Minerva Itinerary
All information gratefully received. Come on! someone must know where she went for the rest of her naval career?
Built by: Vickers Armstrong; Laid down: July 25th 1963, launched Dec 19th 1964, commissioned: May 14th 1966
1966
April 15th, Commissioned, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Hit Sirius on entering Plymouth
Portland
N.Atlantic
See "First Commission" (updated 14.2.08, crew list added)
1967
Jan sailed for Far East via Gib, Cyprus, Aden
Mombasa
Beira Patrol
Singapore
Hon Kong
Fremantle
Aden withdrawal
Mombasa
Beira patrol (helicopter ditched with 3 weeks mail)
(incident with French oil tanker)
Simonstown (briefly)
Freetown
1968
Jan Return to Portsmouth
4 month refit
June- West Indies
Oct - Dry Dock, Sea Trials at Chatham
Dec - Portland work up
1969
Jan - Portland work up
Feb - West Indies, - Azores, Bermuda, Antiga, Anguilla, Roosevelt Roads, Montserrat, Trinidad, Grenada, San Juan, St Luica, Belize, Puerto Cortes, Mobile, Key West, Freeport
July - return from W.Indies. Chatham dry dock,
Sea trials
Portland work up
Chatham Xmas leave (and Isaac joins)
1970
Gibraltar: shadowing Moskva; plane guard for HMS Eagle;
Tromso
Thorshavn
Cape Verde Islands
Ascension Island
St Helena
Simonstown
Beira patrol
LAST TOT
Singapore
Solomon Islands: Gizo; Yandina; Kira Kira
Lo Island
Auckland
Dunedin (NZ)
Sydney
Bunbury (WA)
Freemantle
Singapore
1971
Gibraltar: shadowing Moskva; plane guard for HMS Eagle;
Tromso
Thorshavn
Cape Verde Islands
Ascension Island
St Helena
Simonstown
Beira patrol
LAST TOT
Singapore
Solomon Islands: Gizo; Yandina; Kira Kira
Lo Island
Auckland
Dunedin (NZ)
Sydney
Bunbury (WA)
Freemantle
Singapore
Mombasa (Dec)
1972
Simonstown
Buenos Aires
Montevideo
Rio de Janeiro
Salvador
Portsmouth
Chatham (and Isaac leaves)
Antwerp
Nov HRH the Prince of Wales joins Minerva
1973
Bermuda.
Exercise "Rum Punch",
Montserat,
Dominica,
San Juan,
Grand Turk,
South Caicos
Freeport,
AUTEC Range.
Cartagena,
Exercise "Colombritex". Bermuda,
Antigua weapon training,
San Juan,
Rendezvous Bay.
St Kitts,
Nevis,
Rendezvous Bay,
Anguilla,
Roosevelt Roads,
San Juan,
Barbados,
Chatham Bay -Grenadines.
Grenada,
Nassau,
Grand Caymen,
La Guaira-Venezuela, Maracaibo-Venezuela,
St Vincent.
Ex "Doria Salute 2",
San Juan,
Bermuda,
Portsmouth- New Hampshire,
Halifax - Nova Scotia,
Portsmouth
Chatham for a refit
(info John Powell.)
Aug HRH the Prince of Wales leaves Minerva
1974
1975
In refit to Exocet
1976
In refit to Exocet
1977
In refit to Exocet
1978
In refit to Exocet
1979
Esberg,
Stravanger
Portland
Guernsey
Amsterdam
Antwerp
Liverpool/ Salford our adopted town
1980
Med deployment in May
Ibiza
Cartagen
Corfu
shadowed new Russian carrier "Kiev"
Gib
home
1981
Persian Gulf
1982
Aalberg
April sail for The Falklands, join Bristol Group
Ascension Island
May arrive TEZ
Aug relieved and head for home
Leave advance party disembark by 424 to Wideawake for onward jouney home by Hercules.
Sept Arrive Devonport
AMP
Nov sail for Falklands again
1983
Falkland Islands Patrol Gibraltar Stockholm (Royal Yacht Escort) Hudkiksvall Sweden Liverpool Dry Dock Devonport until Mar 84
1984
Falkland Islands
South Georgia
1985
Fort Lauderdale
Rotterdam
1986
West Indies (Training Ship)
Grenada
St Lucia
1987
Gib
Ascension
Falklands
South Georgia
Patagonian Canal transit
Valparaiso , Chile
Lima
Rodman Island, Panama
Panama canal transit
Mayport, Florida
Devonport
Perisher's course
UK “Schools” Tour including:
Barrow in Furnace;
Glasgow;
Hull:
London;
Portsmouth;
Devonport
Portland COST
1988
Med Deployment
Refit in Devonport
1989
1990
Dartmouth Training Squadron:
Great Lakes
Devonport
Gibraltar
Suez
Aden
Cochin
Malaysia
Singapore
Hong Kong
(info Stephen Goddard)
DTS Autumn 1990
F45 visited the following locations:
Gibraltar
Alexandria, Egypt
Izmir, Turkey
Naples, Italy
Rjeka, Yugoslavia (as it was then)
Monaco Harbour
1991
1992
Laid up
1993
Sold for scrap