ANTRIM HMS destroyer (D 18)

[aukepalmhof]

Built as a guided missile armed destroyer under yard No 833 by the Fairfield Shipbuilding Repair & Eng. Co. Ltd. yard in Govan on the Upper Clyde for the Royal Navy.
20 January 1966 keel laid down.
10 October 1967 launched under the name HMS ANTRIM (D 18), she was christened by Mrs Roy Mason, wife of the then Minister of Defence of the U.K. She was one of the County class, six sisters. Named after the County of Antrim in Northern Ireland.
Displacement 5.440 ton standard, 6.200 ton full load. Dim. 158.64 x 16.45 x 6.09m. (draught).
Powered by COSAG, two geared steam turbines 30.000 shp, 4 G6 gas turbines 30.000 shp. Twin shafts, speed 32 knots.
Range 4.000 miles by a speed of 28 knots.
Armament 4 – 4.5 inch, 2 – 20mm guns, 1 twin Seaslug SAM launcher, 2 quadruple Seacat SAM launchers, and 2 – 12.75 inch triple torpedoes tubes.
One Westland Wessex helicopter.
Crew 471.
14 July 1970 commissioned.

During the mid-1970s underwent a refit, where her B turret was removed, and four Exocet container were mounted, immediately before the bridge.
She took part in the Falkland War in 1982, under command of Capt. B.G. Young; she was the flagship of Operation Paraquat, the recovery of South Georgia.
Later present at the San Carlos landings, where she was hit on 21 May 1982 in the morning around 10.40 she received a direct hit of a 454 kg bomb, the bomb got straight through the deck and landed in the Seaslug magazine room, but fortunately the bomb did not explode.
There was considerable damage, which kept her away from front line duties the rest of the war.

After the Falkland War she was repaired and underwent a refit, from the lessons learnt in this war some modification were incorporated.
Her Wessex helicopter was replaced by a more modern Lynx helicopter.
Mostly to a large complement most of this class was already decommissioned and sold before their operational lifespan.
1984 The ANTRIM was decommissioned.

She was sold to the Chilean Navy for £5 million.
22 June 1984 commissioned in the Chilean Navy under the name ALMIRANTE COCHRANE.
09 September 1984 she arrived in Coquimbo, Chile. Then she proceeded to Talcahuano for a refit, but first she made a visit to Valparaiso where she arrived on 10 September.
Under refit from October 1984 till April 1985 by the Asmar shipyard at Talcahuano.
29 April 1985 the Commander in Chief of the Chilean Fleet, Vice-Admiral Sergio Sánchez Luna’s hoisted his pennant on the ALMIRANTE COCHRANE.

She took part in a number of operations, such as the Unitas, Team Work South, and exercises with friendly navy units.
April 1990 she was visited by Royal Navy officer Michael Cochrane, a descendant of Admiral Cochrane after the ship was named. Princess Anne of Britain visited also the vessel in September 1990.

22 December 1990 after a refit and modernization was she reclassified as a Leader Destroyer Helicopter Carrier (DLH) and was she used from March 1992 in operating midsize helicopters. And fitted out with the Israeli Barak 1 SAM launchers replacing the Seaslug system. She carried now two Cougar attack helicopters.

Took also part in the first joint exercise Integración between Chilean and Argentine warships in November 1998 in the waters off the Chilean coast.

22 September 2006 retired at Valparaiso Naval base.
24 September sent to the Talcahuano Naval Base.
07 December 2006 decommissioned at Talcahuano.
2007 Most probably still at Talcahuano.
BU China 2010.

South Georgia & South Sandwich Islands 2007 in border of MS.
Ascension 2007 35p sg?, scott?
Anguilla 2002 30c SG1119, Scott 1073

Source: Royal navy Destroyers since 1945 by Leo Marriott. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Antrim_(D18) http://homepage.ntlworld.com/tinyjer/html/antrim.html
The Encyclopedia of Warships.