The state of warship preservation in the UK is a very mixed. Established naval museums are thriving, benefitting from significant investment while more recent attempts to save naval vessels have failed miserably. Preserving our naval heritage is important as a ‘living history’ to remind us of past sacrifice, endeavour and achievements. Many lessons from Britain’s extraordinary naval history remain applicable to the Royal Navy and the exercise of sea power today.
Established maritime heritage goes from strength to strength
British naval preservation work has received a huge shot in the arm with several multi-million pound grants from the Heritage Lottery Fund given to the National Museum of the Royal Navy (NMRN) which manages many preserved naval vessels. The NMRM is a public body whose reach has expanded over the years and now has responsibility for 5 naval museums, 11 major historic vessels and around 100 aircraft. Portsmouth in particular has benefited from new facilities for the Mary Rose exhibit as well as major conservation and restoration projects for HMS Victory, HMS Alliance, the monitor HMS M33 and LCT 7074. The NMRN site in Portsmouth alone attracted over 1 million visitors in 2015.
The main image above shows light cruiser HMS Caroline in Belfast, the last survivor of the WWI battle of Jutland and only officially decommissioned in 2011. She is undergoing a major refurbishment and will re-open as a museum ship to be managed by the NMRN in time for the Jutland centenary commemorations in June 2016.
WWII cruiser HMS Belfast has been on public display since 1971 and remains in the top 100 visitor attractions in the UK, with over 300,000 visitors in 2015. Together with HMS Victory, she is the most recognised preserved ship in Britain and a great success story.
Since Chatham Naval Base closed in 1984 it has been divided into a commercial port, housing development and the Chatham Historic Dockyard which now gets around 160,000 visitors per year. Steeped in maritime heritage, there are many historic buildings and the Trust that runs the dockyard is applying to become a World Heritage Site. HMS Cavalier and HMS Ocelot are both well presented with good access for the public to explore a WWII era destroyer and Cold war conventional submarine.
Berthed in an iconic central London location, HMS Belfast is part of the Imperial War Museum. She demonstrates that on display in the right place, visitor numbers can support the preservation of even a very large vessel. Image: Dmitry A. Mottl via Wikipedia
HMS Alliance was laid down during WWII has been on display since 1981 at the Royal Navy Submarine Museum in Gosport now part of the NMRN. She completed a major £3.4M refurbishment in 2014. Photo: NMRN
Preserved in Chatham Historic Dockyard, HMS Cavalier was built during WWII and became a museum ship in 1978. She is officially designated as a war memorial to the 142 RN destroyers sunk during the war and the 11,000 men killed on those ships. Image: Swpmre, via Wikipedia
HMS Ocelot decommissioned in 1991 and has been preserved in Chatham Historic Dockyard where she was originally built. Image: Oast House Archive, via Geograph
World War 1 Monitor HMS M33 is part of the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard collection managed by the NMRN and has recently undergone a £2.3M refurbishment. She was opened to the public for the first time in 2015 in time for the centenary of the Gallipoli campaign in which she served. Image: Dogboy, via wikipedia
Decommissioned in 199 HMY Britannia is on display alongside the redeveloped Ocean Terminal in Leith, Edinburgh A highly successful museum, conference and party venue, she has is now considered Scotland’s top tourist attraction. Image: Graham Hogg, via Geograph
The HMS Illustrious saga
Stung by the outcry at the scrapping of HMS Ark Royal and HMS invincible, the MoD promised HMS Illustrious would be preserved when she decommissioned in 2014. Although a fine ship that served us well, she was always an odd choice for preservation. Lacking the Ark Royal’s iconic name she did not have an exceptional operational history or particular place in the public consciousness.
The MoD cannot quite admit it yet, but HMS Illustrious is very likely to be scrapped as no realistic bids for her preservation have been submitted. The last remaining option of a home in Gibraltar collapsed in March 2016. Put simply, a ship the size of Illustrious needs a suitable large berth with good access and most crucially, would need to generate a considerable sustained revenue stream to cover hefty maintenance and running costs. Hull City Council spent £500k on examining options and a bid to host the ship but ultimately concluded it was not economically viable. The MoD was rather unwise to offer Illustrious for preservation in the first place and scrapping her is now the most dignified remaining option.
With hindsight perhaps HMS Illustrious should have been scrapped in 2014 and the money invested in properly preserving HMS Plymouth. HMS Ark Royal was sold for £2.8 million in 2013 but scrap prices have since fallen (thanks to the Chinese flooding the market with cheap steel) so Illustrious will be worth considerably less. It is too late for HMS Plymouth but any money raised from scrapping Lusty should be donated to other warship preservation projects.
