HMS ARROW Commissioning Souvenir 1976 HMS, ARROW Celeriter Certus. Displacement 3300 tons Length overall 384 ft. Beam 41.75 ft. Laid down 25 September 1972 Launched 5 February 1974 Commissioned into the Third Frigate Squadron at Sunderland on 29 July 1976. Armament Machinery Complement 4.5 inch Mk. 8 gun 2 x Olympus Gas Turbines 1 3 Officers Quadruple Exocet (Surface/Surface Missiles) 2 x Tyne Gas Turbines. 167 Ratings. Quadruple Seacat (Surface/Air Missiles) 2 sets of triple torpedo tubes (Not yet fitted) 2 x 20mm Oerlikon guns. Helicopter (A Wasp to be replaced later by a Lynx) THE SEVENTH HMS ARROW The previous ARROW (1782 tons) was built by Vickers Armstrong Commanding Officers of the and launched in August, 1929, the last of the "Acasta" class Seventh HMS ARROW (1930-43) destroyers. Her Parsons I.R. turbines gave her a top speed of a little over 31 knots full load and her main armament included Lt Cdr A L Pears RN 23 April 1930 to 10 October 1930 four 4.7 inch guns, two quadruple tubes for Mk. V torpedoes Lt Cdr J G Bickford RN 1 0 October 1930 to 3 October 1932 and a depth charge array of two throwers and four chutes. Later Cdr R F Morice RN 3 October 1932 to 23 July 1935 the "Y" turret was removed to allow extra depth charge throwers Cdr G R Deverell RN 23 July 1935 to 7 July 1937 to be fitted, enhancing her antisubmarine capability considerably. Although she was placed in reserve for a few years ARROW In reserve was recommissioned at the beginning of the War and employed on escort duties in the Mediterranean. In the summer of 1942 Lt Cdr E V N Currey RN 28 February 1938 to 1 May 1939 she was involved in the invasion of Madagascar, then in the Lt Cdr E V St J. Morgan RN 1 May 1939 to August 1939 hands of the Vichy French. Cdr H W WiIliams August 1939 to 8 January 1941 On August 4th 1943, whilst in the Mediterranean again, Arrow Cdr AJ Baker Cresswell went to the assistance of SS FORTE LA MONTEE, on fire in DSO RN 8 January 1941 to 26 February 1941 Algiers Harbour. The Portugeuse ship blew up with ARROW Cdr R E Hyde-Smith RN February 1941 to 24 September 1941 alongside, causing heavy casualties. ARROW was repaired in Cdr A M McKillop RN 24 September 1941 to 16 March 1943 Toronto but except for a short excursion remained there until Lt Cdr W W Fitz Roy RN 1 6 March 1943 to October 1943 the end of the war, and was scrapped in 1946. LAUNCHING OF HMS ARROW by LADY RAPER wife of Vice-Admiral SIR GEORGE RAPER, Director General Ships at Scotstoun, Glasgow, on 5 FEBRUARY 1974 THE PRESENT HMS ARROW The Type 21 Class originated from a joint design by Yarrow School, The Royal Company of Archers, TS Arrow and TS (Shipbuilders) Ltd. and Vosper Thornycroft, to meet a Ministry Blackcap (SCC Units), Sunderland Society of Mentally Handicapped of Defence requirement for a Frigate of about 2,500 tons capable Children, Sunderland Spina Bifida Group and St. John's C.E. of effectively providing defence of a convoy or other force against School, Sunderland and the 15/1 9th Royal Hussars. attack from surface ship and submarines, and also to be fully HMS ARROW has accommodation for 192 officers and ratings capable of self-defence against aircraft, missiles or Fast Patrol and all of the ship's company have an extremely high standard Craft. In addition the Frigate required to match comparable of accommodation including laundry, sick bay and recreational contemporary foreign warships in battle and performance, and facilities consisting of television in each mess, library, sound maintain all-weather patrol in a world wide environment. reproduction equipment and cinema. HMS ARROW was laid down on 25th September, 1972 and The canteen, galley, scullery, separate dining rooms for Senior launched on 5th February, 1974 by Lady Raper, wife of Vice and Junior Ratings and all stores including cool room, deep freeze Admiral Sir George Raper, KCB, FRINA, FIMechE, the Director and cold store and controlled temperature store for vegetables General Ships. are grouped together and served by a vertical hoist, one of the She is the second of the five Type 21 Frigates on order from innovations saving manpower. Yarrow (Shipbuilders) Ltd. and the fifth of the total number (the others coming from Vosper Thornycroft Ltd.). Included in her 1. Enclosed Bridge 3. Main Galley affiliation are the Borough of Sunderland, the Red Arrows, Harrow 2. Ship Control Centre 4. Seamans' Messdeck YARROW (SHIPBUILDERS) LTD Yarrow's was founded in 1865 by Alfred Fernandez Yarrow when c) By the acquisition, of the adjoining Elderslie Dockyard in 1974, the original Shipyard was opened at Folly Wall on the Thames Yarrow have now more than doubled their working area. The in the South of England. From 1865 to 1908 Yarrow flourished Company can build and outfit much