HMS Bulwark (L15)

For other ships with the same name, see HMS Bulwark.

HMS Bulwark
History
United Kingdom
NameHMS Bulwark
Ordered18 July 1996
BuilderBAE Systems Marine, Barrow-in-Furness, England
Laid down27 January 2000
Launched15 November 2001
Sponsored byLady Walker
Commissioned28 April 2005
Out of servicePlanned by March 2025
Refit2010–2011
HomeportHMNB Devonport, Plymouth
Identification
Motto"Under thy wings I will trust"
StatusExtended readiness; to be retired from service March 2025 -
Badge
General characteristics
Class and typeAlbion-class amphibious transport dock
Displacement19,560 t (19,250 long tons; 21,560 short tons)
Length176 m (577 ft 5 in)
Beam28.9 m (94 ft 10 in)
Draught7.1 m (23 ft 4 in)
Propulsion
  • 2 × Wärtsilä Vasa 16V 32E diesel generators
  • 2 × Wärtsilä Vasa 4R 32E diesel generators
  • GE Power Conversion Full Electric Propulsion System, 2x Motors and Drives
  • Bow thruster
Speed18 knots (21 mph; 33 km/h)
Range8,000 miles (7,000 nmi; 13,000 km)
Boats & landing
craft carried
Capacity67 vehicles
Troops405 Royal Marines (710 overload)[1][2]
Crew325
Sensors and
processing systems
  • 2 × Type 1007/8 I-band radars
  • 1 × Type 996 E/F band radar
  • 1 × Type 997 E/F-band radar (from 2016)
Armament
Aviation facilitiesTwo landing spots for helicopters up to the size of a Chinook.
Migrant rescue duty in the Mediterranean Sea, August 2014
Escorted by the French frigate Courbet and German frigate Schleswig-Holstein during IMCMEX14 in the Persian Gulf

HMS Bulwark is the second ship of the Royal Navy's Albion-class assault ships. She is one of the United Kingdom's two landing platform docks designed to put Royal Marines ashore by air and by sea though is due to be retired by March 2025.[6]

Although launched in 2001, delays caused the delivery date to be put back, and the ship entered service In 28 April 2005. Together with Albion, and other amphibious ships, she has provided a larger and more effective amphibious capability than the previous Fearless-class vessels. Between October 2011 and June 2015 she was the fleet flagship of the Royal Navy.[7][8] She has been in extended upkeep since 2020.[9] The ship is designed to send large numbers of troops and vehicles to shore as quickly as possible. Bulwark has supported a permanently embarked Royal Marines landing craft unit, 4 Assault Squadron Royal Marines.[10] The rear of Bulwark opens and floods a compartment, allowing the boats inside to be launched. The 64-metre (210 ft) flight deck is able to take two Sea King HC4 or Merlin medium-lift helicopters and stow a third. The deck can also support two Chinook heavy-lift helicopters, one down the side of the flight deck and one at the rear of the flight deck. Although the Albion design does not have a hangar, the ship has sufficient equipment to support helicopter operations.

Bulwark was launched at the BAE Systems shipyard at Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, on 15 November 2001. She is, to date, the most recent surface vessel to have been constructed at Barrow with the yard currently specialising in submarine construction.

  1. ^ "Albion Class Landing Platform Dock". Military-Today.com. 2015. Retrieved 20 December 2015.
  2. ^ "Albion Class LPD(R)". Navy Matters. 19 December 2004. Archived from the original on 2 January 2013. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  3. ^ "Last ditch defence – the Phalanx close-in weapon system in focus". Navy Lookout. 10 August 2020. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
  4. ^ "The all-rounder – the 30mm Automated Small Calibre Gun in focus". Navy Lookout. 13 January 2021. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
  5. ^ "In focus: the 50 cal heavy machine gun in Royal Navy service". Navy Lookout. 5 May 2023. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  6. ^ Vock, Ido (20 November 2024). "UK to decommission ships, drones and helicopters to save £500m". BBC.
  7. ^ "HMS Bulwark becomes Royal Navy's new flagship". BBC News. 19 October 2011. Retrieved 20 December 2015.
  8. ^ "HMS Ocean to assume Fleet Flagship role". Royal Navy. 27 May 2015. Retrieved 20 December 2015.
  9. ^ "Devonport diesel fuel theft investigation launched". BBC News. 7 April 2022.
  10. ^ "HMS Bulwark (L15)". Royal Navy. 2015. Retrieved 20 December 2015.