HMS Dauntless in 2012
History
United Kingdom
NameHMS Dauntless
Ordered20 December 2000[1]
BuilderBAE Systems Surface Fleet Solutions
Yard number1062[2]
Laid down28 August 2004
Launched23 January 2007
Commissioned3 June 2010[3]
Identification
Motto
  • Nil Desperandum
  • (Latin: "Never Despair")
StatusIn active service
Badge
General characteristics
Class and typeType 45 Guided missile destroyer
Displacement8,000[6] to 8,500 t (8,400 long tons; 9,400 short tons)[7][8][9]
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)[10]
RangeIn excess of 7,000 nautical miles (13,000 km) at 18 kn (33 km/h)[10]
Complement191[11] (accommodation for up to 235)
Sensors and
processing systems
Electronic warfare
& decoys
Armament
Aircraft carried
Aviation facilities
  • Large flight deck
  • Enclosed hangar

HMS Dauntless is the second ship of the Type 45 or Daring-class air-defence destroyers built for the British Royal Navy. She was launched at Govan in January 2007, was handed over to the Royal Navy on 3 December 2009 and was formally commissioned on 3 June 2010.

Construction

Dauntless's construction began at the BAE Systems Naval Ships yard at Govan in August 2004 on the River Clyde. She was launched on 23 January 2007 at 3.25 pm by Lady Burnell-Nugent, wife of Admiral Sir James Burnell-Nugent, the then-Commander-in-Chief Fleet. Dauntless is the adopted warship of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Because her modules were put together outside at BAE Govan, it was possible to complete more of her structure than her sister ship, Daring, which was launched from the covered facility at Scotstoun the previous year.

Sea trials

Upon completing her fitting out stage, HMS Dauntless sailed from the Clyde for the first time on 14 November 2008 to conduct sea trials, testing power and propulsion, weapons and communications systems. Although not yet transferred to the Royal Navy, some of her future crew sailed with her.[30] Dauntless arrived at HMNB Portsmouth for the first time on 2 December 2009, and was formally handed over to the Ministry of Defence by her builders on 3 December 2009.[31][32] During her sea trials Dauntless made her inaugural visit to her affiliated city of Newcastle upon Tyne in May 2010.

Operational history

Dauntless was commissioned on 3 June 2010 in the presence of her sponsor.[33] The MoD confirmed on 1 October 2010 that she had completed the first Sea Viper firing on a Hebridean firing range earlier in the week,[34] and the ship was accepted into service on 16 November the same year.[35]

In May 2011, Dauntless took part in Exercise Saxon Warrior in the Western Approaches, culminating in a so-called 'Thursday War'.[36]

In June 2011, Dauntless sailed across the Atlantic Ocean to Norfolk, Virginia, to take part in the FRUKUS war game exercises between Russia, France, the United States and the United Kingdom. En route in the Atlantic she rendezvoused and conducted manoeuvres with the Russian destroyer Admiral Chabanenko, which was also heading for the FRUKUS exercises, conducting cross helicopter exercises which saw Dauntless' two Lynx helicopters land on the Admiral Chabanenko. The deployment was the first time that two Lynxs had been deployed aboard a Type 45 destroyer.[37][38]

In September 2011, Dauntless was the first of the Type 45 destroyers to visit London. She sailed up the Thames and berthed opposite London City Airport for the Defence and Security Equipment International event.[39] On 25 November 2011, HMS Dauntless hosted Abdullah Gül, President of the Republic of Turkey.[40]

In January 2012, it was announced that Dauntless would deploy to the South Atlantic to replace HMS Montrose which was stationed around the Falkland Islands. The deployment was condemned by the government of Argentina, which claimed that the deployment represented a "militarization of the South Atlantic", despite the replacement representing only a modest increase in fighting capacity.[41][42][43]

Between 2011 and 2012 she was commanded by Captain William Warrender.[44]

In 2015, Dauntless re-sailed for the Middle East after a short delay, with a plan to take part in the centenary of the Gallipoli Campaign.[45] She conducted anti-piracy patrols, as well as provide escort to U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) which is involved in airstrikes against ISIL.[46] In November 2015, she participated with other NATO air defence ships in an "At Sea Demonstration", focusing on anti-ballistic missile warfare.[47]

