By the mid-1960s the Minister of Defence Denis Healey and the Labour Government were reducing the size of the Royal Navy and rejecting the idea of broken back conventional or limited nuclear war in the Atlantic.

Eventually such ships could be sold to the third world to aid British interests in South America, the Middle East and Asia where Britain was withdrawing its own forces.

By the mid-1970s it was clear that the Mk 2 Sea Slug did not represent a significant improvement over the earlier version, because it was even less reliable and attempts to develop successful sustainer motors had failed.

There was only money to fit new computer command and control to the three other second group County class, so Norfolk was reduced to increasingly marginal and third line roles.

In September 1976, one of the highlights of her relatively peaceful career came, when she flew the Queen's Colour in Sweden and King Carl XVI Gustaf unveiled a plaque to commemorate the British Admiral James de Saumarez.

Now of marginal naval value in the North Atlantic with even the Exocets being a light short ranged missile compared with the Soviets, Norfolk was inevitably a candidate for early pay off to be sold to third world or Commonwealth countries.