Cornwall

Cornwall refers here to HMS Cornwall (F99), a Royal Navy Batch 3 Type 22 frigate. The Type 22, also known as the Broadsword class, evolved from a Cold War anti-submarine escort into a larger multi-role frigate family, with Batch 3 ships adding greater size and more general-purpose capability. Seaforces identifies Cornwall inside the Type 22 class record, while Naval Technology records her decommissioning as the final Royal Navy Type 22. The page should therefore frame Cornwall as a late, enlarged Type 22 rather than a generic frigate with no class context.

Cornwall's capability profile came from the Batch 3 Type 22 design. Earlier Type 22s were strongly associated with anti-submarine escort work, but later ships gained broader surface and command utility. Their large hulls supported better seakeeping and space for sensors, weapons, and staff functions. This makes Cornwall useful for explaining the Royal Navy's transition from specialized Cold War escorts toward flexible surface combatants. A high-value equipment page should mention the class evolution because it clarifies why Cornwall differed from both early Type 22s and later Type 23 frigates.

HMS Cornwall is notable because her retirement marked the end of Type 22 frigate service in the Royal Navy. Naval Technology reported the decommissioning at Devonport in 2011, and Seaforces records Cornwall as the last Royal Navy Type 22 frigate. This gives the page an operational endpoint: the class had served through late Cold War and post-Cold War tasks, but budget and force-structure decisions removed the remaining ships. Cornwall's significance is therefore both technical and institutional, representing the final withdrawal of a major British frigate lineage.