HMS Diamond (D34)

HMS Diamond is the third ship of the Type 45 or Daring-class air-defence destroyers built for the Royal Navy. She was launched in 2007, completed her contractor's sea trials in July 2010 and arrived at her base port on 22 September 2010. Diamond was commissioned in a traditional ceremony on 6 May 2011, and formally entered service on 12 July 2011.[32][33]

For other ships with the same name, see HMS Diamond.

HMS Diamond in 2016
History
United Kingdom
NameHMS Diamond
Ordered20 December 2000[1]
BuilderBAE Systems Surface Fleet Solutions
Yard number1063[2]
Laid down25 February 2005
Launched27 November 2007
Sponsored byLady Johns
Commissioned6 May 2011[3]
Identification
Motto
  • Honor clarissima gemma
  • ("Honour is the brightest jewel")
Nickname(s)"The Jewel in the Naval Crown"
StatusIn active service, as of 2021
Badge
General characteristics
Class and typeType 45 Guided missile destroyer
Displacement8,000[7] to 8,500 t (8,400 long tons; 9,400 short tons)[8][9][10]
Length152.4 m (500 ft 0 in)
Beam21.2 m (69 ft 7 in)
Draught7.4 m (24 ft 3 in)
Installed power
Propulsion
SpeedIn excess of 30 kn (56 km/h; 35 mph)[12]
RangeIn excess of 7,000 nautical miles (13,000 km) at 18 kn (33 km/h)[12]
Complement191[13] (accommodation for up to 235)
Sensors and
processing systems
Electronic warfare
& decoys
Armament
Aircraft carried
Aviation facilities
  • Large flight deck
  • Enclosed hangar

Construction

Diamond's construction began at the BAE Systems Naval Ships yard at Govan on the River Clyde in February 2005. She was launched on 27 November 2007.[34]

Sea trials

By July 2010, Diamond had been fully fitted out and finished her contractors' sea trials (stage 1 trials). She arrived in her base port of HMNB Portsmouth on 22 September 2010.[35]

Operational service
Diamond operating with HMAS Melbourne in 2012

Diamond was commissioned in a traditional ceremony on 6 May 2011 in her home port of Portsmouth. The ceremony was attended by the ship's sponsor and the Commander-in-Chief Fleet Admiral Sir Trevor Soar.[36] Diamond continued undergoing sea trials until she entered operational service in July 2011 after the completion of her trials. The ship conducted operational training before commencing her first overseas deployment.[33] Diamond commenced her deployment in the summer of 2012,[37] starting with celebrations to mark the Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.[38]

Diamond was in the Middle East Area of Operations in 2012. During Operation Recsyr in February 2014 she escorted MV Ark Futura carrying chemical agents from Syria.

On 8 May 2017, Diamond performed a demonstration firing of an Aster 30 off the coast of Scotland.[39]

On 4 September 2017, Diamond sailed for a 9-month deployment to the Middle East, initially scheduled to relieve HMS Monmouth,[40] she was instead diverted to take over as flagship of Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 from sister HMS Duncan when her intended relief, HMS Ocean was redeployed to provide relief to British Overseas Territories in the Caribbean in the wake of Hurricane Irma.[41] Diamond was relieved of her NATO duties upon the return of Ocean from the Caribbean on 30 October and resumed her planned deployment to relieve Monmouth.[42] However, on 23 November, The Times reported that Diamond was being forced to abandon her deployment and return to Portsmouth early due to mechanical issues, which was later confirmed by the Ministry of Defence.[43][44]

On 10 April 2021, Diamond left Portsmouth to conduct a 41-gun salute after the passing of His Royal Highness Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh. The ship flew her ensign at half-mast.[45]

In 2021, the ship initially deployed to the Far East as part of the UK carrier strike group centred on HMS Queen Elizabeth. However, she was compelled to detach from the group for repair in July due to reported "technical issues" likely linked to longstanding power and propulsion reliability issues with ships of the class.[46] It was later reported that the ship had "suffered a failure of one of her gas turbines".[47] Repairs were undertaken in Taranto, Italy and at the end of August Diamond returned to sea to rejoin the group.[48] In mid-October 2021, after rejoining the strike group, the destroyer again experienced "technical issues", however this time reportedly not related to her propulsion system and was a decision was made to put into Singapore to have them addressed.[49]

In 2023, Diamond, with Wildcat embarked, was again escorting Queen Elizabeth for her "Operation FIREDRAKE" deployment in northern European waters.[50]

Characteristics
Main article: Type 45 destroyer § Characteristics

Affiliations

Ship's sponsor

Official affiliations

Other

As part of her affiliation with Coventry, Diamond carries a cross of nails created from the remains of Coventry Cathedral. At the end of the Second World War a cross of nails was created out of the wreckage and has been presented to all ships that carry the name Coventry. It was recovered from the wreck of HMS Coventry by divers after she was sunk in the Falklands War and presented to the crew of Diamond on her commissioning by Captain David Hart-Dyke, the commanding officer of Coventry at the time of her sinking.[32]

The City of Sheffield was offered affiliation to Diamond, but this was turned down by Sheffield City Council and the Lord Mayor, who want the city associated with another HMS Sheffield.[53] The affiliation has now been transferred to the City of Coventry.[54][55]