Looking back – the HMS Plymouth debacle
HMS Plymouth gallant actions in the Falklands War made her a good candidate for saving. A frigate is an ideal size warship for public preservation. Large enough to be iconic if the right berth is found and able to cope with peaks in visitor numbers, but not so large that the financial overheads are unsupportable. Her namesake city was the obvious home for HMS Plymouth but both the City Council and the MoD utterly failed to make the most of what would have been an excellent visitor attraction. After decommissioning in 1988 she was opened to the public in Plymouth’s Millbay Docks which was something of backwater at the time but a better home should have been found for her in the increasingly under-utilised Devonport South Yard. Plymouth would have had a great tourist attraction and the MoD would have helped preserve a good example of 1950-60s frigate design. The ship also served as a kind of living memorial to the navy’s decisive contribution to the Falklands campaign.
In 1990 she was moved to Glasgow and subsequently to Birkenhead where the Warship Preservation trust put her on display together with submarine HMS Onyx, minesweeper HMS Bronington and a WWII U-boat. The venue was never ideal or the dock owners not very supportive but the attraction was modestly successful until the WPT closed in 2006. By default the ship became property of the Mersey Docks Company and subsequently Peel Ports. There was a plan to return her to Plymouth but in 2007 Associated British Ports reneged on their offer of a berth which did not fit with their vision to redevelop Millbay. Developing old docksides into luxury flats is apparently far more lucrative than preserving maritime heritage, although with imagination the two need not be incompatible. There were numerous abortive plans to save the ship but all floundered for lack of money and she decayed slowly in Birkenhead until Peel Ports sold her for scrap in August 2014.
HMS Plymouth finally went the way of so may RN vessels, here being towed out of Birkenhead for scrapping in Turkey. Photo: Phil Owen.
HMS Bronington, once commanded by HRH Prince Charles and formerly of the Warship Preservation Trust sinking due to neglect in Birkenhead Docks, March 2016. Image: Phil Owen
Former Cold War era nuclear submarine ex-HMS Courageous is berthed in Devonport and opens to visitors periodically.
Devonport Naval Hertage Centre has a fine collection of warship models and naval artefacts.
Plymouth is very much the poor relation when compared with the world-class attractions in Portsmouth. The Devonport Heritage Centre is staffed by volunteers and opens periodically deserves an honourable mention. They have a collection of models, images and artefacts, offer visits to the decommissioned nuclear submarine Courageous and guided tours of the naval base.
Around the UK there are now many fine historic naval vessels on display to the public, in many cases presented in superb condition and with great imagination as visitor attractions. However there seems to be a more limited public appetite and finance available for adding new vessels their number. In contrast, aviation heritage is booming with projects to restore historic aircraft increasing every year. It is interesting to note the grounding of the Avro Vulcan display aircraft was cause for national mourning while the scrapping of HMS Plymouth was largely ignored.
There is understandable sadness at the passing of long-serving warships but we cannot keep them all and must select very carefully. As well as HMS Plymouth, recent attempts to preserve Type 42 destroyers HMS Liverpool and HMS Edinburgh in their namesake cities failed early on due to lack of funds and sufficient sustainable income. There is even a campaign to save HMS Monmouth as a tourist attraction in Newport, although she is not due to decommission until at least 2026. There are now few obvious vessels that will be candidates for preservation coming available in the near future so perhaps it is time to concentrate on making the most of the excellent collection Britain’s already has.
*This article focuses mainly on the major preserved naval vessels of the 20th and 21st Century. There is also a variety of older ships not least, HMS Victory, HMS Warrior, HMS Gannet & HMS Trincomalee as well as many minor war vessels and small craft that are officially listed in the National Historic Fleet.
Main image: Gareth Jones, via Geograph
Related articles
- Farewell HMS Illustrious good and faithful servant (Save the Royal Navy)
- HMS Bronington Sinks (Phil Owen)
- HMS Bronington website
- National Museum of the Royal Navy
- Devonport Naval Heritage Centre
- The Historic Dockyard Chatham
- HMS Alliance to be re-commissioned into active service Save the Royal Navy 🙂
What about buying back the Broadsword from Brazil when they retire her? Even if not as worthy as the Plymouth, she was also a Falklands veteran, took part in the Yugoslavia operations in 93 and was the first of a successful class that served the RN very well for around 32 years. She was also the command ship for the 1979 Fastnet rescue operation.
Surely enough there for her to be worthy of consideration?
Interesting point about HMS Broadsword – definitely a good candidate from the historical point of view with an interesting history, surviving being hit by a bouncing bomb etc. Without a name attached to a particular place perhaps its hard to see momentum building behind a campaign to save her, although a berth in Devonport South Yard would be great.
She was adopted by the City of Chester if that’s worth anything, the Broadsword Association is quite active too I think.
If it’s all in a name, I think Broadsword is a much more evocative one than something simply named after a city. As a boy HMS Thunderchild was always my favourite warship name and she only ever existed in fiction, I blame HG Wells for my Naval career and subsequent interest post it.
What we really need is a steam powered frigate or destroyer .. The backbone of WW2 and many went on to serve as anti submarine frigates in the cold war. That we havent a working one of these is criminal.. A ship isnt aship if its just a metal box tied up alongside.
I would comment on two historic ships you mention.
