View source for KD Hang Tuah

{{Short description|Frigate}}
{{other ships|HMS Mermaid}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2018}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image= [[File:KD Hang Tuah Labuan 20070915.jpg|300px|KD Hang Tuah]]
|Ship caption=KD ''Hang Tuah'' catches the morning sunlight while moored alongside at [[Labuan|Pulau Labuan]] on 15 September 2007
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Ship country=Ghana
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|Ghana|naval}}
|Ship name=''Black Star''
|Ship ordered=
|Ship builder=[[Yarrow Shipbuilders]], [[Scotstoun]]
|ship fish
cost=
|Ship yard number=2284
|Ship way number=
|Ship laid down= 
|Ship fate=Order canceled after [[Kwame Nkrumah]] deposed in February 1966
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=title
|Ship country=United Kingdom
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|United Kingdom|naval}}
|Ship launched=29 December 1966
|Ship renamed= HMS ''Mermaid''
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=yes
|Ship namesake=
|Ship acquired=
|Ship commissioned= 16 May 1973
|Ship decommissioned= 
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship struck= 
|Ship reinstated=
|Ship homeport=
|Ship motto= 
|Ship nickname=
|Ship honours=
|Ship fate=Transferred to Royal Malaysian Navy in April 1977
|Ship status=
|Ship notes=
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=title
|Ship country=Malaysia
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|Malaysia|naval}}
|Ship name= KD ''Hang Tuah''
|Ship namesake=[[Hang Tuah]]
|Ship acquired=April 1977
|Ship commissioned= 
|Ship decommissioned= 2018
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship struck= 
|Ship reinstated=
|Ship homeport=
|Ship motto= 
|Ship nickname=
|Ship honours=
|Ship status=Retired as 2018 and turned into a [[museum ship]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.malaysiandefence.com/museum-ship-of-the-navy/|title = Museum Ship of the Navy - Malaysian Defence}}</ref>
|Ship notes=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship type= [[Type 41 frigate|Type 41]]/[[Type 61 frigate|Type 61]] [[frigate]]
|Ship tonnage=
|Ship displacement= {{convert|2300|LT|t|0}} standard
|Ship length= {{convert|103.5|m|ftin|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam= {{convert|12.2|m|ftin|abbr=on}}
|Ship height= 
|Ship draught= {{convert|4.9|m|ftin|abbr=on}}
|Ship propulsion=8 × 16-cylinder ASR1 diesels, {{convert|14400|shp|0|abbr=on}}, 2 shafts
|Ship speed= {{convert|24|kn|mph km/h|lk=in}}
|Ship range=
|Ship complement=210
|Ship time to activate=
|Ship sensors=*Plessey AWS1 air search radar
*Decca 45 radars
*Graseby Type 170B
*Type 174 hull mounted sonar
*UA-3 EW intercept
|Ship EW=
|Ship armament=
*(as built)
*2 x [[QF 4 inch Mk XVI naval gun|4 inch Mk 16 gun]]s
*4 × [[Bofors 40 mm gun#Naval versions|40 mm Bofors gun]]
*1 × [[Squid (weapon)|Squid anti-submarine mortar]]
*(as refitted)
*1 × [[Bofors 57 mm L/70 naval artillery gun|Bofors 57 mm gun]]
*2 × [[Bofors 40 mm Automatic Gun L/70|40 mm Bofors gun]]
|Ship armour=
|Ship aircraft= 
|Ship aircraft facilities= Helicopter landing platform
|Ship notes=
}}
|}
'''KD ''Hang Tuah''''' is a [[frigate]] formerly operated by the [[Royal Malaysian Navy]] from 1977 until 2018. She is now a museum ship. She was built in the [[United Kingdom]], originally for the [[Ghana Navy]], but was launched and completed as a private venture, before being purchased by the [[Royal Navy]] in 1972. She served for five years as HMS ''Mermaid'' (F76) before being purchased by [[Malaysia]], where she replaced another ex-British frigate also called ''Hang Tuah''. She became a [[training ship]] in 1992 and was refitted to replace obsolete weapons and machinery.

