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HMS Achilles (F12)

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HMS Achilles (F12) at Chatham on 3 May 1981.jpg
Achilles at Chatham on 3 May 1981
History
United Kingdom
NameHMS Achilles
BuilderYarrow Shipbuilders
Laid down1 December 1967
Launched21 November 1968
Commissioned9 July 1970
DecommissionedJanuary 1990
IdentificationPennant number: F12
FateSold to Chilean Navy
Chile
NameMinistro Zenteno
NamesakeJosé Ignacio Zenteno
Commissioned8 January 1991
DecommissionedAugust 2006
Fate
  • Washed away by tsunami, February 2010
  • Scuttled March 2010
General characteristics
Class and typeLeander-class frigate
Displacement3,200 long tons (3,251 t) full load
Length113.4 m (372 ft)
Beam12.5 m (41 ft)
Draught5.8 m (19 ft)
Propulsion2 × Babcock & Wilcox boilers supplying steam to two sets of White-English Electric double-reduction geared turbines to two shafts
Speed28 knots (52 km/h)
Range4,600 nautical miles (8,500 km) at 15 knots (28 km/h)
Complement223
Armament;As built:
1 × twin 4.5 inch (114 mm) guns
1 × quadruple Sea Cat anti-aircraft missile launchers
1 × Limbo anti-submarine mortar
From 1980
1 x twin 4.5 inch (114 mm) guns
2 × quadruple Seacat anti-aircraft missile launchers
2 × single 40 mm Bofors anti-aircraft guns
2 × triple torpedo tubes
Aircraft carried;As built:
1 × Westland Wasp helicopter
From 1980
1 × Lynx helicopter
For other ships with the same name, see HMS Achilles.

HMS Achilles was a Leander-class frigate of the Royal Navy.[1] She was built by Yarrow at Glasgow. She was launched on 21 November 1968 and commissioned on 9 July 1970.[2] 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.

Discover more about HMS Achilles (F12) related topics

Leander-class frigate

Leander-class frigate

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.

Frigate

Frigate

A frigate is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat.

Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against France. The modern Royal Navy traces its origins to the early 16th century; the oldest of the UK's armed services, it is consequently known as the Senior Service.

Yarrow Shipbuilders

Yarrow Shipbuilders

Yarrow Shipbuilders Limited (YSL), often styled as simply Yarrows, was a major shipbuilding firm based in the Scotstoun district of Glasgow on the River Clyde. It is now part of BAE Systems Surface Ships, owned by BAE Systems, which has also operated the nearby Govan shipyard since 1999.

Glasgow

Glasgow

Glasgow is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated population of 635,640. The city was made a county of itself in 1893, prior to which it had been in the historic county of Lanarkshire. The city now forms the Glasgow City Council area, one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and is governed by Glasgow City Council. It is situated on the River Clyde in the country's West Central Lowlands.

Chilean Navy

Chilean Navy

The Chilean Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the Chilean Armed Forces. It is under the Ministry of National Defense. Its headquarters are at Edificio Armada de Chile, Valparaiso.

Tsunami

Tsunami

A tsunami is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater explosions above or below water all have the potential to generate a tsunami. Unlike normal ocean waves, which are generated by wind, or tides, which are in turn generated by the gravitational pull of the Moon and the Sun, a tsunami is generated by the displacement of water from a large event.

2010 Chile earthquake

2010 Chile earthquake

The 2010 Chile earthquake and tsunami occurred off the coast of central Chile on Saturday, 27 February at 03:34 local time, having a magnitude of 8.8 on the moment magnitude scale, with intense shaking lasting for about three minutes. It was felt strongly in six Chilean regions that together make up about 80 percent of the country's population. According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS) the cities experiencing the strongest shaking—VIII (Severe) on the Mercalli intensity scale (MM)—were Concepción, Arauco, and Coronel. According to Chile's Seismological Service, Concepción experienced the strongest shaking at MM IX (Violent). The earthquake was felt in the capital Santiago at MM VII or MM VIII. Tremors were felt in many Argentine cities, including Buenos Aires, Córdoba, Mendoza, and La Rioja. Tremors were felt as far north as the city of Ica in southern Peru.

Scuttling

Scuttling

Scuttling is the deliberate sinking of a ship. Scuttling may be performed to dispose of an abandoned, old, or captured vessel, to prevent the vessel from becoming a navigation hazard, as an act of self-destruction to prevent the ship from being captured by an enemy force, as a blockship to restrict navigation through a channel or within a harbor, to provide an artificial reef for divers and marine life, or to alter the flow of rivers.

