Named after Admiral Robert Blake, HMS Blake (C99) was a Tiger class guided missile cruiser of the Royal Navy - the last of the RN cruisers. Originally begun in 1942 as a Minotaur class light cruiser, construction was halted and not resumed until 1954. She was given fully-automatic 6 inch guns in twin high-angle mounts with each gun capable of shooting 20 rounds per minute, and a secondary battery of fully-automatic 3 inch guns which delivered 90 rounds per minute per gun. Each 6 inch and 3 inch mounting had its own director, linked to a dedicated radar on the director. In 1961, Blake finally commissioned into the Royal Navy, the last cruiser to do so. Just two years later, she was placed in reserve.

From 1965 to 1969, she underwent a major conversion that included replacing the after 6 inch mount and 3 inch mounts with a flight deck and hangar, plus new radar installations and taller funnels. With excellent communication facilities, Blake found use as a flagship to task groups. The refit was very expensive; some saying the many millions to convert Blake, and her sister ship Tiger to helicopter cruisers could have been better used elsewhere. Present during the emotional RN withdrawal from Malta in 1971, she took part in the 1977 fleet review off Spithead.

The cruiser carried Westland Wessex HAS MK3 helicopters of  820 NAS from 1969 until withdrawal from service in 1979, when it became the last ship in the Royal Navy to fire a six-inch gun. Her large crew made her an expensive ship to operate and maintain. Blake was refitted in 1980, but due to a manpower cutback became part of the standby squadron, being sold for scrap in 1982. The ship's bell has been preserved and is on display in St. Mary's Church, Bridgewater.