Ordered as the 22nd unit of the Leander class frigates under yard No 1675 by Harland & Wolff Ltd., at Belfast for the Royal Navy.
27 January 1967 keel laid down.
28 February 1968 under the name CHARYBDIS (F75), she was named after a monster from Homer’s Odyssey. The twin perils of Scylla and Charybdis occupied what is now the Strait of Messina, reputed to be the daughter of Zeus and the Earth, Charybdis stole some oxen from Hercules. As a punishment Zeus turned her into a whirlpool whose vortex swallowed up passing ships.
Displacement 2,500 standard, 2,962 full load. Dim. 109.7 x 13.1 x 5.5m. (draught)
Powered by two White-English Electric double-reduction geared stream turbines, 30,000 shp, twin screws, speed 28 knots. Steam is delivered by two Babcock & Wilcock boilers.
Astern power 10.000 shp, bunker capacity 460 tons.
Range by a speed of 15 knots, 4.000 mile, by full speed only 1000 mile.
Armament when built 2 – 4.5 inch, 2 – Bofors 40mm AA, 2 – 20mm Oerlikon AA guns, one Seacat launcher and 1 MK 10 Anti Submarine mortars.
One Westland Wasp helicopter.
Crew 260.
02 June 1969 commissioned.
1969 Guardship at Gibraltar.
1970 Employed in the Far East and Pacific, she visited in September 1970 the Solomon Islands.
1972/73 Again employed in the Far East and the Pacific.
September/December 1976 employed in the Mediterranean and Indian Ocean.
1977 Fishery Protection vessel.
1978 Escort vessel for the Royal yacht BRITANNIA when she visited the USA, in August at Norfolk.
1979 Again Mediterranean.
From June 1979 until July 1982 at Devonport refitted and modernized, her armament was changed to four Exocet MM 38 surface to surface missiles, one sextuple launcher for Seawolf Sam, two single Oerlikon 20 mm guns, two STWS-1 triple tubes for AWS. The Wasp helicopter changed for a Lynx HAS 2.
1982/83 South Atlantic employment.
30 September 1991 decommissioned.
03 June 1993 towed from Portsmouth by the tug ROLLICKER and to be sunk as a target during a Sinkex operation in June/July.
Solomon Islands 1981 20c sg431, scott?
Sources: Marine News. Leander class frigates by Richard Osborne and David Sowdon. A crown Agent leaflet. http://british-forces.com/rtw/ships/fri ... atch3.html