Notes

    References
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    2. "HMS Diamond". Clyde-built Ship Database. Archived from the original on 6 May 2006. Retrieved 21 June 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
    3. "HMS Diamond to join fleet". The News. 4 May 2011. Retrieved 6 May 2011.
    4. "Doff your caps to Diamond". Navy News. 8 October 2010. Archived from the original on 8 June 2011. Retrieved 23 May 2011.
    5. "Call Sign Book" (PDF). Combined Communication Electronics Board. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 July 2011. Retrieved 8 October 2010.
    6. "World Shipping Register - Ship Index". Archived from the original on 31 May 2011. Retrieved 12 July 2009.
    7. "Type 45 Destroyer". Royal Navy. Retrieved 6 November 2011.
    8. "HMS Daring leaves Sydney after spectacular week of celebrations". Royal Navy. Retrieved 13 October 2013.
    9. "For Queen and Country". Navy News (July 2012): Page 8. One hundred or so miles west of the largest city of Abidjan lies the fishing port of Sassandra, too small to accommodate 8,500-tonnes of Type 45.
    10. "HMS Duncan joins US Carrier on strike operations against ISIL". Navy News. Royal Navy. 7 July 2015. Archived from the original on 10 July 2015. Retrieved 9 July 2015. As well as supporting the international effort against the ISIL fundamentalists – the 8,500-tonne warship has also joined the wider security mission in the region.
    11. "HMS Daring". Wärtsilä. Archived from the original on 28 October 2014. Retrieved 1 August 2011.
    12. "HMS Daring - Type 45 facts by Royal Navy.pdf". Retrieved 22 July 2016.
    13. Royal Navy (11 July 2013). A Global Force 2012/13 (PDF). Newsdesk Media. ISBN 978-1-906940-75-1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 September 2018. Complement as of 24 April 2013
    14. "Raytheon Press Release" (PDF). 8 March 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 March 2012. Retrieved 31 January 2008.
    15. "Jane's Electro-Optic Systems". 28 October 2010. Archived from the original on 3 May 2012. Retrieved 21 August 2011.
    16. "Fleet to get the latest in electronic surveillance" (PDF). DESider. Ministry of Defence. September 2012. p. 18. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 September 2012.
    17. "UK to buy Shaman CESM for Seaseeker SIGINT programme". IHS Janes Defense. 29 June 2014.
    18. "Type 45 Ballistic Missile Defence upgrade to support more than 100 UK jobs". UK Government. 24 May 2022. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
    19. "HMS Defender destroys drone in exercise which paves the way for future of air defence at sea". royalnavy.mod.uk. 2 June 2023. Retrieved 4 June 2023.
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    23. @NavyLookout (17 March 2023). "@HMSDuncan sails from Portsmouth this afternoon. Has been re-equipped with Harpoon missiles - the first Type 45 to carry SSM for several years" (Tweet). Retrieved 18 March 2023 – via Twitter.
    24. "Can the UK supply anti-ship missiles to Ukraine?". 10 April 2022.
    25. Scott, Richard (16 February 2022). "UK confirms cancellation of I-SSGW programme". Janes Information Services. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
    26. "Royal Navy to buy the Naval Strike Missile". Navy Lookout. 23 November 2022. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
    27. "Royal Navy ships to be fitted with advanced new missile system". gov.uk. 23 November 2022. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
    28. "The all-rounder – the 30mm Automated Small Calibre Gun in focus". Navy Lookout. 13 January 2021. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
    29. "In focus: the 50 cal heavy machine gun in Royal Navy service". Navy Lookout. 5 May 2023. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
    30. "Royal Navy's Sea Venom light anti-ship missile full operating capability delayed until 2026". Navy Lookout. 21 June 2023.
    31. "Air Defence Destroyer (T45)". Royal Navy. Archived from the original on 31 October 2007. Retrieved 20 November 2007.
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    34. "Destroyer launches on Clyde". BBC. 27 November 2007. Retrieved 27 November 2007.
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    37. "HMS Diamond". Royal Navy. 2014. Retrieved 28 October 2014.
    38. "HMS Diamond marks Jubilee with Portsmouth celebrations". BBC News. 1 June 2012. Retrieved 28 October 2014.
    39. "HMS Diamond shows Type 45's potent firepower in high sea missile test". www.royalnavy.mod.uk. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
    40. "HMS Diamond sails for the gulf for nine month operational deployment". Royal Navy. 2017. Retrieved 5 September 2017.
    41. "Warship to help with hurricane relief operations - The News". Archived from the original on 11 September 2017.
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    44. Baldwin, Harriett (12 December 2017). "HMS Diamond:Written question - 117262". UK Parliament. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
    45. Royal Navy ships fire at sea in honour of Prince Philip - BBC News, archived from the original on 17 December 2021, retrieved 12 April 2021
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    48. @NavyLookout (1 September 2021). "Good news. @hmsdiamond sailed from Taranto🇮🇹 early yesterday morning after completing repairs to major engine defe…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
    49. "HMS Diamond in port due to 'technical issues'". 18 October 2021.
    50. "2023 Carrier Strike Group deployment begins". Navy Lookout. 11 September 2023.
    51. "HMS Diamond Affiliations". Royal Navy. 2011. Archived from the original on 13 April 2011. Retrieved 28 October 2014.
    52. "CCF - Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School".
    53. "Give us our HMS Sheffield". Sheffield Star. Archived from the original on 23 December 2007. Retrieved 11 March 2009.
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