Leander-class frigate

The policy adopted by the Royal Navy during the 1950s of acquiring separate types of frigates designed for specialised roles (i.e. anti-submarine, anti-aircraft and aircraft direction) had proved unsatisfactory. Although the designs themselves had proved successful, the lack of standardisation between the different classes led to increased costs during construction and also in maintenance once the ships became operational. Furthermore, it was not always possible to have the ships with the required capabilities available for a specific task.

The first move towards creating a truly general-purpose frigate came with the Type 81 Tribal class which was initially ordered in 1956. The 24-knot speed of the Tribals was considered the maximum possible for tracking submarines with the new medium-range sonars,N. Friedman. British Destroyers and Frigates. The Second World War 7 After. 2006. Chatham, p. 243 , entering service. The type 81 gas turbine saw the frigates underway quickly, without taking hours flashing up steam turbines, and the provision of a helicopter for long-range attack were considered essential in the nuclear age. These ships were mainly intended to operate in the tropics but lacked the speed and armament required for the priority fleet carrier escort role East of Suez, where fast radar picket capability was important, as much as anti-submarine capability. So the new frigates would combine the roles of the T12 and T61. The fully air-conditioned Royal New Zealand Navy Rothesay class variant, {{ship|HMNZS|Otago|F111|6}}, which gave all the crew a bunk and cafeteria messingD K Brown. A Century of Naval construction. Conway Maritime. 1983. London pp. 203–207, and a RNZN commissioned design study for a more fully capable Type 12 frigate, which also assessed whether the Type 12 could carry 2 of the larger Wessex AS helicopters, was used as the basis of the RN Leander Improved Type 12 design..R. Gardiner. Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships. Part 1. Western powers. Conway Maritime. London.1983, pp. 164–165.

On 7 March 1960, the Civil Lord of the Admiralty C. Ian Orr-Ewing stated that the "Type 12 Whitby-class anti-submarine frigates are proving particularly successful ... and we have decided to exploit their good qualities in an improved and more versatile ship. This improved Type 12 will be known as the Leander class. The hull and steam turbine machinery will be substantially the same as for the Whitbys. The main new features planned are a long-range air warning radar, the Seacat anti-aircraft guided missile, improved anti-submarine detection equipment and a light-weight helicopter armed with homing torpedoes. We shall also introduce air conditioning and better living conditions."[https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1960/mar/07/navy-estimates-1960-61 Hansard HC Deb 07 March 1960 vol 619 cc39-200] Navy Estimates 1960–61, statement by the Civil Lord of the Admiralty (Mr C. Ian Orr-Ewing), 7 March 1960. The 1963 edition of Jane's Fighting Ships described it as a "mainly anti-submarine but flexible and all-purpose type".

{{Blockquote|text=The Leander class have the same hull and substantially the same steam turbine machinery as the Whitby class, but are a revised and advanced design and will fulfil a composite anti-submarine, anti-aircraft and air direction role. The 40mm guns will eventually be replaced by Seacat ship-to-air launchers. The ships are equipped with VDS (Variable Depth Sonar), formerly known as dipping asdic. |author=Jane's Fighting Ships |title= }}

The difference between the Leanders (Type 12I) and the Whitbys (Type 12) was most obviously that the stepped quarterdeck of the Type 12 had been done away with, resulting in a flush deck, with the exception of the raised forecastle. The superstructure had been combined into a single block amidships and a new bridge design gave improved visibility. A hangar and flight deck were provided aft for the Westland Wasp light anti-submarine helicopter, which was still at the prototype stage when the first ships were ordered. The ship was air conditioned throughout and there were no portholes in order to improve nuclear, biological and chemical defence. The ships were all given names which had previously been given to Royal Navy cruisers, mostly of characters from classical mythology, the exceptions being Cleopatra and Sirius.Marriott, p. 82