larger ships with the in the South of England, but in the early 1900's it became apparent dockyard facilities now added, which comprise three large that shipbuilding on the Thames was dying, and the decision to dry docks, a large wharfage and various service shops, etc. move to Scotland was made. In early 1908, therefore, the Thames d) A completely new under cover facility is now being built in shipyard was closed and the company moved to Scotland to Yarrows to enable Glass Reinforced Plastic Ships to be built. their present site at Scotstoun on the River Clyde, where they I nitially a new type of Mine Countermeasure Vessel for the have continued to flourish and have maintained a continuous Royal Navy will be built in this complex. policy of modernisation, Most of the work of Yarrow (Shipbuilders) Ltd. is carried out for The name of Yarrow has always been associated with Naval the British Ministry of Defence. Until recently, the standard Vessel construction, and the Company has concentrated its frigate ordered for the Royal Navy was the Leander class, and resources in producing Warships of the Corvette, Frigate and Yarrows built more ships of that design than any other shipbuilder. Destroyer types, together with other naval auxiliaries. During In 1968 the MOD(N) accepted a joint tender from Yarrow the first one hundred years of the Company's existence (Shipbuilders) Ltd. and Vosper Thornycroft Ltd. for the design (1865-1965), it was their proud privilege to build 188 vessels of a new frigate. Eight ships of this design were ordered, three for the Overseas Navies and 211 vessels for the British Royal from Vosper Thornycroft and five from Yarrow (Shipbuilders) Ltd. Navy. The Company has also built well over 800 vessels of many This frigate became the Type 21 and was the first major warship different types for merchant fleets throughout the world in the design from private shipbuilders to be accepted by the Royal same period. Navy for a good many years. The Company's shipbuilding capacity has been extended in Yarrow (Shipbuilders) Ltd. have now been appointed the lead recent years by the following additions - Yard for the new Type 22 Frigate and have been given the order a) The construction of Covered Berths in which three frigates to construct the first two ships of this class. can be built simultaneously and under one roof. Although the British Ministry of Defence has been the Company's The various trades have their own workshop in the wing largest single customer, Yarrows also carry out design and galleries of the Covered Berth Building, thus allowing easy construction for the navies of other countries. Ships have recently access to the place of work. been designed and built for Ghana, Malaysia, South Africa, b) A new Training Centre has been built, comprising a three storey Thailand, Chile and Iran. building, enabling an intake of 200 apprentices per year. GLASGOW - where 'Arrow' was built For well over a century Glasgow called itself the Second City of the Empire. In the closing decade of the Victorian era it was one of the largest cities in Europe. Some said it was third, behind only London and Paris. That cannot be said now but Glasgow is still an important place, with its conurbation - that is to say, the neighbouring towns whose streets are continuous with its, or near enough as makes no difference - the population of Glasgow is approximately 2 1/2 million. Almost a million live within the city boundaries. Glasgow has many aspects. It is one of the three British towns receiving most overseas visitors each year (the others are London and Edinburgh). It is the gateway to the Burns country and to the Western Highlands. Indeed, although it is located in the Lowlands many people living in Glasgow suppose that the Highlands really begin just beyond their back gardens. There are more Gaelic-speaking people in Glasgow than in any other city in the world. This is just one of many indications of its cosmopolitan make-up. The river is the predominant feature of the district, economically as well as geographically. The Clyde has been Britain's third port and shipbuilding with its ancillaries, the industry which the world particularly associated with Glasgow. Furthermore, it is not only the houses that are being rebuilt. So The heavy industries still play a considerable part in the city's are the factories and offices. life, but little coal and ironstone is now mined in the vicinity. New Indeed, a new pattern can be discerned with large industries being manufacturing lines have replaced old with the emphasis being located around the periphery, and with smaller factories being increasingly transferred to light mechanical and electrical demolished in the city itself to make room for commercial and engineering.