HMS Ariadne
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History | |
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United Kingdom | |
Name | HMS Ariadne |
Operator | Royal Navy |
Builder | Yarrow Shipbuilders |
Laid down | 1 November 1969 |
Launched | 10 September 1971 |
Commissioned | 10 February 1973 |
Decommissioned | May 1992 |
Identification | Pennant number: F72 |
Fate | Sold to Chile, 1992 |
Chile | |
Name | General Baquedano |
Namesake | Manuel Baquedano |
Operator | Chilean Navy |
Commissioned | 1992 |
Decommissioned | December 1998 |
Fate | Sunk as target in 2004 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Leander-class frigate |
Displacement | 3,200 long tons (3,251 t) full load |
Length | 113.4 m (372 ft) |
Beam | 12.5 m (41 ft) |
Draught | 5.8 m (19 ft) |
Propulsion | 2 × Babcock & Wilcox boilers supplying steam to two sets of White-English Electric double-reduction geared turbines to two shafts |
Speed | 28 knots (52 km/h) |
Range | 4,600 nautical miles (8,500 km) at 15 knots (28 km/h) |
Complement | 223 |
Armament |
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Aircraft carried | 1 × Westland Wasp helicopter |
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.
Ariadne was one of two Leander-class frigates ordered from Yarrow Shipbuilders as part of the 1967–68 construction programme for the Royal Navy, the last two ships of the class[1] with the order announced on 29 July 1968.[2] Ariadne was laid down at Yarrow's Scotstoun shipyard on 1 November 1969,[2][3][4] and was launched on 10 September 1971 and completed on 10 February 1973,[4] commissioning on 2 March 1973 at Devonport.[5] She was the last of the Leander class to be completed.[6] Like the rest of the Leander class, she was named after a figure of Greek mythology; Ariadne was Greek goddess of labyrinths and passions.
Ariadne was a Batch 3, "Broad-Beamed" Leander, and as such 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). She had a range of 4,000 nautical miles (4,600 mi; 7,400 km) at 15 knots (17 mph; 28 km/h) or 1,000 nautical miles (1,200 mi; 1,900 km) at top speed.[7]
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.[8][9] Ariadne 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.[10] The ship had a sonar suite of Type 184 medium range search sonar, Type 162 bottom search and Type 170 attack sonar, together with a Type 199 variable depth sonar (VDS).[11][12] She had a crew of 260 officers and other ranks.[7]