HMS Bristol (D23)

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HMS Bristol (D23) was a Type 82 destroyer, the only vessel of her class to be built for the Royal Navy. Bristol was intended to be the first of a class of large destroyers to escort the CVA-01 aircraft carriers projected to come into service in the early 1970s, but the rest of the class and the CVA-01 carriers were cancelled as a result of the 1966 Defence White Paper which cut defence spending. Following a long career that included the Falklands War, she was converted into a training ship in 1987. While part of the Dartmouth training squadron, she suffered a boiler explosion in 1991 that damaged the vessel beyond economical repair. No longer having enough value to be sold to another navy, she became a Harbour Training Ship at HMS Excellent. She was decommissioned in Portsmouth on 28 October 2020, and her ship's bell was given to the Lord Mayor's Chapel in Bristol where it can be seen when the chapel is open. She was sold for scrap in 2024, with scrapping taking place in 2025.

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