HMS Diamond
Ready to embark on her first operational deployment this spring, HMS Diamond is the third of Britain's fleet of six Type 45 destroyers. Launched on the Clyde by our sponsor, Lady Johns, in November 2007, the ship arrived in Portsmouth in the autumn of 2010 and was commissioned in the spring of 2011.
Diamond was formally declared operational in the summer of 2011, since when her ship's company have been undergoing rigorous training in preparing for Diamond's first deployment.
Our motto befits our name: Honor clarissima gemma – honour is the brightest jewel – and, appropriately enough, we're playing a leading role in this year's Diamond Jubilee celebrations.
We are proud to be affiliated with the cities of Coventry and Aberdeen.
COMMANDING OFFICER
I suffer from wanderlust… so I’m in the perfect job! I enjoy most outdoor pursuits, especially sailing, skiing and scuba diving.
Cdr Ian ClarkeIan Clarke
- RANK:
- Commander
- JOINED:
- 1992
- SPECIALISATION:
- Warfare
- PREVIOUS UNITS:
- HMS Manchester, HMS Clyde
Military experience
Commander Ian Clarke assumed command of HMS Diamond, the third of the Royal Navy’s new Type 45 Air Defence destroyers, on 8th June 2010. He is privileged to be leading the Ship as it joins the Fleet: through the challenges of commissioning trials and training, in readiness for front-line operations from 2012.
Ian Clarke passed out of the Britannia Royal Naval College in 1992. Specialising in navigation, early sea-going appointments included the last Ton Class minesweeper Wilton, the frigate Coventry patrolling the Adriatic Sea to support peace-keeping in former Yugoslavia, the Hong Kong patrol ship Peacock in the period leading up to the handover of sovereignty to China, and the destroyer Newcastle providing assistance to Montserrat during volcanic activity. In 1999-2000 he commanded the Dartmouth Navigation Training Ship Orwell.
Qualifying as a Principal Warfare Officer (Above Water) in 2003, he joined the destroyer Manchester and disrupted several trans-Caribbean drug shipments; he stepped up as Operations Officer for the initial validation of the NATO Response Force (Maritime) and inaugural sea trials of the ‘Link 16’ Tactical Data Link. In 2007-9 he commanded the Offshore Patrol Vessel Tyne, being awarded the Jersey Cup for making an outstanding contribution to Fishery Protection. This was followed by command of the Falkland Islands Patrol Vessel Clyde, protecting British interests in the South Atlantic.
He has completed two staff appointments. During 2000-2001 he served as Flag Lieutenant to the Second Sea Lord and Commander-in-Chief Naval Home Command. In 2005-7 he was assigned to the HQ Directorate of Special Forces, including a stint deployed forward under NATO’s International Security and Assistance Force in Afghanistan.
Born in 1972, Ian Clarke was educated at Dover Grammar School for Boys. In 2005 he graduated from Kingston University, attaining an MSc in Technology (Maritime Operations). A keen sailor, he also enjoys skiing and scuba diving.
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WEAPONS SYSTEM
WEAPONS SYSTEM
TYPE 45 DESTROYER
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30mm Gun
Medium Calibre gun system
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30mm Gun
Medium Calibre gun system
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4.5Mk8 Gun
medium calibre weapon system
If you're looking for punch and firepower, then the 4.5in main gun, found on the forecastle of all the Royal Navy's frigates and destroyers, is the most obvious provider. Even in an age of missiles, there's still a need for a weapon to pulverise enemy positions and demoralise the foe - and the 4.5in gun has done so in the Falklands and Iraq. The gun can fire up to two dozen high explosive shells weighing more than 40kg (80lbs) at targets more than a dozen miles away - and nearly 18 miles if special extended-range shells are used. In various forms, the 4.5in has been the Navy's standard medium gun since before World War 2, embodied today by the Mk8 which has been in service since the early 1970s. There are two types of Mk8 used by the Fleet. The older Mod 0 (with its curved turret), which is gradually being replaced, and the angular Mod 1 (nicknamed Kryten after the robot on the sci-fi sitcom Red Dwarf) which is harder for enemy radar to pick up. The main purpose of the gun is Naval Gunfire Support – artillery bombardment of shore targets. In this role the gun is capable of firing the equivalent of a six-gun shore battery. The Mk8 can also be used effectively against surface targets at sea.
