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HMS Leander (F109) in December 1977 | |
History | |
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United Kingdom | |
Name | HMS Leander (F109) |
Operator | Royal Navy |
Builder | Harland and Wolff |
Laid down | 10 April 1959 |
Launched | 28 June 1961 |
Commissioned | 27 March 1963 |
Decommissioned | April 1987 |
Motto | Qui patitur vincit |
Fate | Sunk as target 1989 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Leander-class frigate |
Displacement |
|
Length | 372 ft (113 m) |
Beam | 41 ft (12 m) |
Draught | 19 ft (6 m) |
Propulsion | Two Babcock & Wilcox boilers delivering steam to two sets of White/English Electric geared turbines of 30,000 shp (22,000 kW) on two shafts |
Speed | 28 knots (52 km/h) |
Range | 4,600 nautical miles (8,500 km) at 15 knots (28 km/h) |
Complement | 18 officers and 248 ratings |
Sensors and processing systems |
|
Electronic warfare & decoys | ADAWS5 (Action Data Automated Weapon System) combat information system, ESM system with UAA-8/9 warning and Type 668/669 jamming elements. |
Armament |
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HMS Leander (F109) was the nameship of the Leander-class frigate of the Royal Navy (RN). She was originally intended to be part of the Rothesay class and would have been known as Weymouth. Leander was, like the rest of the class, named after a figure of the classical Greek mythology. She was built by the Harland & Wolff shipyard in Belfast, Northern Ireland and was launched on 28 June 1961. She was commissioned on 27 March 1963.
Upon her commissioning, Leander deployed to the West Indies, performing a variety of duties while there. She returned to the United Kingdom in April 1964. In 1965, Leander was part of Matchmaker I, a multi-national squadron of NATO, and the predecessor of Standing Naval Force Atlantic (STANAVFORLANT), which was created in 1967, although it was not actually formed until the following year. In 1966, Leander deployed to the Pacific and in 1967 she deployed back to the West Indies and subsequently to the Persian Gulf.
In 1970, Leander joined the NATO multi-national squadron STANAVFORLANT. In June that year, Leander began modernisation that included the removal of her one twin 4.5-in gun which was replaced by the Ikara anti-submarine warfare (ASW) missile launcher. The work was completed in December 1972. In 1974, she joined the 3rd Frigate Squadron, which included other Leander-class frigates. That same year, as part of that squadron, Leander took part in Task Group (TG) 317.2, a deployment that caused some controversy back in the UK when the TG, on its way to the Far East/Pacific, visited South Africa, which was at that time under apartheid rule. As well as visiting two ports in South Africa, the TG performed military exercises with the South African armed forces, which caused uproar in some parts of the governing Labour Party, as well as gaining much press coverage.
Leander, with the rest of the TG visited Cape Town, while Diomede and the submarine Warspite visited Simonstown. The TG, upon reaching their destination performed a number of exercises and 'fly the flag' visits with Far East and Pacific countries. While in the region, Leander, like a number of the TG, was shadowed by a number of nations, including the Soviet Union, a common occurrence during the Cold War. The TG did not visit South Africa on their return, and headed to Brazil for an exercise with the Brazilian Navy. Leander returned to the United Kingdom in June 1975.
In December 1975, Leander, under the command of Captain John Tait, began a Fishery Protection Patrol during the Third Cod War between the United Kingdom and Iceland over fishing disputes. Like many other Royal Navy vessels, she was confronted by Icelandic gunboats. In January 1976, she rammed the Icelandic gunboat Þór (Thor), causing some damage to both ships. Þór sailed back to port for repairs with her helicopter deck damaged, while Leander's hull was dented on her starboard bow. No further collisions with Icelandic gunboats occurred on her first patrol, but on 17 January, the ship broke down during a heavy storm. She eventually made her way back to Faslane. The damage she suffered during her Fishery Patrol and during the storm was repaired at Devonport Dockyard. When the repairs were made, Leander undertook a second Fishery Patrol, and rammed another Icelandic patrol boat, Ver on 22 May 1976. Leander's stem was shattered, while part of Ver's port quarter was ripped off. [1]
In 1977, Leander undertook a refit, and the following year headed to the West Indies, California, British Columbia, Mexico and Florida.
In 1982, Leander came to the aid of the Portuguese vessel MV Ave Maria which was ablaze off Exeter. Leander deployed to the Mediterranean in 1983 and again in 1985.
On 31 July 1986 Leander was placed in Reserve, becoming part of the Standby Squadron. [2] A potential sale to Chile did not occur, possibly due to Australia prohibiting the sale of the Ikara ASW missile to non-Commonwealth nations. [3] In April 1987, Leander was decommissioned. Her career came to an end in 1989, when during a naval exercise, she was sunk by a Sea Dart missile, three Exocets and one gravity bomb.
HMS Scylla (F71) was a Leander-class frigate of the Royal Navy (RN). She was built at Devonport Royal Dockyard, the last RN frigate to be built there as of 2016. Scylla was commissioned in 1970, taken out of service in 1993 in accordance with Options for Change, and sunk as an artificial reef in 2004 off Whitsand Bay, Cornwall.
HMS Andromeda was a Leander-class frigate of the Royal Navy. She was built at HM Dockyard Portsmouth. She was launched on 24 May 1967 and commissioned into the Royal Navy on 2 December 1968. She took part in the Falklands War. She was sold to India in 1995, for use as a training ship, being renamed INS Krishna. She was finally decommissioned in May 2012.
