January 2012

LIVERPOOL – Libyan Stats : The Type 42 Destroyer LIVERPOOL on station from April 2011, until recently, to support Operation UNIFIED PROTECTOR enforcing the no-fly zone and conducting embargo operations to prevent arms from reaching pro-Gaddafi forces by sea racked up some interesting statistics.    The tempo of this mission varied of course, but the ship spent 81 hours at action stations, on 28 separate occasions, and were fired at and returned fire 10 times.  In all the ship fired 211 rounds of illumination and high explosive shells from her 4.5-inch (114mm) gun which lighted up pro-Gaddafi positions for NATO aircraft to identify and destroy.   The ship's company witnessed the siege of Misurata and the fall of Tripoli, Zlitan, Al Khums and Sirte while enforcing the no-fly zone.    The Fighter Controllers onboard spent 360 hours controlling 14 different types of aircraft from a number of NATO countries.   The LIVERPOOL spent much of the time working alongside the Minehunter BROCKLESBY, later BANGOR acting on essentially as a “picket vessels”, a job which would normally have been undertaken by NIMROD maritime reconnaissance aircraft.   After a brief period at Portsmouth refitting the ship will make a formal farewell visit to London and then the ship will take up the role of Fleet Ready Escort.     The LIVERPOOL is scheduled to complete naval service shortly have first commissioned on the 1^st July 1982.