HMS Penelope (F127)

HMS ''Penelope'' was a 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''.

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.

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''.Osborne and Sowdon 1990, pp. 32, 109. Total construction cost was £4,600,000.Osborne and Sowdon 1990, p. 36.

The ship was long overall and at the waterline, with a beam of and a maximum draught of . Displacement was standard and full load. Two oil-fired boilers fed steam at and to a pair of double reduction geared steam turbines that in turn drove two propeller shafts, with the machinery rated at , giving a speed of .Osborne and Sowdon 1990, p. 111.

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.Osborne and Sowdon 1990, pp. 33–34.

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.Osborne and Sowden 1990, pp. 33, 35. 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).

Operational history

1963-1967

After commissioning and workup, ''Penelope'' joined the 20th Frigate Squadron which was based at Londonderry Port in Northern Ireland, and from September–December 1964, formed part of a special squadron led by the cruiser that visited South American ports in an effort to improve relations and increase trade between Britain and South America. The ship transferred to the 2nd Frigate Squadron in September 1965.Osborne and Sowdon 1990, p. 37. 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.Osborne and Sowdon 1990, pp. 38–39. 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 at the end of a long cable. She was also fitted with a prototype Type 184M sonar.Osborne and Sowdon 1990, p. 38.

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. 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 from the site of the accident, and was not fitted with surface to air missiles.

1969-1981

The following year, ''Penelope'' was present in West Germany during the Kiel Week festival which combined a yachting race and festival events. 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.Osborne and Sowdon 1990, pp. 29–30, 71.

Falklands War

In 1982, ''Penelope'' took part in the Falklands War as part of the "Bristol group", which included two other ''Leander''-class ships - and - 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, including, in late May, the damaged 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. ''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 . ''Penelope'' caught the ''Preservers starboard anchor, cutting her port side. The Canadian vessel suffered $260,000 damage, while ''Penelope'' suffered damage estimated in the millions.

Ecuadorean Navy service, 1991–2008

''Penelope'' was decommissioned and subsequently sold, along with , 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.

References

Publications

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* Marriott, Leo, 1983. ''Royal Navy Frigates 1945-1983'', Ian Allan Ltd.
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Penelope
Leander-class frigates
Falklands War naval ships of the United Kingdom
1962 ships
Leander-class frigates of the Ecuadorian Navy