HMS Sheffield: Work begins on fourth incarnation of famous ship, as steel is cut in Glasgow

The first steel plates for the fifth of the Royal Navy’s new £3.7 million fleet of submarine hunters, a Type 26 frigate which is named after the city, was cut on Thursday, November 28.

It is 22 years since the last HMS Sheffield, a Type 22 frigate, was decommissioned in 2022, before being sold to the Chilean navy.

And it is 42 years since the second HMS Sheffield, a Type 42 destroyer, was hit by an Argentinian missile during the Falklands War, tragically killing 20 crew members and injuring many more.

The first HMS Sheffield, a Town-class cruiser, was dubbed the Shiny Sheff due to the lustre of its stainless steel fittings. It served with distinction from 1937 to 1964, winning 12 battle honours during the Second World War to make it one of Britain’s most decorated military ships.

The HMS Sheffield has always had a close connection with the city after which it is named, with many of those who have served on the three ships to date hailing from South Yorkshire.

A ceremony is held in Sheffield each year to remember those killed on board during the Falklands War, and in 2022 a memorial made in the city from Sheffield steel was unveiled to mark the 40th anniversary of the disaster.

Veterans who served on the previous HMS Sheffields, including some who lost colleagues in the disaster, were among those watching as work began on its fourth incarnation at BAE Systems’ Govan workshop on the banks of Glasgow’s River Clyde.

Among them was HMS Sheffield Association chairman Steve ‘Paddy’ Carbery, who served on the last HMS Sheffield and is now overseeing the engineering behind the guns being installed by BAE on the new ‘City class’ ships.

Sheffield ‘fiercely proud’ of links with ship

He said: “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.

“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.”

The new HMS Sheffield is one of eight new Type 26 warships being built, five of which are now under construction. They will replace the navy’s ageing Type 23 flotilla.

The other seven ships are named after Glasgow, Cardiff, Belfast, Birmingham, Newcastle, Edinburgh and London.

It was announced in 2018 that one of the new submarine-hunters would be named HMS Sheffield.

The new HMS Sheffield is reportedly expected to enter service in 2031, though the Royal Navy said it has not committed to a date at this stage.

The Ministry of Defence said the new anti-submarine ships were ‘quieter and more stealthy than anything which has gone before’ and are equipped with the latest technology to ‘hunt down hostile underwater threats’.

The principal role of the new HMS Sheffield, it added, will be to protect both the UK’s Carrier Strike Groups and the submarines carrying Britain’s nuclear deterrent from any ‘prying eyes/threats’ below the surface of the ocean.

Commodore Steve Roberts, the senior responsible officer for the Type 26 programme, said: “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.”