HMS Belfast is the quintessential WW2 cruiser. A beautiful ship with excellent facilities moored in the London River; and personally I cannot see her failing or being allowed to fail. I was closely involved in her early rescue and think she is an excellent figurehead for the RN in the capital.
HMS Caroline is again a exceptionally fine ship. The right size and with a unique historical place. I would like to see her worked up to steam on at least 2 of her 4 engines. Not joking, but she has the oldest Turbines in situ of any warship. She is also the right size to be fully restored to working condition. If you don’t have an objective you fall by the wayside. There is then the possibility of her steaming to other locations to increase the viewing publics opportunity to visit.
A fully living working ship of this era would have an appeal beyond the usual base; and why not, she represents the RN at the zenith of the steam age.
Go on someone tell me its too ambitious and steam too hazardous.
Word is even Balfast, won’t be around in 20 years time due to running costs. So what hope is there for others?
Dave
I can’t see Belfast going. She’s a feature of London’s attractions and has been so for almost half a century. As to running costs, think of what must have been spent maintaining the Tower of London over the years, was it wasted?
Makes a nice change to read an article on the subject that was not written thru rose tinted spectacles
Liverpool should have had in Canning Dock at least a decade ago HMS Whimbrel (ENS Tariq) as the Battle of the Atlantic Memorial Black Swan class sloop. She is still tied up in Alexandria naval dockyard adjacent to HMS Zenith (ENS El Fateh). Both ships were sold to the Egyptian Navy in the late 1940’s. Zenith would have been ideal for a RN Museum ship on the Clyde I would have thought, as so many were built there.
there is one ship that is always frogotn hms whimbral , she is over in egipt , she is the sister ship to hms black swan .
What about HMS Unicorn up in Dundee?
She seems to have been forgotten.
With the tragic loss of HMS Plymouth the UK should find another Falklands/ Cold war era warship to preserve. Operation Corporate deserves better recognition.
HMS Bristol still is commissioned in Portsmouth. Severely mutilated but she has steam turbines. HMY Britannia of course has steam turbines and is easily restorable.
Problem is that which gives a ship a reason to live the sea is all that which will kill it.
It is costly maintaining an elderly ship structurally, it will always suffer corrosion with the exposure to Salt War and Air! Ideally lifting it out of the water is the best solution but then you need to find a suitable site to home it. Even then it requires constant preventative maintenance and painting to prevent the Rust Cancer taking over!
This is why it is so difficult to preserve ships!
If you could keep the ship in a climate and humidity controlled covered dry dock that would be the best but that is massively expensive! the potential income from a preserved warship through ticket sales does not match the cost of continued preservation in most cases.
I think Belfast will still be there in twenty years but she will need to be dry docked again at some point, improvements in paint and underwater painting techniques have extended the periods between having to dry dock her but it will have to happen. Currently 2020 is the projected date.
A warship to commemorate the Falklands Campaign should certainly be a preservation priority. What about a Type 21 frigate, two of which were lost in the conflict. Several went to the Pakistan Navy who will probably have looked after them well. They have the added preservation advantage of having a fair amount of aluminium in their superstructure.
times have been tough so i’ve sold my falklands medal through a medal auction, and it went for£550!!!!!
It is a shame that there is so little respect for the preservation of the Royal Navy’s historic warships. When one thinks of the Royal Navy, it is impossible not to instantly review centuries of history!
As an American, I am lucky that there are many floating museums. All of the Iowa class battleships, a couple South Dakota class battleships, several fleet Aircraft carriers and countless smaller ships and subs have been preserved and are visited by thousands of people each year. I visited the USS Arizona Memorial, USS Missouri and USS Bowfin at Pearl Harbor and was thrilled, humbled, and proud at the same time.
The preservation of these vessels is critical to understanding how we became who we are as nations. It boggles my mind that a nation with a DOMINANT naval history and tradition is so willing to let it go.
Are any WWII era capital ships left? A quick scan of wikipedia shows all the WWII battleships were scrapped shortly after the war.
Keep fighting!
Britain should have kept HMS Vanguard or a King George 5th Battleship as a museum ship
Such a shame that Britain is unlike the United States that has loads of ships saved from world war 2
But then again this is what Britain does
You would think with the long history of the Royal Navy that perhaps the Royal Navy would keep some of their old historic ships
I know how you feel… personally I would have involved myself in the continued existence of two of the same class of ww2 era British ships.
Examples are Illustrious & Formidable, King George V & Duke Of York, Dido & Sirius, Belfast & Sheffield, I would say HMS Furious and some other Courageous class aircraft carrier but Furious was the only survivor… as far as I know.
I know that I could name more examples of Royal Navy ships that I would try to save but for now the examples above are the only ones that I could come up with.
It’s a damned shame that neither WHIMBREL (the Black Swan class sloop) nor ZENITH (Z class destroyer), both from WWII engendered much interest. The same goes for SAXIFRAGE (Flower class sloop) from WWI. All of these are extremely valuable vessels worth preserving, but there appears to be little interest or appetite to do so…