814-?)

The first HMS Manchester was a hired vessel used in the role of a stores ship, these relatively mundane duties, are a complete contradiction to the present '\'Manchester''.

HMS Manchester (1937-1942)


The second HMS Manchester was launched on 12th April
1937, and was a Gloucester Class cruiser, with a displacement of approximately 9,400 tonnes, and had an armament of 12 x 6 inch guns. She first saw action during the ill-fated Norwegian Campaign in 1940. In 1941 she, along with other Royal Navy warships engaged an Italian cruiser squadron, that became known as the Battle of Spartivento, in which she won her second battle honour. She also gained battle honours during the arduous, and dangerous Arctic and Malta convoys in 1941-42. In 1942 while escorting a convoy off Tunisia, she was spotted by a German U-Boat, and was torpedoed and eventually scuttled by her crew.

HMS Manchester (1980-present day)


The current HMS Manchester (D95) is a
Type 42 (Batch 3) and was launched in 1980 and commissioned in 1982. In 1991 during the Gulf War she participated in numerous operations in the Persian Gulf, aimed at primarily upholding the trade blockade imposed on Iraq during their invasion of Kuwait. Manchester has recently been on a six-month deployment to the Carribean, mainly on counter-drug operations and a display of security to Britain's Overseas Territories in the area. This deployment ended in December 2003 and culminated in a £19 million pounds drug bust. Manchester is now docked in Portsmouth with other ships of the 5th Destroyer Squadron.

Norway 1940, Spartivento 1941, Malta 1942, Arctic 1942, Persian Gulf 1991

Type 42 (Batch 3) Characteristics

  • Displacement: 5,200 tonnes
  • Length: 141 metres/462.5 feer
  • Beam: 15.2 metres/50 feet
  • Speed: 30 knots
  • '''Complement: 287 (Maximum 301)
  • Armament:
    • Twin Sea Dart missile launcher
    • 4.5 inch (114mm) Mk 8 Gun
    • 2 x 20mm Oerlikon Close-range guns
    • 2 Vulcan Phalanx close-in weapons system (CIWS)
    • 2 X Triple anti-submarine torpedo tubes
    • NATO Seagnat and DLF3 Decoy launchers
  • Aircraft: Lynx Mk 8 helicopters:
    • Armament
      • Sea Skua anti-ship missiles
      • Stingray anti-submarine torpedoes
      • Mk 11 depth charges
      • Machine guns
  • Propulsion: Combined Gas and Gas (COGAG) turbines, 2 shafts 2 turbines producing 36MW