Glorious pictures of Royal Navy ship HMS Bristol over the years, as she leaves Portsmouth for scrapyard

The Type 82 destroyer that played a vital role in the Falklands War left Portsmouth Naval Base today (June 11) for the final time. She was towed past The Round Tower in Old Portsmouth where dozens of veterans and former sea cadets gathered to give her the send off she deserves.

The decision was made to scrap HMS Bristol, with officials from the Defence, Equipment & Support (DE&S) arm of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) carrying out the transaction on behalf of the Royal Navy.

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Alistair Hughes, Head of DRDT, said: “Recycling of ships at the end of their hull life is routine business for the Royal Navy and our aim is to achieve maximum value for money for Defence in an environmentally compliant manner – HMS Bristol is a fitting example of this after her many dedicated years of service.”

Construction of HMS Bristol began in 1967 with the decision to make her a ‘one-off’ design. Other Type 82 ships were set to be built to escort the CVA-01 aircraft carriers, but plans for these warships and the destroyers were axed.

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She Commissioned into the Royal Navy on March 31, 1973. A varied career saw her inclusion in the 1982 Falklands War before being employed as a training ship in 1987 as a part of the Dartmouth Training Squadron.

HMS Bristol went on to be used as the harbour training ship, adjacent to Navy Command Headquarters on Whale Island, Portsmouth. She also provided accommodation for multiple youth organisations including the Sea Cadets, Combined Cadet Forces and the Sea Scouts.

During the Falklands War, the ship led a group of two destroyers, five frigates and an RFA supply ship providing reinforcements in the Falklands war and later joined the carrier battle task group as an air defence destroyer.