HMS Gurkha (F122)
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| Career (UK) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | HMS Gurkha |
| Operator: | Royal Navy |
| Builder: | John I. Thornycroft & Company |
| Laid down: | 3 November 1958 |
| Launched: | 11 July 1960 |
| Commissioned: | 13 February 1963 |
| Decommissioned: | 30 March 1984 |
| Motto: | Ayo Gurkhali ("The Gurkhas are here!") |
| Fate: | Sold to Indonesia 1984 |
| Career (Indonesia) |  |
| Name: | KRI Wilhelmus Zakarias Yohannes |
| Operator: | Indonesian Navy |
| Acquired: | 1984 |
| Decommissioned: | 1999 |
| Fate: | Laid up |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Tribal class frigate |
| Service record | |
| Operations | Third Cod War |
HMS Gurkha (F122) was a Tribal-class frigate of the Royal Navy. She was named after an ethnic group located in Nepal, and whose people continue to serve in the British Army. Gurkha was built by John I. Thornycroft & Company of Woolston, Hampshire. She was launched on the on 11 July 1960 and commissioned on the on 13 February 1963.
Gurkha deployed to a variety of regions, including the Persian Gulf and Far East. In 1975, Gurkha deployed to the West Indies, and was involved in a variety of duties there, including performing fly-the-flag visits. In 1976, Gurkha, like many other Royal Navy warships, took part in the Third Cod War during the long fishery disputes with Iceland. Gurkha was often confronted by the aggressive Icelandic gunboats: she was rammed by the Icelandic gunboat Odin an astonishing four times in just one day, and in the following day, Gurkha was again in 'action' when she was rammed by the same gunboat three times.
In 1977, Gurkha, like many warships from a variety of nations, took part in the last, at least so far, Fleet Review of the Royal Navy to honour HM the Queen's Silver Jubilee at Spithead, home of many Fleet Reviews in the past.
In 1980, Gurkha was placed in Reserve, the Standby Squadron, due to defence cuts imposed in the defence review by the then defence minister John Nott. In response to the Falklands War in 1982, Gurkha underwent a refit before returning to active service to deployed around Home Waters to fill the gaps by the many warships that had deployed to the South Atlantic. The following year, Gurkha became the Gibraltar Guardship and in March 1984, Gurkha was decommissioned and subsequently sold to Indonesia. She was renamed Wilhelmus Zakarias Yohannes. Wilhelmus Zakarias Yohannes decommissioned from Indonesian service in 1999 and remains laid up.
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