.gif)
HMS Achilles (F12)
Encyclopedia
HMS Achilles (F12) was a Leander-class
Leander class frigate
The Leander class, or Type 12I 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...
frigate of the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
. She was built by Yarrow
Yarrow Shipbuilders
Yarrow Limited , often styled as simply Yarrows, was a major shipbuilding firm based in the Scotstoun district of Glasgow on the River Clyde...
at Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
. She was launched on 21 November 1968 and commissioned on 9 July 1970. Unlike other ships, Achilles would not undergo 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. Hundreds were fired in combat during the 1980s.-Etymology:...
modernisation due to the 1981 defence review by John Nott
John Nott
Sir John William Frederic Nott KCB is a former British Conservative Party politician prominent in the late 1970s and early 1980s...
. In 1970, Achilles deployed to the Far East
Far East
The Far East is an English term mostly describing East Asia and Southeast Asia, with South Asia sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.The term came into use in European geopolitical discourse in the 19th century,...
where there was, at that time, a large British naval presence. She escorted a number of larger vessels while there, including Eagle
HMS Eagle (R05)
HMS Eagle was an aircraft carrier of the Royal Navy, in service 1951-1972. With her sister ship , she is one of the two largest British aircraft carriers yet built....
.
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 (TG) visited a number of African ports on their way to the Far East and Indian Ocean, including South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, a visit that caused some controversy back in the UK at the time. The TG 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 TG's return from the Far East, they made their way around the 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, South Africa.There is a misconception that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Africa, because it was once believed to be the dividing point between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. In fact, the...
to South America where a large exercise with the Brazilian Navy
Brazilian Navy
The Brazilian Navy is a branch of the Brazilian Armed Forces responsible for conducting naval operations. It is the largest navy in Latin America...
known as, which included Ark Royal
HMS Ark Royal (R09)
HMS Ark Royal was an Audacious-class aircraft carrier of the Royal Navy and, when she was decommissioned in 1978, was the Royal Navy's last remaining conventional catapult and arrested-landing aircraft carrier...
, took place. Achilles returned to the UK in June 1975. Later that year, Achilles collided with the Greek tanker Olympic Alliance while in the Dover Strait, causing a number of wounded, as well as heavy damage to Achilles bow. It was later repaired. The following year, Achilles joined the Fishery Protection Squadron
Fishery Protection Squadron
The Fishery Protection Squadron is a front-line squadron of the Royal Navy with responsibility for patrolling the UK's Extended Fisheries Zone...
during the Third Cod War with Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
.
After her deployment during the Third Cod War, Achilles went on a number of deployments including to the Persian Gulf
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf, in Southwest Asia, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.The Persian Gulf was the focus of the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War, in which each side attacked the other's oil tankers...
as well as being involved in a number of naval exercises. In 1982, Achilles deployed to the West Indies as guardship. The following year, Achilles deployed to the Falkland Islands
Falkland Islands
The Falkland Islands are an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean, located about from the coast of mainland South America. The archipelago consists of East Falkland, West Falkland and 776 lesser islands. The capital, Stanley, is on East Falkland...
to patrol the area in the aftermath of the Falklands War
Falklands War
The Falklands War , also called the Falklands Conflict or Falklands Crisis, was fought in 1982 between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the disputed Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands...
. Later that year Achilles took part in Exercise Orient Express, which took place in the Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
. She deployed to the Persian Gulf
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf, in Southwest Asia, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.The Persian Gulf was the focus of the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War, in which each side attacked the other's oil tankers...
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 RN warship to visit East Germany as well as hosting a Dinner to mark the 50th Anniversary of the Battle of the River Plate
Battle of the River Plate
The Battle of the River Plate was the first naval battle in the Second World War. The German pocket battleship had been commerce raiding since the start of the war in September 1939...
. In January 1990, Achilles decommissioned, ending her eventful career, though only with the Royal Navy. However, the name Achilles lives on as TS Achilles, in the British Sea Cadet Corps. In Trowbridge, Wiltshire, England. Sold to Chilean Navy and served in 1991 until 2006 with the name "Ministro Zenteno".
From the year 2006 until late February 2010 was in Reserve.But, by the Earthquake and Tsunami that struck Chile on February 27, 2010, the ship was moved by the force of the sea by several nautical miles from the site in the Talcahuano Naval base, until near the coastal city of Dichato.
In March 2010, the Chilean Navy decided to sink the ship to ensure free navigation on the area where the ship aground.The mission was performed for the crew of the ship " Piloto Pardo"OPV 81,provably opening security valves and explosive charges.
The Former HMS Achilles/Zenteno was sunk in march 2010.-