HMS Active (F171)

History
United Kingdom
Name	HMS Active
Builder	Vosper Thornycroft
Laid down	23 July 1971
Launched	23 November 1972
Commissioned	19 July 1977
Decommissioned	23 September 1994
Identification	Pennant number: F171
Motto	Festina lente; (Latin: "Hasten slowly");
Fate	Transferred to Pakistan Navy
Pakistan
Name	PNS Shah Jahan
Acquired	23 September 1994
Fate	Sunk as Target on 12 January 2021
General characteristics
Class and type	Type 21 frigate
Displacement	3,250 tons full load
Length	384 ft (117 m)
Beam	41 ft 9 in (12.73 m)
Draught	19 ft 6 in (5.94 m)
Propulsion	COGOG:; 2 × Rolls-Royce Olympus gas turbines; 2 × Rolls-Royce Tyne RM1A gas turbines for cruising;
Speed	32 knots (59 km/h; 37 mph)
Range	4,000 nautical miles at 17 knots (7,400 km at 31 km/h); 1,200 nautical miles at 30 knots (2,220 km at 56 km/h);
Complement	177
Armament	RN:; 1 × 4.5 inch (114 mm) Mark 8 naval gun; 4 × Oerlikon 20 mm cannon; 4 × MM38 Exocet missiles; 1 × quadruple Sea Cat SAMs; 2 × triple ASW torpedo tubes; 2 × Corvus chaff launchers; 1 × Type 182 towed decoy; Pakistan:; 1 × 4.5 inch (114 mm) Mark 8 naval gun; 2 × Oerlikon 20 mm cannon; 1 × Phalanx CIWS; 2 × 4-cell Harpoon SSM launchers; 2 × triple STWS-1 torpedo launchers (for Mk 46 torpedoes); 2 × Mark 36 SRBOC chaff launchers; 1 × Type 182 towed decoy;
Aircraft carried	1 × Westland Wasp helicopter, later refitted for 1 × Lynx

HMS Active was a Type 21-class frigate of the Royal Navy. Built by Vosper Thornycroft, Southampton, England, she was completed with Exocet launchers in 'B' position, the first of the class to be so fitted.

Royal Navy service

Active participated in the Falklands War, setting out from HMNB Devonport on 10 May 1982 as part of the Bristol Group, reaching the task force on 21 May. Active formed part of the main British Fleet, well east of the Falklands during the day, while escorting supply convoys to San Carlos Water or carrying out shore bombardment missions at night. On the night of 13/14 June, Active shelled on Argentine positions during the Battle of Mount Tumbledown.^[1] HMS Active took part in five NGS (naval gun supports) at Bluff Cove, Fitzroy, Berkley Sound, Mount Tumbledown, and Port Stanley. By the mid-1980s, in common with the other surviving Type 21s, Active suffered from hull cracking. When the ship was next refitted steel plating was welded along each side of the ship to repair and reinforce the weak points. At the same time modifications were made to reduce hull noise.

When Hurricane Gilbert struck Jamaica and Grand Cayman, Active, supported by RFA Oakleaf, arrived in the area on 13 September 1988 to provided emergency relief, before leaving seven days later.^[2]

Pakistan Navy service

Active decommissioned and was sold to Pakistan on 23 September 1994, being renamed Shah Jahan. Exocet was not transferred to Pakistan and Shah Jahan had her obsolete Sea Cat launcher removed. Signaal DA08 air search radar replaced the Type 992 and SRBOC chaff launchers and 20 mm and 30 mm guns were fitted.

Her flag was sold on the BBC programme Bargain Hunt. Shah Jahan remains in service with the Pakistan Navy. Between 11 and 21 May 2008, Shah Jahan participated in Exercise Inspired Union, a multi-national exercises in the North Arabian Sea. Other Pakistani warships included the frigate Badr and the replenishment tanker Nasr, as well as the Pakistan Air Force explosive ordnance disposal team, and the American destroyers Curts and Ross.^[3]

Shah Jahan was sunk as a target on 12 January 2021 as part of a Pakistan Navy live firing exercise.^[4]^[5]

Civilian connections

Active was the adopted ship of the town of Burnley in Lancashire, North-West England. The ship and its crew were granted the freedom of the town in 1989. Part of the town's inner ring-road between Westgate and the traffic lights at the Church Street junction with Colne Road is called Active Way. One of Active's anchors is displayed at the Anchor Retail Park next to Active Way.