==Development==
''Hang Tuah'' was a singleton vessel, originally built for [[Ghana]]. It was to have been named ''Black Star'' and to have functioned as the [[flagship]] of Ghana's navy as well as the [[presidential yacht]] for [[Kwame Nkrumah]], the [[President of Ghana]]. Built by [[Yarrow Shipbuilders]] on the [[River Clyde]] in Scotland, the new frigate was still on the slipway, when in February 1966, a [[History of Ghana#Growth of opposition to Nkrumah|military coup in Ghana]] ousted President Nkrumah; the new government cancelled the order due to the excessive cost of around [[GBP]] 5 million. Yarrow decided that the best course was to complete the ship in the hope that she could be sold to another navy; she was launched without any ceremony in December 1966.<ref>Marriott, p. 102</ref>

The frigate was completed in June 1968 and kept at anchor for several years awaiting a buyer. In 1971, the newly elected [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] government decided that by purchasing the ship for the Royal Navy, they could provide an indirect subsidy to a vital shipbuilder. Accordingly, in April 1972, she was transferred to [[Portsmouth Dockyard]] and then to [[Chatham Dockyard]], to be refitted to bring her up to operational standards.<ref>Marriott, p. 103</ref>

== Design ==
The hull and machinery of the ship were based on the British [[Type 41 frigate|Type 41]] and [[Type 61 frigate]]s, but modified to suit the requirements of the Ghana Navy. The hull was [[flush deck]]ed; the large [[quarterdeck]] could be used to land a helicopter but there were no facilities to operate one. The exhausts from the eight [[diesel engine]]s were trunked into a single streamlined funnel.

There were extra accommodation areas in the [[superstructure]] including a large dining and conference room. The armament and sensors were kept relatively simple to keep the cost down and for ease of maintenance. Mounted forward of the [[bridge (nautical)|bridge]] was a Mark 19 mounting with twin [[QF 4 inch Mk XVI naval gun|QF 4 inch Mk 16]] [[dual-purpose gun]]s, there were four single [[Bofors 40 mm gun]]s around the upper superstructure, and a [[Squid (weapon)|Squid anti-submarine mortar]] mounted aft in a well. [[Sonar]] Types 170 and 176 were carried as was a [[Plessey]] AWS-1 [[radar]] on the foremast and a navigational [[radar]] forward of this on a platform.<ref>Marriott pp. 102-103</ref>

The ship had a [[displacement (ship)|displacement]] of 2,300 tons as standard, had a maximum speed of {{convert|24|kn|lk=in}} and a [[wikt:complement|complement]] of 177 officers and men in Royal Navy service.<ref>Marriott p. 104</ref>

== Royal Navy service ==
She was [[Ship commissioning|commissioned]] on 16 May 1973 into the Royal Navy as {{HMS|Mermaid|F76|6}} with the [[pennant number]] F76 and after working up was dispatched to the [[Far East]] where she was based at [[Singapore]]. Her light armament and minimal sensor fittings made her unsuitable for a role in the European environment but could provide a useful presence in the [[Far East]], undertaking what is now known as 'defence diplomacy' roles. She stood in for {{HMS|Chichester|F59|6}} (the guardship for [[Hong Kong]]) at times and stood by at the end of the [[Vietnam War]] in case [[British national]]s had to be evacuated from [[Saigon]].

Returning to home waters in 1976,<ref>Marriott, p. 103</ref> ''Mermaid'' was deployed to protect British [[Fishing trawler|trawler]]s off [[Iceland]] during the [[Cod Wars#Third Cod War (1975–1976)|Third Cod War]]. After a previous ramming incident with the Icelandic gunboat  {{ICGV|Óðinn}} on 12 March, she suffered heavy collision damage on 6 May during aggressive manoeuvring with the patrol boat {{ICGV|Baldur}}.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jNbZAwAAQBAJ&q=HMS+Mermaid+Cod+War&pg=PT121|title=Safeguarding the Nation: The Story of the Modern Royal Navy|last=Roberts|first=John|date=2009|publisher=Seaforth Publishing|isbn=978-1848320437|pages=119}}</ref> During a [[NATO]] exercise on 20 September 1976, she was involved in a collision with the [[minesweeper]] {{HMS|Fittleton|M1136|6}} that resulted in the ''Fittleton''{{'}}s sinking and the deaths of 12 personnel, mainly RNR members.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.naval-history.net/xDKCas1976-79.htm|title=Royal Navy casualties, killed and died, 1970-79|website=Naval-history.net|access-date=16 September 2017}}</ref>

