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HMS Newcastle

There have been eight Newcastle's in the Royal Navy serving her nation with distinction. Newcastle's motto is "Fortitudino Vinco" (I conquer through strength) and though the current HMS Newcastle is one of the original Type 42s she still is an imposing ship for any would-be aggressors.

HMS Newcastle (1653-1703)

The first HMS Newcastle was built in 1653 as a fourth-rate frigate of 54-guns. In 1655, she had her first action when, along with fourteen other warships, she sailed into Porto Farina in Algiers to engage Barbary Pirates. This action resulted in the destruction of the entire pirate fleet and won Newcastle her first battle honour. In 1657 she took part in Admiral Blake's daring attack on Santa Cruz in Tenerife. In 1703, after many years of skirmishes and battles with such diverse nations as France, Holland and Spain, not to mention the Barbary Pirates, Newcastle came to a tragic end, being sunk, not in battle, but by a storm off Spithead.

HMS Newcastle (1704-1746)

The second Newcastle was built in 1704 also as a fourth-rate 54-gun frigate. The following year, she gained the first battle honour of her career at Marbela, attacking French convoys. The rest of her career was mainly spent in the Caribbean and Mediterranean before she was sold in 1746.

HMS Newcastle (1750-1761)

The third Newcastle was built at Portsmouth in 1750. Her first actions were off Madras during the Seven Years War assisting the legendary Clive of India in his campaigns in India. She saw numerous skirmishes with the French Navy throughout her relatively short career. She came to an equally cruel end as her predecessor, when, in 1761, she was sunk in a cyclone.

HMS Newcastle (1813-1850)

The fourth HMS Newcastle was built to fill a requirement for fast frigates to deploy against the Americans during the War of 1812. Though larger and carrying more powerful guns than her predecessors, Newcastle had a far more mundane and inactive career eventually being sold for scrap in Liverpool in 1850.

HMS Newcastle (1860-1929)

The fifth Newcastle, a screw frigate, meaning she was able to use both sail and steam for propulsion. She was launched in 1860 at Deptford. She had quite a large displacement of 4,020 tonnes and an armament of 31 guns. Her most active duty during her career, was as part of the Flying Squadron of 1874-77. She spent the rest of her career as a powder hulk in Devonport until 1929 when she was finally broken up.

HMS Newcastle (1910-1921)

The sixth HMS Newcastle was commissioned in 1910 as a Bristol Class light cruiser of 4,900 tonnes with 2 x 6-inch guns and 10 x 4-inch guns. She was potentially the first true cruiser class to enter the Royal Navy, since previous cruisers had basically been fast or second class battleships. She spent most of her career in the China Station. When war broke out in 1914 she bombarded Yap, prior to deploying to Valparaíso to search for the armed merchant raider SMS Prinz Eitel Friedrich. In 1916 she joined the Mediterranean Fleet and in 1917 was attached to the Colombo Patrol. Her final duty was in South America, where she patrolled until WW1 came to a close. In 1921, she was sold. All of the Bristol Class met a similar fate throughout the 1920s.

HMS Newcastle (1937-1958)


The seventh HMS Newcastle was a Southampton Class cruiser launched by Her Grace the Duchess of of Northumberland. She had numerous incidents in the initial part of World War II, including an attack on two German destroyers at Brest which damaged them badly. She took part in a abortive operation under Vice-Admiral Somerville against the Italians at Cape Spartivento, winning her only battle honour of the war. After a deployment to the South Atlantic, in which she was engaged against blockade-runners, Newcastle deployed to the East and then re-deployed to the Mediterranean.

Shortly after returning to action from a repair in the USA, she was attacked by an E-Boat in the Mediterranean. She was then attached to the Eastern Fleet at Ceylon, acting as the lead ship of the Fourth Cruiser Squadron. During her deployment to the Eastern Fleet, she took part in the bombardment of numerous Japanese-held islands, and supported the Fourteenth Army in their campaigns in Burma. In 1952 she had a radical overhaul and later saw action during the Korean War. After an extensive and distinguished career, she was sold for scrap in 1958 .

HMS Newcastle (1978-present)


The eighth and current HMS Newcastle (D87) is a Type 42 (Batch 1) and is much smaller than the latest Batch 3 ships of the same class. In 1998, HMS Newcastle made her way to the British territory of Montserrat to assist the population, who were very distressed after a devastating volcano eruption. In 1999, Newcastle escorted HMS Invincible (R05) during the Kosovo War, in which Invincible performed with distinction, launching precise and deadly attacks on Serbian targets. HMS Newcastle's last active duty so far was a six-month Atlantic Patrol Deployment in 2002. During this deployment, she visited Sierra Leone to display the continuing UK commitment to Sierra Leone. She is the longest serving Type 42 in Royal Navy service, and speculation has been rife that four Type 42s will be decommissioned soon. In January 2003,Newcastle deployed to the Mediterranean for a 6 to 7-month tour of duty.

Type 42 (Batch 1) Statistics

Battle Honours

Porto Farina 1655, Santa Cruz 1657, Lowestoft 1665,Orfordness 1666, Schooneveld 1673, Texel 1673, Marbella 1705, Sadras 1758, Negapatam 1758, Porto Novo 1759, Spartivento 1940, Burma 1944-45, Korea 1952-53