1968 CHARYBDIS. A member of a ten-strong class of improved broad-beam frigates with better sea-keeping properties, laid down for the Royal Navy over the second half of the 1960s.
THE BROAD-BEAM LEANDER CLASS
The Leander-class frigates of the 1960s were widely held to have been the best escorts the Royal Navy had ever sent to sea, but there was concern at their endurance and the degree to which they could be modernised. As a result, the last ten ships of the class were modified by having two feet (0.6m) added to their beam, to provide more fuel storage and space for more modern weapons systems and also to improve stability. HMS Charybdis (F 75) was the fifth unit to be constructed, by Harland & Wolff in Belfast. She was laid down on 27 January 1967, launched on 28 February 1968 and commissioned on 6 June 1969. She was stricken in October 1991 and finally expended as a target in June 1 993.
ARMAMENT AND EQUIPMENT
Originally, Charybdis had gun and missile armament, with a pair of Mark 6 4.5in (114mm) guns on the foredeck, but from mid-1979 to mid-1982 she was radically reconstructed, and the guns were removed, to be replaced by four launchers for MM 38 Exocet SSMs and a six-cell Sea Wolf SAM system, together with the necessary radar systems and computers. The Limbo anti-submarine mortar she mounted on the afterdeck was also removed, to increase the size of her helipad and hangar.
TECHNICAL DATA
Type: Guided-missile frigate
Machinery: 2-shaft geared turbines delivering 30,000shp
Dimensions (overall): Length, 113.4m (372ft); beam, 13.im (43ft)
Displacement (after conversion): 2790t standard; 3300t deep load
Draught: 5.5m (i 9ft) deep load
Complement: 251-263
Speed: 28 knots (51.8km/h)