References

^ Marriott 1983, p. 104.
^ Roberts, John (2009). Safeguarding the Nation: The Story of the Modern Royal Navy. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1591148128.
^ Lt. (j.g.) Bryan Boggs, USN (6 June 2008). "USS Curts, Pakistani Navy Participate in Officer Exchange Program". NNS080602-12. Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group Public Affairs. Retrieved 27 December 2010.
^ "Pakistan sinks another former Royal Navy frigate in live-fire drill". defbrief.com. 12 January 2021. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
^ "Sad farewell to Burnley's adopted ship HMS Active sunk in Pakistan navy drill". Burnley Express. 21 January 2021.

Publications

Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.
Marriott, Leo (1983). Royal Navy Frigates 1945–1983. Shepperton, UK: Ian Allan. ISBN 0-7110-1322-5.

[marriot_p104-1] Marriott 1983, p. 104.

[Roberts-2] Roberts, John (2009). Safeguarding the Nation: The Story of the Modern Royal Navy. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1591148128.

[3] Lt. (j.g.) Bryan Boggs, USN (6 June 2008). "USS Curts, Pakistani Navy Participate in Officer Exchange Program". NNS080602-12. Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group Public Affairs. Retrieved 27 December 2010.

[4] "Pakistan sinks another former Royal Navy frigate in live-fire drill". defbrief.com. 12 January 2021. Retrieved 14 January 2021.

[5] "Sad farewell to Burnley's adopted ship HMS Active sunk in Pakistan navy drill". Burnley Express. 21 January 2021.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

v t e Type 21 (Amazon-class) frigates
Royal Navy	Amazon Antelope Active Ambuscade Arrow Alacrity Ardent Avenger
Pakistan Navy Tariq-class destroyers^D	Tariq (ex-Ambuscade) Babur (ex-Amazon) Khaibar (ex-Arrow) Badr (ex-Alacrity) Tippu Sultan (ex-Avenger) Shah Jahan (ex-Active)
D Classified as destroyers by the Pakistan Navy
Preceded by: Type 12I (Leander-class) frigates Followed by: Type 22 (Broadsword-class) frigates
List of frigates of the Royal Navy

v t e British Naval Forces of the Falklands War
Royal Navy	Active Alacrity Ambuscade Andromeda Antelope ^S Antrim Ardent ^S Argonaut Arrow Avenger Brilliant Bristol Broadsword Cardiff Conqueror Cordella Courageous Coventry ^S Dumbarton Castle Endurance Exeter Farnella Fearless Glamorgan Glasgow Hecla Herald Hermes Hydra Intrepid Invincible Junella Leeds Castle Minerva Northella Onyx Penelope Pict Plymouth Sheffield ^S Spartan Splendid Valiant Yarmouth
Naval Auxiliary (RFA)	Appleleaf Brambleleaf Bayleaf Blue Rover Engadine Fort Austin Fort Grange Plumleaf Pearleaf Olna Olmeda Regent Resource Sir Bedivere Sir Galahad ^S Sir Geraint Sir Lancelot Sir Percivale Sir Tristram Stromness Tidespring Tidepool
Ships Taken Up From Trade	Alvega Anco Charger Astronomer Atlantic Conveyor ^S Atlantic Causeway Avelona Star Balder London Baltic Ferry British Avon British Dart British Enterprise III British Esk British Tamar British Test British Trent British Wye Canberra Contender Bezant Eburna Elk Europic Ferry Fort Toronto G.A.Walker Geesport Iris Irishman Laertes Lycaon Nordic Ferry Norland Queen Elizabeth 2 Rangatira Salvageman Saxonia Scottish Eagle St Edmund St Helena Stena Inspector Stena Seaspread Strathewe Tor Caledonia Uganda Wimpey Seahorse Yorkshireman
Civilian Auxiliary (RMAS)	Goosander Typhoon
^S - Sunk