The Y160 boiler variant used on the Batch 3 Leanders (such as {{HMS|Jupiter|F60|2}}) also incorporated steam atomisation equipment on the fuel supply so the diesel fuel entering the boilers via the three main burners was atomised into a fine spray for better flame efficiency. Some ships with Y100 Boilers were also converted to steam atomisation, HMS Cleopatra being one of them. The superheat temperature of the Y160 was controlled manually by the boiler room petty officer of the watch between {{convert|750|-|850|°F |°C|abbr=on}} and the steam supplied to the main turbines was at a pressure of {{convert|550|psi|kPa|abbr=on}}. The Leander-class frigates did have Babcock & Wilcox boilers but of a more conventional two-drum design, one water drum and one steam drum, much like a Yarrow boiler without the second water drum. The water drum was offset to one side and below the furnace and steam drum. The two boilers fitted were 'handed' with the water drum inboard on both. Many Leanders had six-burner furnaces (known as Five and a Half Boilers) and the output was varied by altering the number of burners in use.

File:HMNZS Canterbury F421 (1971).pngs in place of Seacat missiles.]]

File:HMS Penelope, 1970 (IWM).jpg

{{Clear}}

| | 16 December 1964

| | 31 October 1965

| | October 1967

| | 7 September 1967

| | £5,720,000

| | Exocet/Seacat

|-valign=top

!align=center bgcolor=#E0E0E0 colspan=9|Broad-beamed Leander Y-160 machinery

|-valign=top

| | F75

| | Charybdis

| | (a) Harland & Wolff Ltd, Belfast
(b) Vickers Ltd, Engineering Group, Barrow-in-Furness.

| | 27 January 1967

| | 28 February 1968

| | June 1969

| | 2 June 1969

| | £6,330,000

| | Exocet/Seawolf

|-valign=top

| | F58

| | Hermione

| | (a) Yarrow & Co Ltd, Glasgow
(b) Alex Stephen & Sons Ltd, Linthouse, Glasgow (steam turbines)
(b) Vickers Ltd, Engineering Group, Barrow-in-Furness (gearing).

| | 6 December 1965

| | 26 April 1967

| | July 1969

| | 11 July 1969

| | £6,400,000

| | Exocet/Seawolf

|-valign=top

| | F60

| | Jupiter

| | (a) Yarrow & Co Ltd, Glasgow
(b) JS White & Co Ltd, Cowes, Isle of Wight (steam turbines)
(b) Vickers Ltd, Engineering Group, Barrow-in-Furness (gearing).

| | 3 October 1966

| | 4 September 1967

| | August 1969

| | 9 August 1969

| | £6,100,000

| | Exocet/Seawolf

|-valign=top

| | F69

| | Bacchante

| | (a) Vickers Ltd, Shipbuilding Group, Newcastle
(b) JS White & Co Ltd, Cowes, Isle of Wight (steam turbines)
(b) Vickers Ltd, Engineering Group, Barrow-in-Furness (gearing).

| | 27 October 1966

| | 29 February 1968

| | October 1969

| | 17 October 1969

| | £6,200,000

| | Gun

|-valign=top

| | F57

| | Andromeda

| | (a) HM Dockyard, Portsmouth
(b) JS White & Co Ltd, Cowes, Isle of Wight (steam turbines)
(b) David Brown & Co Ltd, Huddersfield (gearing).Defence Estimates, 1969–70, page 75, Table 3 (Programme): List and particulars of new ships which have been accepted or are expected to be accepted into HM service during the Financial Year ended 31 March 1969

| | 25 May 1966

| | 24 May 1967

| | December 1969

| | 2 December 1968

| | £6,700,000

| | Exocet/Seawolf

|-valign=top

| | F71

| | Scylla

| | (a) HM Dockyard, Devonport
(b) JS White & Co Ltd (turbines)
(b) David Brown & Co Ltd (gearing).Defence Estimates, 1970–71, page XII-81, Table V: List and particulars of new ships which have been accepted or are expected to be accepted into HM service during the Financial Year ended 31 March 1970

