HMS Argyll (F231)

HMS Argyll, 2009
History
United Kingdom
NameHMS Argyll
OrderedSeptember 1986
BuilderYarrow Shipbuilders
Laid down20 March 1987
Launched8 April 1989
Commissioned31 May 1991
Out of serviceMay 2024
HomeportHMNB Portsmouth
Identification
Motto
  • Ne Obliviscaris
  • ("Lest We Forget")
StatusSold to BAE Systems
Badge
General characteristics
Class & typeType 23 frigate
Displacement4,900 t (4,800 long tons; 5,400 short tons)
Length133 m (436 ft 4 in)
Beam16.1 m (52 ft 10 in)
Draught7.3 m (23 ft 11 in)
Propulsion
SpeedIn excess of 28 kn (52 km/h; 32 mph)
Range7,500 nautical miles (14,000 km) at 15 kn (28 km/h)
Complement185 (accommodation for up to 205)
Electronic warfare
& decoys
Armament
Aircraft carried
Aviation facilities

The third HMS Argyll is a Type 23 Duke-class frigate. Commissioned in 1991 and prior to her retirement, Argyll was the oldest serving Type 23 frigate in the Royal Navy. Like all of her class she was named after a British dukedom, in this case that of Argyll. HMS Argyll was laid down in March 1987 by Yarrow Shipbuilders at Glasgow, and launched in 1989 by Lady Wendy Levene, sponsored by the Worshipful Company of Paviors.

Argyll was the first Type 23 to be fitted with the new Sea Ceptor missile system. The ship, like her sisters HMS Monmouth, HMS Montrose, HMS Lancaster and HMS Iron Duke, did not receive the new Sonar 2087 upgrade that other frigates of the class subsequently received. Therefore she was regarded as a "general purpose" frigate without the more specialized anti-submarine capability of the other eight ships in the Type 23 fleet.

Argyll was retired and sold to BAE Systems for apprentice training in 2024.