Construction and design

Achilles was one of two Batch 3, "Broad-Beamed" Leander-class frigates ordered from Yarrow Shipbuilders in early 1967, the other being Diomede and Jupiter.[3] She was laid down on 1 December 1967, launched on 21 November 1968 and completed on 9 July 1970,[4][5][6] commissioning on 11 July with the Pennant number F12.[7]

Achilles was 372 feet (113.4 m) long overall and 360 feet (109.7 m) at the waterline, with a beam of 43 feet (13.1 m) and a maximum draught of 19 feet (5.8 m). Displacement was 2,500 long tons (2,500 t) standard and 2,962 long tons (3,010 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).[8]

A twin 4.5-inch (113 mm) Mark 6 gun mount was fitted forward. A single Sea Cat surface-to-air missile launcher was fitted aft (on the Helicopter hangar roof), while two Oerlikon 20mm cannon provided close-in defence. 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.[9][10]

Achilles 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 978 navigation radar carried on the ship's foremast. An MRS3 fire control system was carried to direct the 4.5-inch guns.[11] The ship had a sonar suite of Type 184 medium range search sonar, Type 162 bottom search and Type 170 attack sonar.[12][13]

Discover more about Construction and design related topics

HMS Diomede (F16)

HMS Diomede (F16)

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 1998, 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 Jupiter (F60)

HMS Jupiter (F60)

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.

Keel laying

Keel laying

Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship.

Ceremonial ship launching

Ceremonial ship launching

Ceremonial ship launching involves the performance of ceremonies associated with the process of transferring a vessel to the water. It is a nautical tradition in many cultures, dating back thousands of years, to accompany the physical process with ceremonies which have been observed as public celebration and a solemn blessing, usually but not always, in association with the launch itself.

Ship commissioning

Ship commissioning

Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to placing a warship in active duty with its country's military forces. The ceremonies involved are often rooted in centuries-old naval tradition.

Pennant number

Pennant number

In the Royal Navy and other navies of Europe and the Commonwealth of Nations, ships are identified by pennant number. Historically, naval ships flew a flag that identified a flotilla or type of vessel. For example, the Royal Navy used a red burgee for torpedo boats and a pennant with an H for torpedo boat destroyers. Adding a number to the type-identifying flag uniquely identified each ship.

Length overall

Length overall

Length overall is the maximum length of a vessel's hull measured parallel to the waterline. This length is important while docking the ship. It is the most commonly used way of expressing the size of a ship, and is also used for calculating the cost of a marina berth.

Beam (nautical)

Beam (nautical)

The beam of a ship is its width at its widest point. The maximum beam (BMAX) is the distance between planes passing through the outer extremities of the ship, beam of the hull (BH) only includes permanently fixed parts of the hull, and beam at waterline (BWL) is the maximum width where the hull intersects the surface of the water.

Displacement (ship)

Displacement (ship)

The displacement or displacement tonnage of a ship is its weight. As the term indicates, it is measured indirectly, using Archimedes' principle, by first calculating the volume of water displaced by the ship, then converting that value into weight. Traditionally, various measurement rules have been in use, giving various measures in long tons. Today, tonnes are more commonly used.

Steam turbine

Steam turbine

A steam turbine is a machine that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam and uses it to do mechanical work on a rotating output shaft. Its modern manifestation was invented by Charles Parsons in 1884. Fabrication of a modern steam turbine involves advanced metalwork to form high-grade steel alloys into precision parts using technologies that first became available in the 20th century; continued advances in durability and efficiency of steam turbines remains central to the energy economics of the 21st century.

Limbo (weapon)

Limbo (weapon)

Limbo, or Anti Submarine Mortar Mark 10, was the final development of the forward-throwing anti-submarine weapon Squid, designed during the Second World War and was developed by the Admiralty Underwater Weapons Establishment in the 1950s.

Radar

Radar

Radar is a radiolocation system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (ranging), angle (azimuth), and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It is used to detect and track aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, and motor vehicles, and map weather formations, and terrain. A radar system consists of a transmitter producing electromagnetic waves in the radio or microwaves domain, a transmitting antenna, a receiving antenna and a receiver and processor to determine properties of the objects. Radio waves from the transmitter reflect off the objects and return to the receiver, giving information about the objects' locations and speeds.

Service history

In 1970, Achilles deployed to the Far East where there was, at that time, a large British naval presence. She escorted a number of larger vessels while there, including the aircraft carrier HMS Eagle.