| | 17 May 1967

| | 8 August 1968

| | February 1970

| | 12 February 1970

| | £6,600,000

| | Exocet/Seawolf

|-valign=top

| | F12

| | Achilles

| | (a) Yarrow & Co Ltd, Glasgow
(b) JS White & Co Ltd (turbines)
(b) David Brown & Co Ltd (gearing).Defence Estimates, 1971–72, page XII-81, Table V: List and particulars of new ships which have been accepted or are expected to be accepted into HM service during the Financial Year ended 31 March 1971

| | 1 December 1967

| | 21 November 1968

| | July 1970

| | 9 July 1970

| | £6,270,000

| | Gun

|-valign=top

| | F16

| | Diomede

| | (a) Yarrow & Co Ltd, Glasgow
(b) JS White & Co Ltd (turbines)
(b) David Brown & Co Ltd (gearing).Defence Estimates, 1972–73, page XII-92, Table V: List and particulars of new ships which have been accepted or are expected to be accepted into HM service during the Financial Year ended 31 March 1972

| | 30 January 1968

| | 15 April 1969

| | April 1971

| | 2 April 1971

| | £5,980,000

| | Gun

|-valign=top

| | F70

| | Apollo

| |(a) Yarrow & Co Ltd, Glasgow
(b) JS White & Co Ltd (turbines)
(b) David Brown & Co Ltd (gearing).Defence Estimates, 1973–74, page XII-96, Table V: List and particulars of new ships which have been accepted or are expected to be accepted into HM service during the Financial Year ended 31 March 1973

| | 1 May 1969

| | 15 October 1970

| | 10 June 1972

| | 28 May 1972

| | £6,573,000

| | Gun

|-valign=top

| | F72

| | Ariadne

| | (a) Yarrow & Co Ltd, Glasgow
(b) JS White & Co Ltd (turbines)
(b) David Brown & Co Ltd (gearing).

| | 1 November 1969

| | 10 September 1971

| | 10 February 1973

| | 10 February 1973

| | £6,576,000

| | Gun

|-

!colspan=9|Royal New Zealand Navy

|-valign=top

!Pennant

!Name

!Builder

!Laid down

!Launched

!colspan=2|Commissioned

!colspan=2| Type

|-

| F55

| Waikato

| Harland and Wolff, Belfast

| 10 January 1964

| 18 February 1965

| colspan=2|19 September 1966

| colspan=2|Batch 2 Towed Array

|-

| F421

| Canterbury

| Yarrow Shipbuilders, Glasgow

| 12 June 1969

| 6 May 1970

| colspan=2|22 October 1971

| colspan=2|Broad beam

|}

The entire class were designed for a standard weapons fit when built, with a twin 4.5-inch Mark 6 gun mount, GWS-22 Seacat missile system and Limbo anti-submarine mortar, though the first seven entered service fitted with two single 40 mm Bofors guns on the hangar roof instead of Seacat, with the SAM system fitted later. All but one of the ships had Seacat GWS-22; the exception was Naiad, which had Seacat GWS-20.{{citation|pages=82, 84|title=Royal Navy Frigates Since 1945|first1=Leo|last1=Marriott|edition=2nd|publisher=Ian Allan Ltd|year=1990|isbn=0-7110-1915-0}} However, advances in weapons systems led to a number of different conversions being undertaken on various members of the class. This saw the class grouped into four broad batches:

• Ikara – installation of the Ikara ASW missile system in place of the 4.5-inch gun mount, plus an additional Seacat missile system.
• Exocet/Seacat – installation of Exocet anti-ship missile system in place of 4.5-inch gun mount, plus two additional Seacat missile systems.
• Exocet/Seawolf – installation of Exocet anti-ship missile system in place of 4.5-inch gun mount; replacement of Seacat with single GWS-25 Seawolf surface-to-air missile system.
• Gun – retained 4.5-inch gun mount and Seacat missile system.

