HMS Blake (C99)

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Blake in 1975 with the US carrier Nimitz
History
United Kingdom
Name	HMS Blake
Namesake	Robert Blake
Ordered	1942 Additional Naval Programme
Builder	Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, Govan
Laid down	17 August 1942
Launched	20 December 1945
Commissioned	18 March 1961
Decommissioned	December 1979
Identification	Pennant number: C99
Nickname(s)	'Snakey Blakey'
Fate	Sold for scrap August 1982
General characteristics
Class and type	Tiger-class light cruiser
Displacement	11,560 tons as built 12,080 tons after conversion
Length	555 ft 6 in (169.32 m) overall 538 ft (164 m) between perpendiculars
Beam	64 ft (20 m)
Draught	21 ft (6.4 m)
Propulsion	HuFour Admiralty-type three drum boilers (400 psi) Four shaft Parsons steam turbines 80,000 shp
Speed	31.5 knots (58.3 km/h)
Range	8,000 nautical miles (15,000 km) at 16 knots (30 km/h)
Complement	716 (885 after conversion)
Armament	As built: Four × QF 6 inch Mark N5 guns (2 × 2) Six × 3 in (3 × 2) After conversion: Two × 6 in (1 × 2) Two × 3 in (1 × 2) Two × Seacat quad missile launchers
Aircraft carried	After conversion: Four helicopters (originally Westland Wessex, then Sea King)

HMS Blake was a light cruiser of the Tiger class of the British Royal Navy, the last (traditional) Royal Navy gun-armed cruiser of the 20th century. She was named after Robert Blake, a 17th-century admiral who was the "Father of the Royal Navy".