HMS Albion (L14)

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Career (UK)
HMS Albion at HMNB Devonport Navy Days, August 2006
Name:	HMS Albion
Operator:	Royal Navy
Ordered:	18 July 1996
Laid down:	23 May 1998 Barrow-in-Furness, England
Launched:	9 March 2001
Commissioned:	19 June 2003
Motto:	Fortiler, Fideliter, Feliciter "Boldly, Faithfully, Successfully"
Fate:	Active in service as of 2008
General characteristics
Class and type:	Albion class landing platform dock
Displacement:	18,500 tonnes 21,500 tonnes whilst 'docked down'
Length:	176 m (577 ft 3 in)
Beam:	28.9 m (94 ft 9 in)
Draught:	7.1 m (23 ft 3 in)
Propulsion:	2 × Wartsila 6.25MW & 2 × Wartsila 1.56MW Engines driving GEC Alstom generators feeding two GEC Alstom AC propulsion motors on twin shafts and a bowthruster unit, all operating at 6.6 kV
Speed:	18 knots (33 km/h)
Range:	7,000 nautical miles (13,000 km)
Complement:	325
Armament:	2 × Goalkeeper CIWS 2 × 20 mm close range guns 4 × Machine gun positions Seagnat Decoy System

For other ships of the same name, see HMS Albion.

The ninth and current HMS Albion (2001-present) is a Landing Platform Dock (LPD) ship of the Royal Navy built in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England, UK. Albion is one of the newest ships of the Navy and provides an amphibious assault capability. She is the nameship of the Albion class landing platform dock, which also includes HMS Bulwark. The ship also carries a permanently-embarked Royal Marines landing craft unit, 6 Assault Squadron, Royal Marines.

She was launched on 9 March 2001 and was commissioned on 19 June 2003 by her sponsor The Princess Royal.

In 2003 she received the Freedom of the Chester City and also had a prominent role in the Queen's Colour Parade for the Royal Navy in Plymouth Sound only the third time a Fleet Colour has been given in the Royal Navy's history.

In early 2004 the ship deployed on a multinational exercise for the first time, taking part in Exercise Joint Winter 04 off Norway, following which she was declared fully operational. Her next deployment was the Aurora exercises on the eastern seaboard of the United States. On 11 November 2004 the ship was directed towards Côte d'Ivoire to support Operation Phillis. Albion underwent a refit in early 2006. The refit included the installation of a new command, control and communications suite.

HMS Albion attended the HMNB Devonport Navy Days, August 26th - 28th 2006. Also in attendance was sister ship HMS Bulwark, just recently returned from the Lebanon evacuation. HMS Ocean was unable to attend the Navy Days due to three sailors contracting Tuberculosis. For public safety reasons, Ocean was moved to HMNB Portsmouth.

During the Vela Deployment, Albion acted as the Amphibious Task Group flagship. The deployment lasted from 11 September 2006 until 22 November 2006. In total approximately 3,000 British personnel and 11 ships of the Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary was involved. This deployment saw, for the first time, an Albion class vessel taking part in amphibious operations with a Bay class auxiliary landing ship dock, RFA Mounts Bay.