File:HMS Naiad F39 1982.jpeg

Eight of the first ten Leanders were given the so-called "Batch 1" or "Ikara" conversion, which saw the Ikara anti-submarine warfare missile installed in place of the 4.5-inch gun, plus an additional Seacat system, and the removal of the Type 965 radar and its AKE(1) aerial. The internal space previously used by the Type 965 was used for the ADAWS needed for Ikara.

| | 8 June 1970 Hansard HC Deb 14 December 1983 vol 50 c473W] Refit dates and costs for Leander-class frigates, 14 December 1983.[https://web.archive.org/web/20061212183808/http://www.btinternet.com/~warship/Postwar/Frigates/leander.htm Royal Navy Postwar: Leander Class General Purpose Frigate (Type 12 Improved)]
Note that this source says that Penelope started her Exocet conversion in January 1978, which agrees with [https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/written-answers/1983/dec/14/leander-class-frigate Hansard (14 December 1983)], which says 30 January 1978, but disagrees with [https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/written-answers/1981/jul/06/frigates-refits Hansard (6 July 1981)] recorded that Penelope started her conversion in June 1978. It also gives a different start date for Arethusa – October 1973, whereas [https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/written-answers/1983/dec/14/leander-class-frigate Hansard (14 December 1983)] quotes 10 September 1973 It gives a different start date for Andromeda – March 1978, whereas Hansard (14 December 1983) quotes 3 January 1978.

| | 12 January 1973

| | £7,587,000

|-valign=top

| F114

| Ajax

| Devonport

| 19 October 1970

| 7 February 1974

| £8,269,000

|-valign=top

| F18

| Galatea

| Devonport

| 4 October 1971

| 6 September 1974

| £9,217,000

|-valign=top

!align=center bgcolor=#E0E0E0 colspan=6|Batch 1B

|-valign=top

| | F10

| | Aurora

| | Chatham

| | 4 December 1974

| | 27 February 1976

| | £15,580,000

|-valign=top

| | F39

| | Naiad

| | Devonport

| | 15 January 1973

| | 20 June 1975

| | £10,410,000

|-valign=top

| | F15

| | Euryalus

| | Devonport

| | 7 May 1973

| | 12 March 1976

| | £12,127,000

|-valign=top

| | F38

| | Arethusa

| | Portsmouth

| | 10 September 1973

| | 7 April 1977

| | £16,585,000

|-valign=top

| | F104

| | Dido

| | Devonport

| | 7 July 1975

| | 27 October 1978

| | £23,006,000

|-

|}

File:HMS Phoebe F42 off NorfolkVA 1990.jpeg

Two of the Leanders with Y-100 machinery, and five out of the six with Y-136 machinery, were given the so-called "Batch 2" or "Exocet" conversion. This conversion gave them Exocet anti-shipping missiles in place of the 4.5-inch gun mount, 2 additional Seacat systems, and the ability to operate the Lynx helicopter.

In addition, Marriott states that Juno's Exocet conversion was cancelled in 1984. However Hansard (14 December 1983) states "Juno is currently being converted at Rosyth to serve as a navigational training ship."

| | 23 July 1973

| | 19 December 1975

| | £13,820,000

|-valign=top

| F42

| Phoebe

| 15 April 1966

| Devonport

| 5 August 1974

| 28 April 1977

| | £18,204,000

|-valign=top

| | F40

| | Sirius

| | 15 June 1966

| | Devonport

| | 10 March 1975

| | 10 February 1978

| | £21,598,000

|-valign=top

| | F45

| | Minerva

| | 14 May 1966

| | Chatham

| | 1 December 1975

| | 11 April 1979

| | £31,575,000

|-valign=top

!align=center bgcolor=#E0E0E0 colspan=8|Batch 2B

|-valign=top

| | F56

| | Argonaut

| | 17 August 1967

| | Devonport

| | 23 February 1976

| | 28 March 1980

| | £30,262,000

|-valign=top

| | F47

| | Danae

| | 7 September 1967

| | Devonport

| | 1 August 1977

| | 8 April 1981

| | £39,279,000

|-valign=top

| | F127

| | Penelope

| | 31 October 1963

| | Devonport

| | November 1981 [https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/written-answers/1981/jul/06/frigates-refits Hansard HC Deb 06 July 1981 vol 8 c47W] Question to the Secretary of State for Defence which frigates are now undergoing major refits; at which dockyards; when they commenced; and when they are planned to be completed.