In 1974, Achilles joined the 3rd Frigate Squadron, and later that year deployed to the Far East on a nine-month deployment as part of Task Group 317.2. The task group visited a number of African ports on their way to the Far East and Indian Ocean, including South Africa, a visit that caused some controversy back in the UK at the time. The task group visited a variety of ports in the Far East and took part in a number of exercises. Achilles was active as a radio relay vessel during the fall of South Vietnam.

Upon the task group's return from the Far East, they made their way around the Cape of Good Hope to South America where a large exercise with the Brazilian Navy took place, which included the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal. Achilles returned to the UK in June 1975.

On 12 November 1975, Achilles collided with the Greek tanker Olympic Alliance in heavy fog in the Dover Strait, causing a number of injuries aboard Achilles together with heavy damage to the frigate's bow, while a large oil slick was released from the tanker into the Channel. Achilles was under repair at Devonport Dockyard until March 1976, with her complete bow section needing to be replaced.[14][15][16] The following year, Achilles joined the Fishery Protection Squadron during the Third Cod War with Iceland, spending one week on patrol.[14][17] During that year also, HMS Achilles was covertly deployed to Belize during the Guatemalan emergency.

After her deployment during the Third Cod War, Achilles went on a number of deployments including to the Persian Gulf as well as being involved in a number of naval exercises.

Achilles was intended to be modernised, (probably involving removal of her one 4.5-inch twin gun, which would have been replaced by the Exocet anti-ship missile and Sea Wolf anti-aircraft missiles, but possibly also involving fitting of a towed array sonar), but the modernisation was cancelled due to the 1981 Defence Review by the minister, John Nott, and it was instead planned to dispose of the unmodernised frigate, despite the long life remaining in her hull.[18][19] In 1982, Achilles deployed to the West Indies as guardship. The following year, she deployed to the Falkland Islands to patrol the area in the aftermath of the Falklands War. Later that year Achilles took part in Exercise Orient Express, which took place in the Indian Ocean. She deployed to the Persian Gulf that same year.

By the late 1980s, Achilles career was coming to an end. In 1989 she joined the Dartmouth Training Squadron, and in a busy year became the first Royal Navy warship to visit East Germany as well as hosting a dinner to mark the 50th anniversary of the Battle of the River Plate. In January 1990 Achilles decommissioned, ending her career, though only with the Royal Navy. However, the name Achilles lives on as TS Achilles, the Trowbridge branch of the Sea Cadet Corps. Sold to the Chilean Navy in 1991, she served until 2006 with the name Ministro Zenteno. From 2006 until late February 2010 she was in reserve.

Discover more about Service history related topics

Far East

Far East

In European terminology, the Far East is the geographical region that includes East and Southeast Asia as well as, to a lesser extent, North Asia, particularly the Russian Far East. South Asia is sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.

Aircraft carrier

Aircraft carrier

An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a naval force to project air power worldwide without depending on local bases for staging aircraft operations. Carriers have evolved since their inception in the early twentieth century from wooden vessels used to deploy balloons to nuclear-powered warships that carry numerous fighters, strike aircraft, helicopters, and other types of aircraft. While heavier aircraft such as fixed-wing gunships and bombers have been launched from aircraft carriers, these aircraft have not landed on a carrier. By its diplomatic and tactical power, its mobility, its autonomy and the variety of its means, the aircraft carrier is often the centerpiece of modern combat fleets. Tactically or even strategically, it replaced the battleship in the role of flagship of a fleet. One of its great advantages is that, by sailing in international waters, it does not interfere with any territorial sovereignty and thus obviates the need for overflight authorizations from third-party countries, reduces the times and transit distances of aircraft and therefore significantly increase the time of availability on the combat zone.

HMS Eagle (R05)

HMS Eagle (R05)

HMS Eagle was an Audacious-class aircraft carrier of the Royal Navy, in service 1951–1972. Until the arrival of the Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers in the 21st century, she and her sister Ark Royal were the two largest Royal Navy aircraft carriers ever built.

3rd Frigate Squadron

3rd Frigate Squadron

The 3rd Frigate Squadron also known as the Third Frigate Squadron was a naval formation of the Royal Navy from February 1949 to 1963 and again from 1972 to May 1980.

Cape of Good Hope

Cape of Good Hope

The Cape of Good Hope is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa.

Brazilian Navy

Brazilian Navy

The Brazilian Navy is the naval service branch of the Brazilian Armed Forces, responsible for conducting naval operations. The Brazilian Navy is the largest navy in Latin America and the second largest navy in the Americas after the United States Navy.

