16 enlightening photos of HMS Sheffield in many guises as we remember "famous" Royal Navy Falklands destroyer

The first vessel to bare her name, a town-class light cruiser, was launched in 1936 and saw a lot of action during the Second World War. This included missions to the Arctic Circle, the Atlantic and the Mediterranean.

She was one of the pursuit vessels that tracked down the German warship Bismarck after it sunk HMS Hood, the navy’s final battlecruiser. In 1967 she was sold and scrapped. Four years prior the second HMS Sheffield was born as a Type 42 destroyer but she had a short life. In May 1982 she was badly damaged by Argentinian air forces during the Falklands War, and sank in heavy seas while being towed back to land.

SEE MORE: Sinking of HMS Sheffield during the Falklands War remembered in Portsmouth

She was originally built in Barrow-in-Furness and launched on June 10, 1971, by Queen Elizabeth II. Being armed with two Sea Dart surface-to-air missile launchers and a 4.5ins Mk 8 gun, the destroyer had the ability to carry Lynx helicopters and protect other ships from aerial threats.

Her sinking is commemorated by military veterans on an annual basis to remember the 20 members of the crew who lost their lives. The crew of the Sheffield fought for almost four hours to save the ship before Captain James ‘Sam’ Salt ordered them to abandon ship. Flooding caused Sheffield to roll over and sink.

She was the first British ship to be lost in enemy action since the Second World War, and the first of four British ships sunk by the Argentine air force in the Falklands War. A memorial service was held in Portsmouth this weekend to mark the anniversary of the sinking and honour those who served on the destroyer and during The Falklands War.

SEE ALSO: How the government confirmed the attack on HMS Sheffield during the Falklands conflict

The third incarnation was a Type 22 frigate which was sold to the Chilean Navy in 2003 and renamed Almirante Williams. In 2018 then-defence secretary Gavin Williamson announced that one of the new Type 26 frigates being built by the navy would be called HMS Sheffield. Construction began in November last year, with the eight city-class frigates expected to service in the Royal Navy until the 2060s.

Here are some of the historic photos of the three ships we have found in our archive.

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