HMS Minerva (F45) was a Leander-class frigate of the Royal Navy. The ship commissioned in 1966 and took part in the Beira Patrol and Second Cod War during the 1970s and the Falklands War in 1982. Charles, Prince of Wales served aboard the ship in the 1970s. Between these major engagements, the frigate patrolled British territorial waters and took part in NATO and British military exercises. Minerva was decommissioned in 1992 and sold for scrap.
HMS Achilles was a Leander-class frigate of the Royal Navy. She was built by Yarrow at Glasgow. She was launched on 21 November 1968 and commissioned on 9 July 1970. She was sold to Chile in 1991 and served in the Chilean Navy as Ministro Zenteno. She was washed away from her berth at Talcahuano by a tsunami following the February 2010 Chile earthquake, and ran aground on the coast a few kilometres to the north. She was scuttled the following month by the Chilean Navy as a danger to navigation.
HMS Ajax was a Leander-class frigate of the Royal Navy. She was built by the famous Cammell Laird company of Birkenhead. Ajax was launched on 16 August 1962 and commissioned on 10 December 1963. She was originally intended to be named HMS Fowey, and laid down as a Rothesay class, but instead became part of Batch 1 of the Leander class.
HMS Diomede (F16) was a Leander-class frigate of the Royal Navy. She was built by Yarrow Shipbuilders in Glasgow. Diomede was launched on 15 April 1969 and commissioned on 2 April 1971. In 1988, the vessel was taken out of service and sold to Pakistan. Renamed PNS Shamsheer, the vessel served with the Pakistan Navy until being scrapped.
HMS Aurora was a Leander-class frigate of the Royal Navy (RN). Like other ships of the class, Aurora was named after a figure of mythology, Aurora being the Roman equivalent of the Greek goddess Eos.
HMS Dido was a Royal Navy (RN) Leander-class frigate. Entering service in 1961, Dido was involved in the Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation, served with NATO's Standing Naval Force Atlantic on several occasions, and was one of the frigates used for the filming of the drama series Warship.
HMS Penelope was a Leander-class frigate of the Royal Navy. In the Falklands War, Penelope fired on an Argentine patrol boat and claimed to be the last ship attacked by Argentine aircraft over the course of the war. In 1991, she was commissioned into the Ecuadorean Navy, and renamed Presidente Eloy Alfaro.
HMS Euryalus (F15) was a Leander-class frigate of the Royal Navy (RN). Like the rest of the class, Euryalus was named after a figure of mythology. Euryalus was built by Scotts Shipbuilders of Greenock. Euryalus was launched on 6 June 1963, and commissioned on 16 September 1964.
HMS Cleopatra (F28) was a Leander-class frigate of the Royal Navy (RN). Cleopatra was built at HMNB Devonport. She was launched on 21 March 1964, commissioned on 1 March 1966 and decommissioned on 31 January 1992.
HMS Naiad (F39) was a Leander-class frigate of the Royal Navy (RN). Like the rest of the class, Naiad was named after a figure or figure of mythology, in this case, the Naiads of Greek mythology. Naiad was built by Yarrow Shipbuilders of Scotstoun. She was launched on 4 November 1963 and commissioned on 15 March 1965.
HMS Arethusa was a Leander-class frigate of the Royal Navy. She was, like most of the Leanders, named after a figure of mythology. Arethusa was built by J.S. White & Company Shipbuilders of Cowes, launched on 5 November 1963 and commissioned on 24 November 1965.
HMS Apollo was a batch 3B broadbeam Leander-class frigate of the Royal Navy. She was, like the rest of the class, named after a figure of mythology. Apollo was built by Yarrow Shipbuilders of Scotstoun. She was launched on 15 October 1970 and commissioned on 28 May 1972, making her the penultimate Leander.
HMS Ariadne was a Leander-class frigate of the Royal Navy. She was launched in 1971, was sold to Chile in 1992 and sunk as a target hulk in 2004.
HMS Juno was a Leander-class frigate of the Royal Navy (RN). Like the rest of the class, Juno was named after a figure of mythology. She was built by Thornycroft of Woolston, Hampshire. Juno was launched on 24 November 1965 and commissioned on 18 July 1967.
HMS Sirius (F40) was a Leander-class frigate of the Royal Navy (RN) built by H.M. Dockyard Portsmouth, and was the penultimate RN warship to be built there for a period of forty years, until Vosper Thornycroft built HMS Clyde. Sirius was launched on 22 September 1964 and commissioned on 15 June 1966. The ship continued in front line service until February 1992.
HMS Jupiter (F60) was a Batch 3 Leander-class frigate of the Royal Navy (RN). She was, like the rest of the class, named after a figure of mythology. Built by Yarrow Shipbuilders of Scotstoun, she was launched on 4 September 1967 and commissioned on 9 August 1969.
HMS Danae was a Leander-class frigate of the Royal Navy. She was, like the rest of the class, named after a figure of mythology. Danae was built by Devonport Dockyard. She was launched on 31 October 1965 and commissioned on 10 October 1967.
HMS Phoebe (F42) was a Leander-class frigate of the Royal Navy (RN). She was, like the rest of her class, named after a figure of mythology. Built by Alexander Stephen and Sons on the River Clyde, she was launched on 19 December 1964 and commissioned on 15 May 1966.
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