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Lynx Mk8
Helicopter weapons system
The Lynx truly is a jack of all trades, capable to taking on enemy ships (with Sea Skua missiles), enemy submarines (with Sting Ray torpedoes or depth charges), and smaller surface targets courtesy of machine-gun pods or sniper rifles. It can carry a Royal Marines boarding team, who abseil rapidly down ropes on to ships below, and regularly conducts surveillance and reconnaissance missions using its dazzling array of sensors, cameras and recording equipment. The Lynx is the backbone of the Fleet Air Arm and front-line operations by the frigate and destroyer fleets, operating over the ice of Antarctica and the sands of the Gulf, the expanse of the Indian and Atlantic Oceans, the confines of the Strait of Gibraltar or English Channel
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Phalanx
Short range machine gun
Throwing up an impenetrable wall of fire, Phalanx is one of the deadly last lines of defence for Britain's warships. It is fitted to Type 42 and Type 45 destroyers and Bay, Wave and Fort Victoria-class ships in the RFA Capable of engaging targets around one mile away, Phalanx is a radar-controlled Gatling gun which fires 20mm shells, spewing out 3,000 rounds a minute. Like Goalkeeper, it is designed to engage incoming enemy aircraft and missiles if they penetrated a ship or task group's outer ring of defences such as Sea Viper or Sea Dart. During Operation Telic, Phalanx guns were removed from ships and were crewed by sailors defending Basra airport, the hub of British operations in southern Iraq. The guns saw extensive action against incoming rockets and mortars fired by insurgents.
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Phalanx
Short range machine gun
Throwing up an impenetrable wall of fire, Phalanx is one of the deadly last lines of defence for Britain's warships. It is fitted to Type 42 and Type 45 destroyers and Bay, Wave and Fort Victoria-class ships in the RFA Capable of engaging targets around one mile away, Phalanx is a radar-controlled Gatling gun which fires 20mm shells, spewing out 3,000 rounds a minute. Like Goalkeeper, it is designed to engage incoming enemy aircraft and missiles if they penetrated a ship or task group's outer ring of defences such as Sea Viper or Sea Dart. During Operation Telic, Phalanx guns were removed from ships and were crewed by sailors defending Basra airport, the hub of British operations in southern Iraq. The guns saw extensive action against incoming rockets and mortars fired by insurgents.
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Sea Viper
Surface to Air missile system
Sea Viper is the punch of the Type 45 destroyers, the very reason the ships exist - and the reason why that main mast is so tall. The missile provides all-round defence – not just for the destroyer but for an entire naval task group - against all aerial threats some 70 miles away. It races towards its target at speeds in excess of Mach Four (over 3,000mph) using a series of tiny jets to manoeuvre, carrying out sharp turns at G forces no human could endure. The system comprises Sampson radar (the spinning egg atop the Type 45’s main mast), a Combat Management System, long-range radar, the Sylver missile-launching system on the destroyer's forecastle and Aster 15 and Aster 30 missiles with ranges up to 20 and 75 miles respectively. Until January 28 2009 – the date of the arrival of the first Type 45, HMS Daring, in Portsmouth – Sea Viper was known as PAAMS: Principal Anti-Air Missile System. The missiles were tested at France's missile range, the Centre d’Essais de Lancement des Missiles on Île du Levant, off Toulon, using a special trials barge, Longbow, before the first successful firing from Type 45. That came off the Outer Hebrides in September 2010 at the Benbecula ranges, where HMS Dauntless successfully shot down a drone target.
ABOUT THE UNIT
KEY STATISTICS
- Pennant
D34
- Displacement
8,000tonnes
- Complement
190personnel
- Length
152Metres
- Beam
21.2metres
- Draught
5.3metres
- Top Speed
30+knots
- Range (Nautical)
7,000nautical miles
- Launch Date
27/11/07
- Commissioned date
06/05/11
- Length of Cable Aboard
380Miles












































