York sails south to replace her sister

GLIDING past Round Tower, this is the sight of a stretched Type 42 destroyer, HMS York to be precise, sailing on deployment.

D98 (where life is great, according to the matelot's adage) is bound for the Falklands to relieve her sister.

Britain’s fastest destroyer (34kts) is due in the Falklands in the middle of next month, allowing her sister Gloucester to head home.

The Type 42 will spend a few months in and around the Falklands and South Georgia, returning to Portsmouth in July via the Caribbean and finally the USA.

To ready York for the deployment south again (her previous tour of duty over the Austral summer of 2009-10 was also to the Falklands), the ship has received  two new gas turbines and she has loosed no fewer than seven Sea Dart missiles on the ranges off the Outer Hebrides to prove her main weapon system was fully functioning.

“We’ve been preparing hard for this deployment and I’m delighted with my ship’s company’s response to the training,” said Commanding Officer Cdr Simon Staley.

“Our families deserve a very special mention – and thanks – too. They have been the very cornerstone of strength for us all throughout a hugely-demanding period of regeneration.

“By sheer distance from the UK – and in the face of a harsh South Atlantic winter – the deployment will present some real challenges for us all, but this will be balanced by the visits to some wonderfully diverse countries.”