HMS Albion (L14)
1.jpg) HMS Albion in the Kiel Canal |
|
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Shipyard | |
| Order | July 18, 1996 |
| Keel laying | May 23, 1998 |
| Launch | March 9, 2001 |
| Namesake | Albion |
| 1. Period of service |
|
| Commissioning | June 19, 2003 |
| home port | Devonport |
| Technical specifications | |
| displacement |
18,500 tons |
| length |
176 m |
| width |
29 m |
| Draft |
7.1 m |
| crew |
325 seamen, 660 landing troops |
| drive |
4 diesel-electric generators |
| speed |
18 knots |
| Range |
8,000 nautical miles at 18 knots |
| Armament |
2 × Goalkeeper - CIWS + 2 × 30 mm guns |
| helicopter | |
The HMS Albion (L14) is the first of two new amphibious landing ships ( LPD ) for the British Royal Navy and the ninth ship of that name. She belongs to the Albion class named after her and, with her sister ship HMS Bulwark, replaced the landing ships HMS Intrepid and HMS Fearless from the 1960s. The Albion was built in Barrow-in-Furness .
history
In the mid-1990s, the Royal Navy needed a replacement for its obsolete DropShips, HMS Intrepid and HMS Fearless . In 1996, the Ministry of Defense placed an order with the armaments company British Aerospace for the construction of two larger and more powerful ships. In 1998 the construction of the HMS Albion began . After commissioning in 2003, the ship completed extensive tests in the North Sea and the Atlantic by April 2004 . It took part in the Joint Winter 04 maneuver off the coast of Norway , where it acted for the first time as a command center and landing ship. She also took part in two maneuvers off the coasts of the United States and Scotland . In November 2004 she was sent to the coast of West Africa to provide humanitarian aid in the Ivory Coast . In July 2005 she took part in the International Fleet Review in the Solent . The first modernization of the command and communication facilities took place in Rosyth at the beginning of 2006 . At the end of 2006, the HMS Albion acted as the flagship of a fleet of 13 ships off the coast of West Africa .
According to the requirements of the government's new white paper published in October 2010, the ship is now only part of the reserve fleet and is being held in an extended readiness . In 2016, she is scheduled to return to the fleet in high readiness status, where she will replace her sister ship.
construction
When building the Albion class , they benefited from the experience they had already gained with the HMS Ocean . This made it possible to build the ship largely according to civil standards. This significantly reduced both construction and operating costs. In addition, the design of the Invincible class was used in the construction of the hull . In favor of cheaper and more environmentally friendly electric motors powered by four diesel generators, the maximum speed was limited to 18 knots .
The ships have the capacity to take up to 660 additional soldiers and equipment and 30 armored vehicles or up to 6 Challenger 2 for landing operations on board. Aft is a corrugated deck in which the four landing craft can be loaded. In addition, the class has a 64 m long and 28 m wide helicopter deck. This is able to accommodate three transport helicopters at the same time. Although the ships do not have a hangar, they still have facilities for maintaining and repairing the helicopters on board.
The Albion- class has one of the world's most modern mobile command centers . From here, even the largest military operations can be directed. It is also possible to coordinate soldiers from other nations on joint operations. The ships also supported the aircraft carriers ( HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales ) as a command ship.
