HMS Penelope (F127)

Last updated

HMS Penelope, 1970 (IWM).jpg
Aerial view of Penelope in her original configuration, 1970
History
Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom
NameHMS Penelope
Namesake Penelope
Operator Royal Navy
Builder Vickers-Armstrongs (Shipbuilders) Ltd, Newcastle
Laid down14 March 1961
Launched17 August 1962
Commissioned31 October 1963
Decommissioned1991
Identification Pennant number: F127
FateSold to Ecuador, 1991
Flag of Ecuador.svg Ecuador
NamePresidente Eloy Alfaro
Namesake Eloy Alfaro
Operator Ecuadorian Navy
Commissioned1991
Decommissioned19 March 2008
Identification Hull number: FM 01
FateScrapped
General characteristics
Class and type Leander-class frigate
Displacement
  • 2,450 tons standard
  • 3,200 tons full load
Length372 ft (113 m)
Beam41 ft (12 m)
Draught19 ft (6 m)
PropulsionTwo Babcock & Wilcox boilers delivering steam to two sets of White/English Electric geared turbines of 30,000 shp (22,000 kW) on two shafts
Speed28 knots (52 km/h)
Range4,600 nautical miles (8,500 km) at 15 knots (28 km/h)
Complement18 officers and 248 sailors
Sensors and
processing systems
  • 1 × Type 994 air/surface search radar
  • 1 × Type 1006 navigation radar
  • 2 × Type 903/904 fire-control radars
  • 1 × Type 184P active search and attack sonar
Electronic warfare
& decoys		CAAIS (Computer Assisted Action Information System) combat information system, ESM system with UAA-8/9 warning and Type 668/669 jamming elements.
Armament
  • 2 × 4.5-inch (110 mm) L45 DP guns in one Mk 6 twin mounting; later replaced by four Exocet MM38 missiles in 2 pairs of launchers, forward of the bridge screen
  • 3 × quadruple Sea Cat anti-air missile launchers. One Fwd between Exocet launchers and two on Hangar roof, aft.
  • 2 × 40-millimetre (1.6 in) Bofors guns
  • 2 × Mk 32 triple 12.75-inch (324 mm) mountings for Mk46 or Stingray torpedoes
  • Post Falklands conflict saw the addition of 2 x Single Oerlikon 20 mm GAMBO mountings. One on a sponson port side forward of the hangar and one on a raised sponson, starboard side aft quarterdeck.
Aircraft carried1 × Wasp, later Lynx helicopter

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.

Contents

Background

The ship that eventually became HMS Penelope was originally intended as a Type 61 aircraft direction frigate to have been named HMS Coventry, as part of a second batch of Type 61s. However, under the 1957 Defence White Paper, the order for Coventry was deferred. the plan for a new batch of four Type 61s, including Coventry, was eventually cancelled in 1961. However, the intended hull was subsequently ordered as a unit of the new Leander-class, and was named as HMS Penelope. Like other ships of the class, except Cleopatra, Penelope was named after a figure of mythology. [1]

Construction

Penelope was laid down at Vickers-Armstrongs' Walker shipyard on Tyneside on 14 March 1961, was launched on 17 August 1962. Penelope was commissioned on 31 October 1963 with the Pennant number F127. [2] Total construction cost was £4,600,000. [3]

The ship was 372 feet (113.4 m) long overall and 360 feet (109.7 m) at the waterline, with a beam of 41 feet (12.5 m) and a maximum draught of 18 feet (5.5 m). Displacement was 2,380 long tons (2,420 t) standard and 2,860 long tons (2,910 t) full load. Two oil-fired boilers fed steam at 550 pounds per square inch (3,800 kPa) and 850 °F (454 °C) to a pair of double reduction geared steam turbines that in turn drove two propeller shafts, with the machinery rated at 30,000 shaft horsepower (22,000 kW), giving a speed of 28 knots (52 km/h; 32 mph). [4]

A twin 4.5-inch (113 mm) Mark 6 gun mount was fitted forward. While the Leander-class was planned to be fitted with the Sea Cat surface-to-air missile, Penelope was completed with two Bofors 40 mm anti-aircraft guns as a temporary substitute until Sea Cat could be fitted. A Limbo anti-submarine mortar was fitted aft to provide a short-range anti-submarine capability, while a hangar and helicopter deck allowed a single Westland Wasp helicopter to be operated, for longer range anti-submarine and anti-surface operations. [5]

As built, Penelope was fitted with a large Type 965 long range air search radar on the ship's mainmast, with a Type 993 short range air/surface target indicating radar and Type 974 navigation radar carried on the ship's foremast. An MRS3 fire control system was carried to direct the 4.5-inch guns. [6] The ship had a sonar suite of Type 177 medium range search sonar, Type 162 bottom search and Type 170 attack sonar, together with a Type 199 variable depth sonar (VDS). [5]

