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Steel dawn: Work begins on new frigate, the fourth HMS Sheffield
28 November 2024
The fourth incarnation of the Shiny Sheff is today beginning to take shape after the first steel was cut for the Navy’s newest Type 26 frigate.
Watched by veterans of one of the most famous names in recent Royal Navy history, apprentices at BAE Systems’ Govan set to work with welding torches on steel plate which in the coming months and years will become part of a new HMS Sheffield.
Military, political and business leaders were among those invited into the workshop on the south bank of the Clyde to mark the milestone – there are now five of eight Type 26 warships in various stages of completion at BAE’s two facilities in Glasgow, being built to succeed the ageing Type 23 flotilla.
It’s part of a wider multi-billion-pound programme to replace the entire frigate force; three of five Type 31 frigates are also under construction on the Forth.
Collectively the two classes are creating/sustaining thousands of jobs – not merely on the rivers where the ships are being built, but UK wide; some 120 British firms are involved in supporting the Type 26s alone.
And in return for the investment, the Royal Navy will get eight frigates at the leading edge of anti-submarine warfare, quieter and more stealthy than anything which has gone before, packed from bow to stern with the latest tech to hunt-down hostile underwater threats, operated by dedicated men and women trained to the very highest standard.
It will be the principal role of Sheffield when she enters service next decade to protect both the UK’s Carrier Strike Groups and the submarines carrying the nation’s nuclear deterrent from any prying eyes/threats below the surface of the ocean.
In addition, unique ‘mission bays’ allow the Navy’s new PODS – shipping-container-sized boxes packed with equipment to support a specific operation, such as disaster relief, minehunting, or raids by Royal Marines – to be fitted easily if required, enhancing the versatility and capability of the City-class.
“Seeing the next Type 26 start the construction journey is a tangible representation of the success of the programme – thanks to the hard work put in by the DE&S and BAE Systems teams,” said Commodore Steve Roberts, the Senior Responsible Owner for the Type 26 programme.
“These advanced anti-submarine warfare ships will provide the Royal Navy with a world-class cutting-edge capability to protect our Nation’s interests well into the future.”
The fourth Shiny Sheff has a lot to live up to – underscored by the presence of guests connected with the three previous ships.
The steel cutting event marks another significant milestone in the Type 26 programme and is a very proud day for all those involved, particularly the members of the association, many of whom served in the Shiny Sheff on that fateful day in May ’82.
The Town-class cruiser was at the heart of the chase for the Bismarck in WW2, and later took part in the Arctic Convoys and sinking of the Scharnhorst on Boxing Day 1943. A sister of HMS Belfast which is now a floating museum on the Thames, she continued in service into the 1960s.
The second Sheffield led the class of Type 42 air defence destroyers and built up an impressive reputation before she tragically became the first Royal Navy warship lost to enemy action since World War 2 when she was hit by an Exocet missile off the Falklands in May 1982.
Her loss shocked the city, the Navy and the nation – such that the Sheffield name was resurrected just two years later when the third ship of the name was laid down: a Type 22 frigate which served under the White Ensign for 14 years (and continues to serve to this day with the Chilean Navy as Almirante Williams).
HMS Sheffield Association chairman Steve ‘Paddy’ Carbery served in the frigate and is now overseeing the engineering behind the guns being installed by BAE across the City class.
He is in no doubt the people of Sheffield will embrace the new ship as they did her predecessors.
“The people of Sheffield have always been fiercely proud of their links with the Senior Service and would turn out in significant numbers to greet and cheer on the many sailors who were lucky enough to march through the streets when the Freedom of the City was bestowed upon them,” he said.
“Our association enjoys an extremely close relationship with the city - exemplified back in 2022 when, with significant support from many Sheffield-based benefactors, a stainless steel memorial was designed, built and commissioned at the National Memorial Arboretum in honour of all former ships’ companies, timed to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the sinking.
“The steel cutting event marks another significant milestone in the Type 26 programme and is a very proud day for all those involved, particularly the members of the association, many of whom served in the Shiny Sheff on that fateful day in May ’82.”