Article Posted on : - Feb 28, 2011

Musical performance by The Royal Marines School of Music during HMS Manchester's decommissioning. A Royal Navy photo

PORTSMOUTH (BNS): British Royal Navy has formally decommissioned its Type 42 destroyer HMS Manchester from service last week.

The warship was officially decommissioned during a formal ceremony at the Portsmouth Naval Base on February 24.

The decommissioning service was conducted by former chaplain of HMS Manchester, Father Mike Wagstaff, with musical accompaniment.

The 5,200 tonne warship, which served the Royal Navy for nearly three decades, had docked at its homeport at Portsmouth for the last time on February 17.

Launched on November 24, 1980, HMS Manchester was commissioned into the Royal Navy on December 16, 1982.

The 31-year-old vessel clocked up 858,882 nautical miles (1.6 million kilometres) during operations across the world, including the Gulf war in 1990s.

The warship will be replaced by new Type 45 destroyer, HMS Dragon.