Landlocked Wolverhampton boasts its own warship as HMS Active makes public debut in glitzy ceremony
It might be landlocked, but that doesn't mean Wolverhampton can't have its own warship.
The Royal Navy’s new Inspiration-class frigate HMS Active was carefully rolled out of a huge assembly hall in Rosyth in Scotland, the first time most people will have seen the vessel, in a glitzy ceremony by the banks of the River Forth.
It’s the first time in more than 60 years that the West Midlands city has enjoyed an affiliation with a warship and means that HMS Active will represent and fly the flag for Wolverhampton on her patrols around the globe.
Her 120-strong crew will also support and raise money for good causes in the city and, when invited by civic leaders, parade through the streets to bring naval pomp and ceremony to a landlocked part of the UK.
At 138.7m long (455ft) and displacing around 5,700 tonnes, the new frigate can sail upwards of 10,000 miles without the need to take on food or fuel, reach speeds in excess of 30mph and operate helicopters as large as an RAF Chinook from her flight deck (more typically it will be a Royal Navy Wildcat or Merlin).
She’ll be armed with a main 57mm and two Bofors 40mm guns, plus the Sea Ceptor air defence missile system.
In addition, there’s space for up to six shipping containers for additional equipment, including drones and crewless systems, support for specialist dive teams or Royal Marines Commando boarding and raiding teams.
Fleet Commander Vice Admiral Steve Moorhouse said: “The Type 31 Inspiration class represents a major step forward in modernising our fleet.
"These are capable and adaptable ships, designed to give the Royal Navy the flexibility it needs in a fast changing strategic environment.
“Their combat systems and modular design will allow upgrades throughout their life, ensuring they can meet both today’s threats and those we cannot yet see.”
The new Active will perform many of the same duties as her predecessor: patrols spanning the globe, from supporting the global fight against terrorism and drug trafficking, to delivering vital relief in the wake of disasters, through to combat missions when required.
Work has been under way on the new frigate since January 2023, with Active gradually taking shape in a gigantic assembly hall, which is large enough for two Inspiration-class warships to be built side-by-side.
Once the vessels reach a sufficiently completed state inside the hall, they are rolled out and subsequently transferred to a dry dock to undergo completion and testing of systems before ultimately going to sea.
Naval, political and civic leaders joined shipwrights, engineers and employees of Babcock International Group, who are building Active and the four sister ships in the class, as well as veterans, Sea Cadets and schoolchildren for the roll-out ceremony which was accompanied by a light/laser show.
It followed a ceremony just a few minutes earlier to mark the first steel being cut for the fourth ship in the Inspiration class, HMS Bulldog.
Among the hundreds of people watching Active slowly emerge from the assembly hall was 66-year-old Mike Hurley, who spent near 24 years in the Navy as a marine engineer, including service aboard HMS Active in the Falklands.
He said: “I was pleasantly surprised to see that the Active name is being used again as my last sighting of her was on a YouTube video being torpedoed after completing her service as the PNS Shah Jahan, a sad end, so great to see the Active name living on."
Some 1,250 people are being employed directly at sites nationwide, including Rosyth, while the same number are working across the UK to support the Type 31 programme.
All Type 31 warships are affiliated with two towns/cities/boroughs. As well as Wolverhampton, HMS Active will also represent Burnley.
Wolverhampton was previously affiliated with cruiser HMS Curacao until she was lost in World War 2 after colliding with RMS Queen Mary; the city subsequently adopted another cruiser, HMS Newfoundland, which served until the late 1950s.
Once she is completed and has successfully passed her sea trials, HMS Active will operate out of Portsmouth Naval Base.
