Romanian frigate Regina Maria (F222)
{{Short description|Frigate originally built for Royal navy, Now in service with Romanian Naval forces}}
{{Other ships|HMS London|Romanian ship Regina Maria}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2022}}
{{more citations needed|date=July 2008}}
| {{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image |Ship image=Romanian frigate Regina Maria (F222) underway in August 2014.JPG |Ship caption=Regina Maria underway in Constanța, August 2014 }} {{Infobox ship career |Hide header= |Ship country=United Kingdom |Ship flag={{shipboxflag|United Kingdom|naval}} |Ship name=HMS London |Ship namesake=London |Ship ordered= |Ship awarded= |Ship builder=Yarrow Shipbuilders |Ship yard number= |Ship laid down=7 February 1983 |Ship launched= 27 October 1984 |Ship sponsor= |Ship christened= |Ship completed= |Ship acquired= |Ship commissioned=5 June 1987 |Ship recommissioned= |Ship decommissioned=14 January 1999 |Ship in service= |Ship out of service= |Ship renamed= |Ship reclassified= |Ship refit= |Ship struck= |Ship reinstated= |Ship homeport= |Ship motto= |Ship nickname= |Ship honours= |Ship captured= |Ship identification=Pennant number: F95 |Ship fate=Sold to Romania on 14 January 2003 |Ship notes= |Ship badge= }} {{Infobox ship career |Hide header=title |Ship country=Romania |Ship flag={{shipboxflag|Romania}} |Ship name=Regina Maria |Ship namesake=Marie of Edinburgh |Ship ordered= |Ship builder= |Ship laid down= |Ship launched= |Ship acquired=14 January 2003 |Ship commissioned=21 April 2005 |Ship decommissioned= |Ship in service= |Ship out of service= |Ship struck= |Ship reinstated= |Ship honours= |Ship identification=*Pennant number: F222
|Ship fate= |Ship status=In active service |Ship notes= |Ship badge= 120px }} {{Infobox ship characteristics |Hide header= |Header caption= |Ship class=Type 22 frigate |Ship tonnage= |Ship displacement=5,300 tonnes |Ship length={{convert|148.1|m|abbr=on}} |Ship beam={{convert|14.8|m|abbr=on}} |Ship height= |Ship draught={{convert|6.4|m|abbr=on}} |Ship hold depth= |Ship propulsion=*2 × Rolls-Royce Olympus TM3B high-speed gas turbines (54,000 shp / 40 MW)
|Ship speed=*{{convert|18|kn}} (cruise)
|Ship range= |Ship endurance= |Ship boats= |Ship capacity= |Ship complement=250 |Ship crew= |Ship time to activate= |Ship troops= |Ship sensors= |Ship EW= |Ship armament=* 2 × 6 GWS25 Sea Wolf surface-to-air missile launchers
|Ship armour= |Ship aircraft=*Lynx Mk.8
|Ship aircraft facilities= |Ship notes= }} |
Regina Maria (F222) is a Type 22 frigate of the Romanian Naval Forces, formerly a Royal Navy ship named HMS London (F95). It is named after Queen Marie of Romania, wife of King Ferdinand I of Romania.
Service
HMS London was a Type 22 frigate of the Royal Navy, originally named Bloodhound but renamed London at the request of the Lord Mayor of London.
She was flagship of the Royal Navy task force during the 1991 Gulf War.
She was decommissioned on 14 January 1999 and sold to the Romanian Navy on 14 January 2003, being commissioned as Regina Maria on 21 April 2005. Before the sale the Sea Wolf and Exocet missile systems were removed, and the only armament the ship had when delivered was two 30 mm BMARC cannons and two three-tube anti-submarine torpedo launchers. The Romanian Navy had a 76 mm OTO-Melara gun system fitted forward where the Exocets had been mounted, but no missile systems or additional weapons have been fitted. There has since been some controversy over the price for which Romania purchased the ship.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/armstrade/story/0,,1796377,00.html |title=We paid three times too much for UK frigates, Romania says |work=The Guardian|date=13 June 2006|accessdate=14 June 2006 | location=London | first=David | last=Leigh}}
Romanian authorities are currently working in collaboration with the Romanian {{ill|COMOTI institute|ro|Institutul Național de Cercetare-Dezvoltare Turbomotoare}} to replace two of the Rolls-Royce gas turbine engines with two ST40M turbine engines designed at COMOTI.{{cite journal|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/349917550|title=Automation control for revamping the propulsion system of a navy frigate|journal=Scientific Bulletin - "Politehnica" University of Bucharest|series=D|volume=83|issue=1|date=2021|issn=1454-2358|author1=Filip Niculescu|author2=Claudia Borzea|author3=Iulian Vlăducă|author4=Andrei Mitru|author5=Mirela Vasile|author6=Alexandra Țăranu|author7=Gabriel Dediu}}
Commanding officers
Notable commanding officers include Iain Henderson (1990-1991), Mark Stanhope (1991-1992) and Timothy McClement (1992-1994).
Gallery
File:HMS London F95 aft.jpg|HMS London
File:HMS London F95 starboard bow.jpg|HMS London (F95) docked in port during Operation Desert Shield.
File:ReginaMaria2005.jpg|Romanian frigate Regina Maria at the Trafalgar 200th Anniversary.
File:Українсько-американське навчання “Сі Бриз - 2016” (28075164024).jpg|Regina Maria during exercise Sea Breeze 2016.
See also
- NMS Regina Maria (Regele Ferdinand-class destroyer), a World War II-era namesake
References
{{reflist}}
Publications
- {{Cite Colledge2006}}
{{Type 22 frigate}}
{{Romanian Naval Forces}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:London (F95)}}
Category:Type 22 frigates of the Royal Navy