There have been seven naval ships named Bristol but now it's unlikely there will ever be an eighth.
The Royal Navy's most powerful guided missile warship visited Bristol for the last time before being decommissioned. When she left four days later, a tradition dating back more than 350 years came to an end. The ship was HMS Bristol, the seventh and last to bear the city's name. She was built by Swan Hunter in 1969 and commissioned in 1973. And she was 10 times the size of the first Bristol, built in 1653.
HMS BRISTOL NO.1
Displaced 532 tons, had 48 guns and was built in Portsmouth on the orders of Oliver Cromwell. According to navy policy, she was named after a Parliamentarian Civil War victory rather than the city itself.
Bristol joined the English fleet under Bridgwater-born Admiral Robert Blake and fought against the Dutch. In 1657, she won the first of nine battle honours by sailing into Teneriffe harbour with 11 other ships, burning 10 Spanish ships and capturing another six
Bristol became HMS Bristol when Charles II restored the monarchy. Life on board for the 230 men was rough -they even had a groat ( 4d ) a month stopped from their pay to finance a chaplain. Bad food and water, poor sanitation and overcrowding led to 10 per cent of the crew dying each year, in addition to the deaths caused by sea fights. And discipline was strict - one man received 29 lashes with a 'cat 'o' nine tails' and salt water on the wounds for a minor theft, while swearers had an iron pin forced into their mouths and tied behind their heads until their mouths were full of blood. After an active fighting career, the Bristol ? was sunk by the French in the English Channel in 1709.
HMS BRISTOL NO.2
Was launched in 1711, weighed 704 tons, was 180 ft long and had 350 crew. She lasted for 57 years, battling the French around Europe and in the West Indies before being broken up in 1798.
HMS BRISTOL NO.3
Was launched at Sheerness in 1775 and weighed 1,044 tons with 50 guns. In 1776, she led an attack on Charleston, South Carolina, during which her captain and 40 men were killed. But in 1778, a new third lieutenant was appointed who led by example, showed the men unprecedented kindness and turned the ship into a highly efficient fighting unit. His name was Horatio Nelson. HMS Bristol fought in the West Indies and helped relieve Gibraltar before chasing the French across the Indian Ocean. She then became a hospital ship before being broken up in 1810.
HMS BRISTOL NO.4
Began life as the Agincourt in 1812 and was renamed when she was 13 years old. She served for five years with little distinction before being broken up.
HMS BRISTOL NO.5
Launched 1861, was a screw frigate of 4,000 tons, and was the first to be powered by steam as well as sail. Unfortunately that meant two crews - topmen to man the sails, and engineers and stokers to look after the engines. That was a total of 600 men.
She spent most of her life as a training ship for cadets and was sold in 1883....
HMS BRISTOL NO.6
Was a protected cruiser of the Town Class, launched in 1910 when war with Germany seemed inevitable. She was a 4,800 tonner capable of 27 knots, had a crew of 376, and carried two six inch and 10 four inch guns. She was in the West Indies in 1914 and was the first British ship to see action, tackling the German raider Karisruhe which used superior speed to escape. She joined the British squadron searching for the Karlsruhe and her sister ship, the Dresden, which were under the command of Admiral Graf von Spee on the Scharnhorst.
Von Spee wiped out one British squadron and reinforcements were sent. Contact was made with the German fleet while HMS Bristol was closed down for maintenance, and the ship was two hours late in joining the chase.
The Scharnhorst was sunk in one of the most famous naval actions of the First World War, but not by HMS Bristol. She tackled two coal supply ships instead, and went after the Dresden which had escaped. Unfortunately, she ran aground and was damaged. She later joined the Adriatic Squadron under an Italian admiral and fought Austrian raiders which escaped. HMS Bristol No. 6 was scrapped in Cornwall in 1921.
HMS BRISTOL NO.7
Was an escort destroyer launched in 1972 and the only one of its type ever built. The 6,000 ton warship had 600 crew, was 507 ft long and could travel at 30 knots. In her day she was Britain's most powerful missile ship. She was armed with Sea Dart missiles, a 4.5 inch gun, Ikara anti-submarine torpedoes and an anti-submarine mortar, and was packed with state of the art technology. And she was one of the first to have her interior designed by fashion consultants, and to have her own television studio and cameras.
She played an important role in the Falklands war and took over as flagship of the task force in 1982. She could be the last HMS Bristol - the Admiralty says that no ship is being built or planned that is suitable to carry the name of the city.
