Work on HMS Cardiff, the second of eight Type 26 Frigates being built on the Clyde, is progressing as the stern block made the short move round to meet the aft section of the ship.

The vessel will be rolled out onto the hardstanding later this year, that’s the area in front of the build hall for anyone wondering.

Work is also continuing on the previous vessel, HMS Glasgow. Drone footage shows the imposing figure of HMS Glasgow, the first of eight Type 26 Frigates, as the vessel is fitted out at a BAE Systems facility in Scotstoun, Glasgow.

Drone shots catch glimpse of warship fitting out in Glasgow

Images captured from the ground recently also show HMS Glasgow. Here are the photos.

In addition to the above, planning permission has been granted and work has started on a huge expansion of the BAE Systems yard at Govan. Diggers are currently filling in the former ‘wet basin’ in preparation for the construction of a massive shipbuilding hall, just beside the current smaller halls.

Drone shots show work on huge Glasgow frigate factory

You can read more about the expansion works here.

George Allison
George has a degree in Cyber Security from Glasgow Caledonian University and has a keen interest in naval and cyber security matters and has appeared on national radio and television to discuss current events. George is on Twitter at @geoallison

31 COMMENTS

  1. Progress. Many thanks for this update George. With reliable government support (always a doubtful factor) there will be work on the Clyde and at Rosyth for decades. I hope efforts recruiting young people to come into the industry are also proceeding apace.

  2. Interesting to see Cardiff so far advanced considering how recently it was that Glasgow was moved down river. Do they have space to fit out two ships side by side because judging by those pictures Cardiff isn’t going to be too long from joining her big sister.
    I’m sure someone will say Glasgow was on the hard standing for ages but they aren’t going to have to cut this one open again to fit the new gear boxes so progress should be much swifter in comparison.

    • Just wondering. How long was did it take for HMS Glasgow from being laid down until it was out on the hard standing? Has HMS Cardiff production been a lot quicker? If its not on the hard standing for as long (was Glasgow outside for 1.5 years??) then the second ship surly wont be that far behind

      • Glasgow was behind the original schedule so it might be that Cardiff is closer to being back on schedule?

  3. It’s ridiculous that HMS Cardiff is being built in Scotland just to keep Nicola Sturgeon happy, surly a great English town like Cardiff should have its ship built in a great English shipyard 😀😜🤣

    • For the hard of thinking, Cardiff is Welsh and Sturgeon is gone.

      And Professor Mark Felton does some great YouTube; but, you know that, right?

    • Hello James! So here is another one but this time a strange but true story. HMS Queen Elizabeth’s ships badge features the Tudor colours of Wales. The main feature of the badge of HMS Prince of Wales is the Cross of St. George-basically the flag of England!?!
      Regards from the beleaguered Colony Of Natal where the Wildebeest(you Poms know them as Gnus) on our former Colonial Flag were in Retreat until some boffin Herald pointed it out to the Governor of the time and their gallop was reversed on the CoA

  4. Things are coming along nicely!

    For those on here who are interested in Naval History.

    “At poignant events marking the 80th anniversary of the sinking of aircraft carrier HMS Dasher, the desire to know what happened to the bodies of hundreds of its crew was stronger than ever.

    The vessel blew up in the Firth of Clyde on March 27th 1943 and went down within eight minutes not far from the shore. The cause is not clear but it did not involve enemy action.”

    LINK

    • but the cause of the disaster is well known: a leak in the aviation fuel system caused the lower internals of the hull to fill with petrol vapour, and in the inevitable resulting explosion, the bottom of the ship was blown out, which is why it sank so quickly.

  5. In other news.

    “Thales UK is set to start rolling out a package of enhancements for the Sonar 2087 low-frequency active/passive variable depth sonar equipping the Royal Navy’s (RN’s) eight anti-submarine warfare (ASW)-optimised Type 23 frigates under a phased capability insertion project (CIP).”

    LINK

  6. Slightly different way of doing things this time? With Glasgow both sections we’re rolled out and met in the open on the hardstanding……..this time the two are being joined undercover as it were……

    • The process will be the same – this Stern Block ( flightdeck ) will join the Aft section ( hangar ) in the shed,and will form the rear half of the ship to be joined outside.

      • Seem to remember that there was some structural alignment problems when the two sections were joined outside , hull distortions, hopefully this will not happen again

        • Mainly due to the cold of winter messing up welding work done to join the segments I believe. They’ll probably rollout in middle of the year and commence work so temperature doesn’t affect as much.

        • Yes there were issues but with the new Building/ Shed underway the problem will be alleviated from HMS Belfast onwards.

          • Agreed , this new build hall should have been part of the yard facilities years ago , build techniques have been old style for too long , typical shareholders reluctance to spend money and improve conditions for the workforce , hopefully longer term contracts can be found to keep work going after current project .

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