Sheffield, Newcastle announced as two new Royal Navy Type 26 frigate names

Additional two names for the Royal Navy’s Type 26 City-class frigates were announced on two separate occasions on November 22.

UK defense minister Stuart Andrew announced that the fifth Type 26 frigate would be named Sheffield during a visit to Chesterfield Special Cylinders in Sheffield, a key supplier to the multi-billion-pound Type 26 program.

During a visit to Newcastle on the same day, UK defense secretary Gavin Williamson revealed that the sixth ship in the class would be named HMS Newcastle

HMS Sheffield will be the fourth ship to carry the name, with the first ship carrying her name in 1935.

Cruiser HMS Sheffield played a vital role in Scandinavia during the Second World War and assisted with the evacuation of Andalsnes in 1940. The second HMS Sheffield, a Type 42 destroyer, was lost during the Falklands War. The third was a Batch 2 Type 22 frigate ordered in 1988.

HMS Newcastle is the seventh Royal Navy ship to bear the name.

The two ships will join HMS Glasgow, HMS Belfast, HMS Cardiff, HMS Birmingham and HMS London. The final name has yet to be announced.

All of the Type 26 frigates will be built on the Clyde, supported by suppliers across the country and securing decades of work for more than 4,000 people. The first three ships have already been ordered for £3.7bn.