HMS Vidal

History
United Kingdom
NameHMS Vidal
BuilderChatham Dockyard
Laid down5 July 1950
Launched31 July 1951
Completed29 March 1954
Commissioned1954
FateBroken up in June 1976
General characteristics
Class & typeSurvey ship
Displacement1,885 long tons full load
Length297 ft (91 m)
Beam40 ft (12 m)
Propulsion
  • Four diesel motors
  • two shafts
Speed16 knots
Complement161
Armament
Aircraft carried1 × Westland Dragonfly helicopter

HMS Vidal was a survey ship of the Royal Navy. She was designed specifically as a surveying vessel, and was the first survey ship to carry a helicopter. In 1955, a group from Vidal formally annexed Rockall in the North Sea to the United Kingdom.