HMS Plymouth, which played a central role in the Falklands war, is reported to have been sold for scrap
The former
Royal Navy frigate has been looking for a
home since the Warship Preservation Trust (WPT) folded in 2006, but will soon
be on her way to a breaker’s yard overseas, most probably in Turkey.
It is 30 years since Lieutenant
Alfredo Astiz signed the surrender of Argentine forces in South Georgia in Plymouth’s
wardroom. Just days later the frigate came under heavy air attack in San Carlos
Water, and was hit and seriously damaged by cannon shells and four bombs.
Plymouth was handed over for preservation following her decommissioning
in 1988, initially in Glasgow and later in Birkenhead, but all attempts to find
a suitable berth for the vessel over the past six years appear to have failed.
An inventory of artefacts and anything of
historic interest aboard is being made for the National Museum of the Royal
Navy, and Peel Ports Mersey is consulting with the
National Register of Historic Vessels to ensure that
the ship is de-constructed in a safe and legal manner.