In April 2016, The Independent stated that the vessel had been relegated to use as a training ship due to manpower and technical shortages, although this was disputed by the MOD at the time.[48] Her status as an engineering training ship pending entering refit was confirmed in June 2016.[49]

In 2019 Dauntless underwent a regeneration refit in Portsmouth before sailing to Birkenhead in May 2020 [50] as the first Type 45 to have new generators fitted under the Power Improvement Project. She left the shipyard on 14 June 2022 upon completion of the refit, and put to sea for the first time in two years.[51]

In May 2023, the destroyer deployed to the Caribbean for six months, taking over guardship duties there from HMS Medway which had temporarily deployed to the South Atlantic.[52] In September, the destroyer was involved in multiple operations that seized more than a tonne of cocaine from drug smugglers, worth over 200 million pounds.[53] In September the destroyer also visited the territories of Anguilla, Montserrat and the British Virgin Islands in order to assist local authorities in preparing for the climax of the hurricane season.[54]

Characteristics

Affiliations

Notes

    References

    1. ↑ Nicoll, Alexander (21 December 2000). "Vosper suffers blow over destroyer order". Financial Times. London. The MoD yesterday signed a £1.2bn contract with BAE Systems to oversee design and building of the first three destroyers...
    2. ↑ "HMS Dauntless". Clyde-built Ship Database. Retrieved 21 June 2009.
    3. ↑ "Royal Navy on Crest of a Wave". Royal Navy. 3 June 2010. Archived from the original on 6 June 2010. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
    4. ↑ "Royal Navy Bridge Card" (PDF). February 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 July 2009. Retrieved 20 June 2009.
    5. ↑ "Ship Index". World Shipping Register. Archived from the original on 31 May 2011. Retrieved 12 July 2009.
    6. ↑ "Type 45 Destroyer". Royal Navy. Retrieved 6 November 2011.
    7. ↑ "HMS Daring leaves Sydney after spectacular week of celebrations". Royal Navy. 11 October 2013. Retrieved 13 October 2013.
    8. ↑ "For Queen and Country". Navy News. July 2012. p. 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.
    9. ↑ "HMS Duncan joins US Carrier on strike operations against ISIL". Navy News. 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.
    10. 1 2 "HMS Daring – Type 45 facts". Royal Navy. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
    11. ↑ Aquilina, Pauline J.; Michell, Simon, eds. (24 April 2013). "Royal Navy Fleet Guide". A Global Force 2012/13 (PDF). p. 2. ISBN 978-1-906940-75-1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 December 2014 – via Newsdesk Media.
    12. ↑ "Raytheon Systems Ltd awarded further contract for Integrated Navigation System shipsets for the Type 45" (PDF). Raytheon. 8 March 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 March 2012. Retrieved 31 January 2008.
    13. ↑ "Ultra Electronics Series 2500 electro-optic tracking and fire-control system (United Kingdom)". Jane's Electro-Optic Systems. 28 October 2010. Archived from the original on 3 May 2012. Retrieved 21 August 2011.
    14. ↑ "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.
    15. ↑ Scott, Richard (29 June 2014). "UK to buy Shaman CESM for Seaseeker SIGINT programme". IHS Janes Defense. Archived from the original on 7 July 2014.
    16. ↑ "Type 45 Ballistic Missile Defence upgrade to support more than 100 UK jobs". UK Government. 24 May 2022. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
    17. ↑ "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.
    18. ↑ "£500m firepower upgrade for Type 45 destroyers". GOV.UK. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
    19. ↑ "Royal Navy's Type 45 destroyers – reaching their full potential with addition of Sea Ceptor missiles". Navy Lookout. 6 July 2021. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
    20. ↑ "Contenders for the Royal Navy's interim anti-ship missile requirement". navylookout.com. 26 August 2021. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
    21. ↑ @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.
    22. ↑ "Can the UK supply anti-ship missiles to Ukraine?". 10 April 2022.
    23. ↑ Scott, Richard (16 February 2022). "UK confirms cancellation of I-SSGW programme". Janes Information Services. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
    24. ↑ "Royal Navy to buy the Naval Strike Missile". Navy Lookout. 23 November 2022. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
