Former HMS Gloucester departs Portsmouth for final time

The Royal Navy's last remaining Type 42 destroyer has departed UK shores for the final time.

The former HMS Gloucester left Portsmouth bound for Turkey where it will be scrapped.

Known as "Fighting G", the ship was decommissioned in 2011 after 25 years of service.

The navy's fleet of 14 ageing Type 42s, mostly built in the 1970s, has been phased out to make way for the new hi-tech Type 45 destroyers.

Two of destroyers, HMS Sheffield and HMS Coventry, were sunk by Argentine forces during the Falklands conflict.

HMS Gloucester's most notable action came in January 1991 when it was escorting the American battleship USS Missouri close to the Kuwaiti coast during the Gulf War.

As the Missouri came under attack by an Iraqi Seersucker missile, HMS Gloucester fired a salvo of Sea Darts to knock it from the sky in what proved to be the first validated, successful missile versus missile strike of its kind.

The ship was also involved in evacuating British nationals during the Israel-Lebanon conflict of 2006.

Scores of veterans and members of the public turned out to wave farewell to the ship as it was towed from Portsmouth Naval Base to be dismantled.

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They wiped tears from their eyes as the last of the "Fighting 42s" was towed out of Portsmouth Harbour for the final time.

Many of those who served on HMS Gloucester had gathered to wave goodbye - and remember the ship they served on in peace and war.

Flags were lowered as the destroyer went past the famous Round Tower and naval whistles were sounded.

It is the end of an era. The Navy had 14 Type 42 destroyers over 38 years. Now they are all gone - but not forgotten.

Rear Admiral Philip Wilcocks, who was commanding officer of Gloucester during the Gulf War and who is now president of the Type 42 Association, said it was an emotional day.

He said: "It is sad but I have a great sense of pride at everything these 14 ships have done, two of them, Sheffield and Coventry, sadly remain under the icy waters of the South Atlantic, having been sunk in the Falklands War.

"But each and every one of them has served their country and the Navy with great distinction and their sailors are examples, the epitome of everything that is great about the navy and our country."

Before the departure, former weapons engineer mechanic Andy Mills from Stroud, Gloucestershire, who served on board in 1987, said: "It's going to be a sad day for anyone who has served on any Type 42. They've had a good history and served the county."