HMS Liverpool has returned home after a seven-month mission off the Libyan coast. The Type 42 destroyer was the most heavily involved of the 16 RN and RFA vessels that took part inUN operations, remaining on task for almost the entire period of the Libyan uprising. When HMS Liverpool arrived on station in April 2011, the city of Benghazi was about to fall into the hands of anti-Gaddafi rebels, and the city of Misrata was under siege by Gaddafi’s troops. By August, she had moved to within just a few miles of the capital Tripoli as the rebels took powerand formed the National Transitional Council of Libya, before she was finally positioned near Sirte for Gaddafi’s final stand in October.Liverpool’s efforts have seen her fire 209 rounds from her main 4.5-inch gun, while she has been fired on ten times. The ship’s company spent a total of 81 hours at action stations off Libya, on 28 separate occasions.
