On 1 April this year a very significant, and in some ways a rather poignant, historic event took place in Alexandra Docks, Belfast. HMS Caroline, launched in 1914, and a veteran of the Battle of Jutland, was finally decommissioned as an active UK Royal Naval vessel after 97 continuous years in service. She was, until April, the third oldest commissioned naval ship in the world, Britain's second oldest, and the oldest British RN vessel still afloat. Yet, although she is listed as part of the National Historic Fleet's Core Collection, this does not infer fully 'protected' status. The vessel is, almost without doubt, the most important unprotected warship in Britain, and arguably one of the most important in the world.
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