| | 15 January 1982

| | £47,687,000

|-valign=top

| | F52

| | Juno

| | 18 July 1967

| colspan=5 align=center| Exocet conversion cancelled.

|-

|}

Juno, commissioned 18 July 1967, was converted to serve as a navigational training ship. Work at Rosyth began in January 1982 and completed in February 1985.[https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/written-answers/1987/jul/14/destroyers-and-frigates#S6CV0119P0_19870714_CWA_250 Hansard HC Deb 14 July 1987 vol 119 cc437-40W] Question to the Secretary of State for Defence asking for a list by class the destroyers and frigates presently 438W serving in the Royal Navy showing for each vessel the current age and the dates between which they have undergone major refits, 14 July 1987. This conversion involved the removal of the Type 965 radar and all of her armament. The flight deck was extended by plating over the mortar well; the STWS 1 torpedo system and two 20 mm guns were installed. Juno replaced {{HMS|Torquay|F43|6}} in the training role, as well as serving as the trials ship for the Type 2050 sonar.Marriott, p. 98

File:HMS Andromeda DN-SC-90-11423.jpg

The Seawolf conversion gave the broad-beamed Leanders Exocet anti-shipping missiles in place of the 4.5-inch mounting, a Seawolf missile system in place of Seacat, Sonar 2016, and the ability to operate the Lynx helicopter. All the radar systems were removed and replaced by Type 967, 968, 975 and 910 radars.{{citation|page =94|title=Royal Navy Frigates Since 1945|first1=Leo|last1=Marriott|edition=2|publisher=Ian Allan Ltd|year=1990|isbn=0-7110-1915-0}} Only five of the broad-beamed Leanders were converted to carry Seawolf due to costs (£70 million for each refit) and, as a lesser consideration, to retain some ships capable of naval gunfire support.

| | 3 January 1978 Marriott, Leo, Royal Navy Frigates since 1945 2nd ed., pub Ian Allan Ltd, 1990, {{ISBN|0-7110-1915-0}} p. 92 says that she paid off in January 1978.

| |

| | 6 February 1981

| | £59,990,000

|-valign=top

| F75

| | Charybdis

| | 2 June 1969

| | Devonport

| | 25 June 1979

| | June 1982 [https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/written-answers/1981/jul/06/frigates-refits Hansard HC Deb 06 July 1981 vol 8 c47W] Question to the Secretary of State for Defence which frigates are now undergoing major refits; at which dockyards; when they commenced; and when they are planned to be completed.
[https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/written-answers/1981/nov/30/leander-class-frigates-modernisation#S6CV0014P0_19811130_CWA_169 Hansard HC Deb 30 November 1981 vol 14 c23W] Question to the Secretary of State for Defence asking how many Leander-class frigates are undergoing modernising refits at an estimated unit cost equal to or exceeding the figure of £70 million, 30 November 1981.
The answers given on 6 July and 30 November 1981 for the start and forecast completion times for Jupiter, Scylla, Charybdis, and Hermione are identical, except that on 6 July 1981, it was stated that Charybdis was forecast to complete in June 1983, and on 30 November, it was stated that she was forecast to complete in June 1982.

| | 16 July 1982

| | £61,581,000

|-valign=top

| F60

| | Jupiter

| | 9 August 1969

| | Devonport

| | 28 January 1980

| | July 1983

| | 14 October 1983

| | †£68,348,000

|-valign=top

| F58

| | Hermione

| | 11 July 1969

| | Chatham/Devonport Marriott puts Hermione{{'}}s Seawolf conversion at Devonport, whereas [https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/written-answers/1981/jul/06/frigates-refits 6 July 1981, Hansard] puts it at Chatham.

| | 14 January 1980

| | January 1983

| | 8 December 1983

| | †£79,692,000

|-valign=top

| F71

| | Scylla

| | 12 February 1970

| | Devonport

| | 10 November 1980

| | September 1983

| | December 1984

| | †£79,278,000

|}

† = Latest estimate as at 14 December 1983.

