The fourth of the Royal Navy’s new Type 26 frigates is to be named HMS Birmingham, Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson has announced.
The Defence Secretary also ended speculation that the Royal Navy's two amphibious assault ships HMS Albion and Bulwark may be retired early.
Speaking at the Conservative Party conference at the Birmingham ICC, Mr Williamson said three ships had previously borne the name of the Midlands city, winning five Battle Honours between them.
Birmingham will be the fourth of a planned class of eight 6,900-tonne frigates to be built in Scotland - the first three are to be named HM ships Glasgow, Belfast and Cardiff.
The first HMS Birmingham was a Town-class light cruiser, built by Armstrong Whitworth on the Tyne and launched in 1913.
She was damaged at the Battle of Jutland, but went on to serve long after the Armistice, serving in the Nore Command and on the Africa Station amongst others before being scrapped in 1931.
Her successor was another Town-class cruiser, launched in September 1936 at Devonport Dockyard.
The cruiser saw plenty of action during the war, and came under attack in the Mediterranean in 1942 and 1943; the first, by bombers, caused relatively minor damage, but a torpedo strike the following year was far more serious, requiring her to be patched up in Alexandria before crossing the Atlantic for full repairs in the United States. She was out of action for round a year.
She too survived wartime service, and was eventually paid off in late 1959, being broken up the following year.
The third Birmingham was a Type 42 destroyer that was commissioned in late 1976 and took part in a range of missions including safeguarding international shipping during the Iran-Iraq War and patrolling the Falkland Islands before leaving service in 1999.
During his address to conference, Mr Williamson also guaranteed the future of amphibious assault ships Albion and Bulwark, which had been the subject of speculation as to their early withdrawal from service.
The Defence Secretary said: “To deliver what seems impossible, the Royal Marines need to be able to bring the fight from the sea to the land.
“As such, I am happy to announce today that I am protecting their vital landing platforms HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark."
Troops can launch an amphibious attack from the two ships by means of boats from the landing docks or by assault helicopters using the flight decks.
Pictured is an artist’s impression of the new Type 26 frigate (Copyright © 2018 BAE Systems. All rights reserved).