Operational history

1963-1967

After commissioning and workup, Penelope joined the 20th Frigate Squadron which was based at Londonderry Port in Northern Ireland, [3] and from September–December 1964, formed part of a special squadron led by the cruiser Tiger that visited South American ports in an effort to improve relations and increase trade between Britain and South America. [7] The ship transferred to the 2nd Frigate Squadron in September 1965. [8] In 1966 Penelope underwent a refit into a trials ship with much of her weaponry and sensors removed or deactivated. The large Type 965 radar was removed, as was the ship's VDS gear and 40 mm guns, while the twin 4.5-in gun turret and fire-control system was cocooned for preservation. [9] She took part in a variety of trials, including tests of different designs of propellers and was refitted in 1970 in preparation for trials of hull noise which involved having her propellers removed and being towed by sister ship Scylla at the end of a 1 mile (1.6 km) long cable. She was also fitted with a prototype Type 184M sonar. [10]

1968

In 1968, Penelope assisted in the aftermath of the Aer Lingus Flight 712 crash in the Irish Sea. There have been a number of conspiracy theories about the crash, including the alleged involvement of Penelope. The theory goes that the ship, while performing tests, mistook the aircraft for a target drone and shot her down. [11] [ verification needed ] All conspiracy theories have been refuted by the Ministry of Defence, while a 2002 report on the accident by an international study team noted that Penelope was 130 nautical miles (240 km; 150 mi) from the site of the accident, and was not fitted with surface to air missiles. [12] [13]

1969-1981

The following year, Penelope was present in West Germany during the Kiel Week festival which combined a yachting race and festival events.[ citation needed ] In 1971, she underwent another refit to allow her to carry out trials on the Sea Wolf missile. All existing armament was removed, and an experimental tracking system and then a Sea Wolf launcher were mounted on the ship's flight deck. The location of individual trials was dictated by the needs of the scientists conducting the trials. Sometimes live fire trials were conducted within a firing range off the Welsh coast. 4.5 inch shells fired from a ship several miles away would pass overhead and be targeted by Sea Wolf. Most trials however were conducted in harbour, tied up alongside, with the boilers shut down. These trials continued until December 1977, when she started another refit at Devonport Dockyard to return her to an operational frigate and convert her to Batch 2 Exocet configuration. [14]

Falklands War

In 1982, Penelope took part in the Falklands War as part of the "Bristol group", which included two other Leander-class ships - Minerva and Andromeda - she did not reach the Falkland Islands area of operations until 26 May. Upon her arrival, Penelope recovered air-dropped stores. Thereafter she escorted ships to and from the beachhead at San Carlos and Bluff Cove, [15] including, in late May, the damaged Argonaut which had suffered damage after being hit by cannon fire and bombs.

On 13 June, Penelope's Lynx helicopter struck the already stranded Argentinian patrol boat Rio Iguazu with a Sea Skua missile. Penelope also claimed to be the last ship attacked by Argentine aircraft over the course of the war. [15] Penelope returned home in September 1982.

Soon after, Penelope undertook a Falklands patrol in the tense aftermath of the war, and did not return home until June 1983. The following year, she deployed to the South Atlantic again, patrolling and performing other duties in that region.

1988

On 12 September 1988, during a routine daylight replenishment at sea the ship collided with the starboard side of the Canadian naval supply ship HMCS Preserver (AOR 510). Penelope caught the Preserver's starboard anchor, cutting her port side open. The Canadian vessel suffered $260,000 damage, while Penelope suffered damage estimated in the millions. [16]

Ecuadorean Navy service, 1991–2008

Penelope at handover to Ecuador at Devonport Dockyard in 1991 Ex-hms-penelope-entregada-a-ecuador-en-1991.jpg
Penelope at handover to Ecuador at Devonport Dockyard in 1991

Penelope was decommissioned and subsequently sold, along with Danae, to Ecuador. She was renamed Presidente Eloy Alfaro after President Eloy Alfaro, a prominent Ecuadorean martyred reformer of the early 20th century.

Presidente Eloy Alfaro was decommissioned on 19 March 2008, after 17 years in the Ecuadorean Navy.

Related Research Articles

Type 23 frigate Class of frigates built for the Royal Navy

The Type 23 frigate or Duke class is a class of frigates built for the United Kingdom's Royal Navy. The ships are named after British Dukes, thus leading to the class being commonly known as the Duke class. The first Type 23, HMS Norfolk, was commissioned in 1989, and the sixteenth, HMS St Albans was commissioned in June 2002. They form the core of the Royal Navy's destroyer and frigate fleet and serve alongside the Type 45 destroyers. They were designed for anti-submarine warfare, but have been used for a range of uses. Nine Type 23 frigates remain in service with the Royal Navy, with three vessels having been sold to the Chilean Navy and four being retired since 2021.

Type 21 frigate Class of general purpose frigates built for Royal Navy

The Type 21 frigate, or Amazon-class frigate, was a British Royal Navy general-purpose escort that was designed in the late 1960s, built in the 1970s and served throughout the 1980s into the 1990s.