File:HMS Argonaut F56 in 1995.jpg

In 1981 the Admiralty said that they intended to devote "substantial resources to improving the effectiveness of the sensors and anti-submarine weapons ... This includes the new passive towed array system that we hope to introduce into service next year."{{cite web |url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1981/jul/22/royall-navy |work=Parliamentary Debates (Hansard) |title=Hansard HC Deb vol 9 cc326-409 Debate on the Royal Navy |date=22 July 1981}}

{{HMS|Matapan|D43|6}} and {{HMS|Lowestoft|F103|6}} were used for testing prototypes in 1978–1981.{{cite book |last=Friedman |first=Norman |title=British Destroyers and Frigates, the Second World War and After |publisher=Seaforth |year=2006 |isbn=978-1-84832-015-4 |page=302}} It was planned to install them on Rothesay conversions, but this was not possible due to industrial strikes. Scheduling then made it easier to fit them onboard four of the Batch II Leanders. "Compensation for the additional 70 tons of top weight included lowering the Exocet launchers. This interesting quartet was to have been followed by five Batch III Leanders, but the latter fell foul of the Nott cancellations. A fifth Leander, the Ikara-carrying HMS Arethusa, was fitted with a towed array in 1985, the year the towed-array trials ship Lowestoft was withdrawn from service."

Admiral Sir Julian Oswald said to the Defence Committee in 1989, "in order to capitalise on the really very exciting and important development of towed arrays, we had to get them to sea as soon as we could. The only sensible, cost-effective option open to us was to take some relatively older ships – the Leanders – and convert them quickly to the towed array. We have done that with great success, and the peacetime patrols have achieved some remarkable results, but there has been a price to pay because of the age of those ships."Defence Committee, sixth report, The Royal Navy's Surface Fleet: Current Issues – report, together with the proceedings of the committee, minutes of evidence and memoranda, pub HMSO, 21 June 1989, minutes of evidence pp. 12–13.

In general, "as a ship gets older it tends to get noisier – the hull and also the propulsion system".Defence Committee, sixth report, The Royal Navy's Surface Fleet: Current Issues – report, together with the proceedings of the committee, minutes of evidence and memoranda, pub HMSO, 21 June 1989, minutes of evidence p. 3, remarks by former naval officer Jonathan Sayeed MP. At the same Defence Committee meeting, Oswald spoke "to counter the presumption that older ships get noisier. That is not necessarily true and it is not true, in my experience, in the case of the Leanders because understanding of ship-generated noise is improving all the time and our techniques for countering it are improving – our noise monitoring and so on – so, despite the fact that these ships are getting older, they are in many cases managing to improve their performance with regard to ship noise."Defence Committee, sixth report, The Royal Navy's Surface Fleet: Current Issues – report, together with the proceedings of the committee, minutes of evidence and memoranda, pub HMSO, 21 June 1989, minutes of evidence p. 3. Captain Geoffrey Biggs said "the Leanders are remarkably quiet in operation and our experience has been that they have made excellent towed-array platforms despite the rather short notice of actually getting the towed-array programme together to start with. They actually perform very well."

Five ships were converted to use Waverley Type 2031(I) towed array (passive search very low frequency). They were as follows:Sharpe, Richard Jane's Fighting Ships 1988–89, pub Jane's Publishing Company Ltd, 1988, {{ISBN|978-0-7106-0858-1}}, page 660 lists five ships as having Type 2031Z towed arrays: Arethusa, Cleopatra, Sirius, Phoebe, and Argonaut. The last four were described by Jane's as "Batch 2TA".
Defence Committee, sixth report, The Royal Navy's Surface Fleet: Current Issues – report, together with the proceedings of the committee, minutes of evidence and memoranda, pub HMSO, 21 June 1989, page xviii lists four Exocet Leanders described as Batch 2A: Cleopatra, Sirius, Phoebe, and Argonaut. "Batch 2A are fitted with towed array sonar."