    25. ↑ "Royal Navy ships to be fitted with advanced new missile system". gov.uk. 23 November 2022. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
    26. ↑ "The all-rounder – the 30mm Automated Small Calibre Gun in focus". Navy Lookout. 13 January 2021. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
    27. ↑ "In focus: the 50 cal heavy machine gun in Royal Navy service". Navy Lookout. 5 May 2023. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
    28. ↑ "Royal Navy's Sea Venom light anti-ship missile full operating capability delayed until 2026". Navy Lookout. 21 June 2023.
    29. ↑ "Air Defence Destroyer (T45)". Royal Navy. Archived from the original on 31 October 2007. Retrieved 20 November 2007.
    30. ↑ Henderson, Damien (15 November 2008). "HMS Dauntless departs for trials as Dragon is prepared for launch". The Herald. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
    31. ↑ "Dauntless Enters Portsmouth". Royal Navy. 2 December 2009. Archived from the original on 4 December 2009. Retrieved 2 December 2009.
    32. ↑ "New warship handed over to Navy". BBC News. 3 December 2009. Retrieved 3 December 2009.
    33. ↑ "HMS Dauntless commissioned into fleet". Ministry of Defence. 3 June 2010. Retrieved 27 September 2010.
    34. ↑ "Sea Viper fired from Type 45". Defence Management. 1 October 2010. Archived from the original on 9 July 2011. Retrieved 19 November 2010.
    35. ↑ "Dauntless enters into service". The News. 17 November 2010. Retrieved 19 November 2010.
    36. ↑ "George Bush bound for Portsmouth after war games with Royal Navy". Navy News. 23 May 2011. Archived from the original on 2 June 2011. Retrieved 26 May 2011.
    37. ↑ "Tsar turn from Dauntless at war games". Navy News. 22 June 2011. Archived from the original on 26 June 2011. Retrieved 22 June 2011.
    38. ↑ "Lynx pairing helps Dauntless pass another milestone". Navy News. 22 June 2011. Archived from the original on 18 March 2012. Retrieved 28 June 2011.
    39. ↑ "London Calling For HMS Dauntless". Royal Navy. 10 September 2011. Retrieved 13 September 2011.
    40. ↑ "Cumhurbaşkanı Gül, Portsmouth'taki Türk Deniz Şehitliği'ni Ziyaret Etti" [President Gül Visited Turkish Naval Cemetery in Portsmouth]. Presidency of the Republic of Turkey (in Turkish). 24 November 2011. Archived from the original on 30 January 2012. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
    41. ↑ Powell, Michael (31 January 2012). "HMS Dauntless to set sail for the Falklands as tensions build with Argentina". The News. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
    42. ↑ "HMS Dauntless destroyer deployed to Falklands by navy". BBC News. 31 January 2012. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
    43. ↑ "Downing Street denies UK is 'militarising' Falklands". BBC News. 8 February 2012. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
    44. ↑ "Captain Will Warrender". Ships Monthly. 25 November 2011. Retrieved 26 November 2017.
    45. ↑ "HMS Dauntless sails to the Gulf for anti-piracy patrols". Royal Navy. 2 January 2015. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
    46. ↑ "HMS Dauntless arrives East of Suez". Royal Navy. 28 January 2015. Archived from the original on 3 April 2015. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
    47. ↑ "Successful completion of at Sea Demonstration". Royal Navy. 3 November 2015. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
    48. ↑ Merrill, Jamie (1 April 2016). "Falklands left with no Royal Navy protection for first time since war". The Independent. Retrieved 3 April 2016.
    49. ↑ Philip Dunne, Minister for Defence Procurement (13 June 2016). "HMS Dauntless: Written question – 40030". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). House of Commons.
    50. ↑ "Navy destroyer prone to breaking down leaves city for huge upgrade to her engines".
    51. ↑ Allison, George (15 June 2022). "HMS Dauntless back at sea after two years with engines fixed". U.K. Defence Journal.
    52. ↑ "HMS Dauntless Deployed to Caribbean Region". Sea Waves Magazine. 31 May 2023.
    53. ↑ "Royal Navy hits drugs smugglers hard in double Caribbean bust". Royal Navy. 9 September 2023.
    54. ↑ "HMS Dauntless visits trio of Caribbean Islands in disaster relief preparation mission". Royal Navy. 4 October 2023. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
    55. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 "Affiliations". Royal Navy. Retrieved 10 February 2013.
    56. ↑ "Percy Hedley Foundation". Percy Hedley Foundation.
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