HMS Ark Royal (R09)

HMS Ark Royal (R09)

HMS Ark Royal (R09) was an Audacious-class aircraft carrier of the Royal Navy and, when she was decommissioned in 1979, was the Royal Navy's last remaining conventional catapult and arrested-landing aircraft carrier. She was the first aircraft carrier to be equipped with angled flight deck at its commissioning; her sister ship, HMS Eagle, was the Royal Navy's first angle-decked aircraft carrier after modification in 1954. Ark Royal was the only non-United States vessel to operate the McDonnell Douglas Phantom at sea.

English Channel

English Channel

The English Channel, also known as simply the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busiest shipping area in the world.

HMNB Devonport

HMNB Devonport

His Majesty's Naval Base, Devonport is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy and is the sole nuclear repair and refuelling facility for the Royal Navy. The largest naval base in Western Europe, HMNB Devonport is located in Devonport, in the west of the city of Plymouth, England.

Iceland

Iceland

Iceland is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which is home to about 36% of the population. Iceland is the largest part of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge that rises above sea level, and its central volcanic plateau is erupting almost constantly. The interior consists of a plateau characterised by sand and lava fields, mountains, and glaciers, and many glacial rivers flow to the sea through the lowlands. Iceland is warmed by the Gulf Stream and has a temperate climate, despite a high latitude just outside the Arctic Circle. Its high latitude and marine influence keep summers chilly, and most of its islands have a polar climate.

Exocet

Exocet

The Exocet is a French-built anti-ship missile whose various versions can be launched from surface vessels, submarines, helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft.

1981 Defence White Paper

1981 Defence White Paper

The 1981 Defence White Paper was a major review of the United Kingdom's defence policy brought about by the Conservative government under the Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. The main author was the then Secretary of State for Defence, John Nott. The aim of the review was to reduce expenditure during the early 1980s recession and to focus on supporting NATO rather than out of area operations. It was ultimately judged however to have been extremely detrimental to the Defence of the Realm, being among other things widely considered to have been one of the contributing factors that led to the outbreak of the Falklands War.

Fate

On 27 February 2010 a tsunami associated with the 2010 Chile earthquake washed her several nautical miles from her berth in the Talcahuano naval base, towards the coastal city of Dichato. In March 2010, the Chilean Navy decided to sink the ship to ensure free navigation in the area where the ship had run aground. The mission was performed by the crew of the offshore patrol vessel Piloto Pardo.

Source: "HMS Achilles (F12)", Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, (2022, September 27th), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Achilles_(F12).

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Further Reading

Leander-class frigate

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HMS Andromeda (F57)

HMS Ajax (F114)

HMS Dido (F104)

HMS Penelope (F127)

HMS Leander (F109)

HMS Cleopatra (F28)

HMS Apollo (F70)

HMS Ariadne (F72)

HMS Sirius (F40)

HMS Danae (F47)

HMS Gurkha (F122)

HMS Yarmouth (F101)

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HMS Rhyl (F129)

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References
  1. ^ Carr, Richard. "Paxman and the Royal Navy". paxmanhistory.org.uk. Paxman History Pages. Archived from the original on 27 May 2011. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
  2. ^ "Missile Frigate Ministro Zenteno (3rd)". armada.cl/. Armarda De Chile. Archived from the original on 17 February 2006.
  3. ^ Osborne & Sowdon 1990, p. 42
  4. ^ Blackman 1971, p. 350
  5. ^ Friedman 2008, p. 338
  6. ^ Marriott 1983, p. 94
  7. ^ Osborne & Sowdon 1990, p. 109
  8. ^ Osborne & Sowdon 1990, p. 111
  9. ^ Osborne & Sowdon 1990, pp. 33–34, 36, 111
  10. ^ Marriott 1983, p. 79
  11. ^ Osborne & Sowdon 1990, pp. 33, 35, 44
  12. ^ Osborne & Sowdon 1990, pp. 33–34, 44
  13. ^ Friedman 2008, p. 253
  14. ^ a b Critchley 1986, p. 131
  15. ^ Osborne & Sowdon 1990, p. 47
  16. ^ ""OLYMPIC ALLIANCE" (COLLISION)". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). House of Commons. 12 November 1975. col. 1528–1533. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  17. ^ "End of the Cod Patrol...after 49 collisions". Navy News. July 1976. p. 8. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  18. ^ Osborne & Sowdon 1990, p. 48
  19. ^ Friedman 2008, pp. 300–302
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