{{more citations needed section|date=August 2018}}

During their lengthy service with the Royal Navy Leanders were employed during the Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation in 1963–1966. The 1973 and 1975–1976 Cod Wars in the latter of which HMS Diomede suffered severe damage with a 30 feet gash in its hull after being rammed by an Icelandic Coast Guard gunboat. The frigates with their thin hulls being much less suited to this duty than the later offshore patrol vessels.

Four members of the class saw action during the 1982 Falklands War, three Batch Two conversions, HMS Argonaut, HMS Minerva and HMS Penelope L. Marriot. Royal Navy Frigates 1945–1983.Ian Allan. 1983. London, p. 90. Argonaut experienced 15 air attacks in San Carlos Sound and was hit by a number of bombs and cannon fire; it was stranded for six days, with two bombs lodged in the forward Seacat magazine and boiler room. The first Seawolf conversion HMS Andromeda, was one of only three Seawolf fitted frigates available with the Royal Navy's newest missile in the war and served during the war as the critical "goalkeeper"- the last line of defence for the carrier HMS Invincible during the war.Marriot. Royal Navy Frigates 1945–1983, pp. 90–91 The five unconverted, gun-armed, broad-beam Leanders, arrived in the war zone in the last week of the conflict and immediately after it to serve with the post-war task force led by the brand new carrier HMS Illustrious. An Argentine naval dive team planned to place limpet mines on HMS Ariadne at Gibraltar during the conflict (Operation Algeciras). The last Leander commissioned in 1973, like the two built for Chile, carried special electronic warfare systems, for countering{{Clarify|date=August 2018}} Exocet missiles, and the Argentine services may have anticipated the Ariadne was scheduled for service in the Total Exclusion Zone, which in fact did not happen until after the end of the war.{{citation needed|date=August 2018}}

The ships performed excellently in Royal Navy service, with relatively low noise levels giving the 2031(I) towed sonar a range of more than 100 miles, better than that of the more advanced 2031(Z) sonar when fitted in the Type 22 frigates. However, all Leanders in Royal Navy service were decommissioned by the early 1990s due to the ships' ageing design and the high number of crew.{{Citation needed|date=May 2009}} Scylla was sunk on 27 March 2004 as an artificial reef off Cornwall, eleven years after her decommissioning in 1993.{{cite web|url=http://www.shipsproject.org/Wrecks/Wk_Scylla.html|title=HMS Scylla|website=shipsproject.org|access-date=2 October 2021}}

Leander-class frigates were also successfully exported to serve in the Royal New Zealand Navy and Chilean Navy; in the latter they were designated as the {{sclass|Condell|frigate|4}}. Further frigates were modelled on the Leander-class frigates and were built under licence in Australia as the {{sclass2|River|destroyer escort|4}} for the Royal Australian Navy, India as the {{sclass|Nilgiri|frigate|4||1972}} and the Netherlands as the {{sclass|Van Speijk|frigate|4}}. Royal Navy ships were sold to the navies of Chile, Ecuador, New Zealand ({{HMS|Bacchante|F69|2}} becoming {{HMNZS|Wellington|F69|6}} and {{HMS|Dido|F104|2}} becoming HMNZS Southland), India and Pakistan.

Starting in 1986, the six Van Speijk-class ships were sold to the Indonesian Navy and renamed the {{sclass|Ahmad Yani|frigate|4}}, five of which are still in service.{{refn|group=Note|{{KRI|Slamet Riyadi|352|6}} was decommissioned on 16 August 2019.}} Pakistan decommissioned the last of its Leander-class frigates, Zulfiqar, in January 2007,{{cite web |url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/pakistan/f-shamsher.htm |title=Shamsher Class (UK Leander Type 12) |author= |website=globalsecurity.org |access-date=2 April 2017 }} India decommissioned her last Leander class on 24 May 2012.