''Mermaid'''s last task before being [[paid off]] was to conduct trials on a [[moving target indication]] system that enabled [[radar]] to pick out targets moving against the clutter generated by the surface of the sea. Her Royal Navy career of only five years ended in early 1977. She was the last British warship to operate twin 4-inch guns, which had been in service for well over thirty years.<ref>Marriott, p. 103</ref>

== Royal Malaysian Navy service ==
In April 1977 she was transferred to the [[Royal Malaysian Navy]] and commissioned at [[Southampton]] on 22 July,<ref>{{cite journal |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=1977 |title=Ships Monthly |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lLlWAAAAMAAJ&q=HMS+Mermaid+%22paid+off%22+1977 |volume=11-13 |pages=19 |access-date=29 September 2017}}</ref> and named ''[[Hang Tuah]]'' after a legendary 15th century [[Malacca]]n warrior and ''[[Laksamana]]'' (admiral). She replaced another ''Hang Tuah'', the ex- {{HMS|Loch Insh|K433|6}}, a {{sclass2|Loch|frigate}}.  Although ''Mermaid'' took her predecessor's name, the Malaysian Navy retained the British pennant number F76.<ref>Marriott, p. 103</ref> For a number of years she served as the [[flagship]] of the Royal Malaysian Navy after joining {{ship|KD|Rahmat||2}} as the two major assets of the Royal Malaysian Navy.

''Hang Tuah'' became a [[training ship]] in 1992. Between 1995 and 1997, the ship was subject to a major refit, with two new diesel engines being fitted, with a power of {{convert|9928|bhp|kW|lk=in}} giving a speed of {{convert|20|kn|km/h}}, the obsolete 4-inch guns being replaced by a [[Bofors 57 mm L/70 naval artillery gun|Bofors 57 mm gun]], and the Squid anti-submarine mortar and sonars being removed.<ref name="cf98 p499">Baker 1998, p. 499.</ref> In 1992, ''Hang Tuah'' is serving as a training ship and is assigned to Frigate Squadron 21. In April 2017, ''Hang Tuah'' was one of the Malaysian Navy ships which were opened to the public at the "Armada 2017" event at [[Lumut, Malaysia|Lumut naval base]], where she celebrated her 40th anniversary.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.malaysiandefence.com/armada-2017/ |title=Armada 2017 |last=Abas |first=Marhalim |date=8 April 2017 |website=www.malaysiandefence.com |publisher=Malaysian Defence |access-date=2 October 2017 |quote=KD Hang Tuah, the grand dame of the fleet will also see its 50th-anniversary [s/b 40th anniversary?] celebrations held at the same time.}}</ref> ''Hang Tuah'' was retired in 2018 and turned into a museum ship.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2018/11/433342/kd-hang-tuah-be-turned-naval-museum|title = KD Hang Tuah to be turned into naval museum &#124; New Straits Times|date = 21 November 2018}}</ref>

==References==

{{reflist}}

==Publications==
* Baker, A.D. ''The Naval Institute Guide to Combat Fleets of the World 1998–1999''. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1998. {{ISBN|1-55750-111-4}}.
* {{Cite Colledge2006}}
* {{cite book |last=Marriott |first=Leo |date=1990 |title=Royal Navy Frigates since 1945, Second Edition |location=London |publisher=Ian Allan Ltd |page=102 |isbn= 0-7110-1915-0 }}

==External links==
* [http://utuhpaloi.com/pentauliahan-kd-hang-tuah-f76/ Rare and Original Photo of KD Rahmat] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110918165352/http://utuhpaloi.com/pentauliahan-kd-hang-tuah-f76/ |date=18 September 2011 }}
* [http://www.janes.com/defence/gallery/lima_gallery/gallery/0032.shtml Photo of KD Rahmat]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070926223352/http://www.clydesite.co.uk/clydebuilt/viewship.asp?id=1599 CLYDE-BUILT DATABASE]

{{Royal Malaysian Navy Ships}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Hang Tuah}}
[[Category:Frigates of the Ghana Navy]]
[[Category:Ships built on the River Clyde]]
[[Category:1966 ships]]
[[Category:Ships of the Fishery Protection Squadron of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Frigates of the Royal Malaysian Navy]]
[[Category:Naval ships of Malaysia]]
[[Category:Museum ships in Malaysia]]