<i>Leander</i>-class frigate Class of frigate in the Royal Navy

The Leander-class, or Type 12I (Improved) frigates, comprising twenty-six vessels, was among the most numerous and long-lived classes of frigate in the Royal Navy's modern history. The class was built in three batches between 1959 and 1973. It had an unusually high public profile, due to the popular BBC television drama series Warship. The Leander silhouette became synonymous with the Royal Navy through the 1960s until the 1980s.

HMS <i>Scylla</i> (F71) 1970 Type 12I or Leander-class frigate of the Royal Navy

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 <i>Andromeda</i> (F57) Type 12I or Leander-class frigate of the Royal Navy and Indian Navy

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 <i>Achilles</i> (F12) Type 12I or Leander-class frigate of the Royal Navy and Chilean Navy

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 <i>Ajax</i> (F114) 1963 Type 12I or Leander-class frigate of the Royal Navy

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sea Wolf (missile)</span> Surface-to-air

Sea Wolf is a naval surface-to-air missile system designed and built by BAC, later to become British Aerospace (BAe) Dynamics, and now MBDA. It is an automated point-defence weapon system designed as a short-range defence against both sea-skimming and high angle anti-ship missiles and aircraft. The Royal Navy has fielded two versions, the GWS-25 Conventionally Launched Sea Wolf (CLSW) and the GWS-26 Vertically Launched Sea Wolf (VLSW) forms. In Royal Navy service Sea Wolf is being replaced by Sea Ceptor.

HMS <i>Dido</i> (F104) 1963 Type 12I or Leander-class frigate of the Royal Navy

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 <i>Cleopatra</i> (F28) 1966 Type 12I or Leander-class frigate of the Royal Navy

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 <i>Apollo</i> (F70) Type 12I or Leander-class frigate of the Royal Navy and Pakistan Navy

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 <i>Ariadne</i> (F72) Type 12I or Leander-class frigate of the Royal Navy and Chilean Navy

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 <i>Sirius</i> (F40) 1966 Type 12I or Leander-class frigate of the Royal Navy

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 <i>Danae</i> (F47) Type 12I or Leander-class frigate of the Royal Navy and Ecuadorian Navy

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.

Type 82 destroyer Class of eight Royal Navy warships

The Type 82 or Bristol-class destroyer was a 1960s guided missile destroyer design intended to replace County-class destroyers in the Royal Navy. Originally eight warships were planned to provide area air-defence for the four planned CVA-01 aircraft carriers. They would also have been able to operate independently as modern cruisers "East of Suez".

HMS <i>Yarmouth</i> (F101) 1960 Type 12M or Rothesay-class frigate of the Royal Navy

HMS Yarmouth was the first modified Type 12 frigate of the Rothesay class to enter service with the Royal Navy.

<i>Rothesay</i>-class frigate Class of frigate of the Royal Navy

The Rothesay class, or Type 12M frigates were a class of frigates serving with the Royal Navy, South African Navy and the Royal New Zealand Navy.

HMS <i>Londonderry</i> (F108) 1960 Type 12M or Rothesay-class frigate of the Royal Navy

HMS Londonderry was a Rothesay- or Type 12-class anti-submarine frigate of the British Royal Navy in service from 1960 to 1984.

References

  1. ↑ Gardiner, p. 517
  2. ↑ Osborne and Sowdon 1990, pp. 32, 109.
  3. 1 2 Osborne and Sowdon 1990, p. 36.
  4. ↑ Osborne and Sowdon 1990, p. 111.
  5. 1 2 Osborne and Sowdon 1990, pp. 33–34.
  6. ↑ Osborne and Sowden 1990, pp. 33, 35.
  7. ↑ "Trade Follows the Navy: Firmer Links with South America". The Times . No. 56404. 19 August 1965. p. 12.
  8. ↑ Osborne and Sowdon 1990, p. 37.
  9. ↑ Osborne and Sowdon 1990, pp. 38–39.
  10. ↑ Osborne and Sowdon 1990, p. 38.
  11. ↑ "British Missile or Drone?". geocities.com. Archived from the original on 23 October 2009. Retrieved 7 October 2009.
  12. ↑ "Air crash 'missile' link ruled out". BBC News. 24 January 2002. Retrieved 15 April 2016.
  13. ↑ Lemercier, Yves; Peche, Manuel; Torkington, Colin. "Tome 2: Annexes to the Study Report" (PDF). Report: Following the study performed at the request of the Minister in charge of the Department of Public Enterprise on the Aer Lingus Viscount EI-AOM accident occurred near Tuskar Rock Ireland (Report). Air Accident Investigation Unit Ireland. p. 56.
  14. ↑ Osborne and Sowdon 1990, pp. 29–30, 71.
  15. 1 2 "Frigate Penny weighs double!". Navy News p. 22. August 1982.
  16. ↑ Sturton, Ian (1989). "The Naval Year in Review: F (ii). Major Casualties at Sea From 1 April 1988 to 30 April 1989". In Gardiner, Robert (ed.). Warship 1989. London: Conway Maritime Press. p. 247. ISBN   0-85177-530-6.

Publications

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.