{{HMNZS|Canterbury|F-421|6}}, the last steam-turbine driven Leander-class frigate in the Royal New Zealand Navy, was decommissioned in Auckland on 31 March 2005 after 33 years operational service. In 2006 it was announced that the ship was to be sunk as a dive attraction in the Bay of Islands, and this was carried out on 3 November 2007 at Deep Water Cove. She lies near her sister ship {{HMNZS|Waikato|F55|6}}.{{cite book |last1=Colledge |first1=J J |last2=Warlow |first2=Ben |date=2010 |title=Ships Of The Royal Navy: A Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy from the 15th Century to the Present |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WfODMIsqtTQC&pg=PA67 |publisher=Casemate |page=67 |isbn=978-1935149071 }}

;Royal Navy

• List of naval ship classes in service
• {{sclass|Whitby|frigate|1}}, the original Type 12 frigate.
• {{sclass|Rothesay|frigate|1}}, the follow-on Type 12M frigate.
• Warship, a BBC television drama series.

{{Reflist|group=Note}}

{{Reflist|40em}}

• Allanway, Jim (1995) Leander Class Frigates, H M Stationery Office, {{ISBN|978-0117724587}}
• {{cite book |last1=Colledge |first1=J J |last2=Warlow |first2=Ben |date=2010 |title=Ships Of The Royal Navy: A Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy from the 15th Century to the Present |publisher=Casemate |isbn=978-1935149071 }}
• Jackson, Robert (2006) The Encyclopedia of Warships, From World War Two to the Present Day, Grange Books Ltd, {{ISBN|978-1840139099}}
• Marriott, Leo (1990), Royal Navy Frigates Since 1945, Second Edition, Ian Allan Ltd (Surrey, UK), {{ISBN|0-7110-1915-0}}
• Meyer C J (1984) Modern Combat Ships 1: Leander Class, Littlehampton Book Services Ltd, {{ISBN|978-0711013858}}
• Osbourne, Richard and Sowdon, David (1991), Leander Class Frigates: History of Their Design and Development, 1958–90, World Ship Society, {{ISBN|978-0905617565}}
• Purvis, M K, Post War RN Frigate and Guided Missile Destroyer Design 1944–1969, Transactions, Royal Institution of Naval Architects (RINA), 1974

{{commons category|Leander class frigates}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20090326210259/http://middle-watch.com/index.html Archived comprehensive website on the design and history of the Leander class and related frigate designs]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20061212183808/http://www.btinternet.com/~warship/Postwar/Frigates/leander.htm Leander (Type 12) class frigate website]
• [http://www.hazegray.org/navhist/rn/frigates/leander/ Hazegray.org on the Leander class]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20050620073535/http://www.leanders.plus.com/ An unofficial Leander Class Frigate Site]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20090118032359/http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/series/27878 British Film Institute site on Warship]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20121022093109/http://homepage.ntlworld.com/r.pavely/Phoebe-Herobooklet.PDF Royal Navy leaflet on Warship, from the HMS Phoebe Association website]
• [http://www.michaelbriant.com/warship.htm Comments on Warship by series Director Michael Briant]
• [http://www.mjbird.org.uk/Warship.html Webpage (at Home > Scriptwriting > Warship) about Michael J Bird's scripts for Warship]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20090417083817/http://www.hmsphoebe.co.uk/ HMS Phoebe Association website]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20080509142859/http://www.hms-danae.co.uk/ HMS Danae website (all commissions)]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20040810160322/http://www.hms-danae.com/ HMS Danae website (first commission)]
• [http://www.hms-dido.com/ HMS Dido Association website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070505011545/http://www.hms-dido.com/ |date=5 May 2007 }}
• [http://www.hmsjupiter.co.uk/ HMS Jupiter Association website]
• [http://www.hmshermione.co.uk/ HMS Hermione Association website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061208061924/http://www.hmshermione.co.uk/ |date=8 December 2006 }}
• [https://www.hmsnaiad.co.uk/naiad_leander_class_frigate.html HMS Naiad Association website ("the leander class frigate")]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20061212183808/http://www.btinternet.com/~warship/Postwar/Frigates/leander.htm Postwar Frigates website, retrieved 2010-10-12]

{{Leander class frigate}}

{{Chilean frigates (Modern Era)}}

{{Frigates_of_the_Indian_Navy}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leander class frigate}}

Category:Frigate classes

Category:Ship classes of the Royal Navy