HMS Dido (F104)

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For other ships with the same name, see HMS Dido.
HMS Dido (F104).png
History
United Kingdom
Name: HMS Dido
Builder: Yarrow Shipbuilders
Laid down: 2 December 1959
Launched: 22 December 1961
Commissioned: 18 September 1963
Identification: pennant number: F 104
Fate: Sold to New Zealand.
History
New Zealand
Name: HMNZS Southland
Commissioned: 18 July 1983
Decommissioned: March 1995
Fate: Scrapped at Goa
General characteristics
Class & type: Leander-class frigate
Displacement:
  • 2,450 tons standard
  • 3,200 tons full load
Length: 372 ft (113 m)
Beam: 41 ft (12 m)
Draught: 19 ft (6 m)
Propulsion: Two Babcock & Wilcox boilers delivering steam to two sets of White/English Electric geared turbines of 30,000shp on two shafts
Speed: 28 knots (52 km/h)
Range: 4,600 nautical miles (8,500 km) at 15 knots (28 km/h)
Complement: 18 officers and 248 sailors
Sensors and
processing systems:
  • 1 × Type 994 air/surface search radar
  • 1 × Type 1006 navigation radar
  • 2 × Type 903/904 fire-control radars
  • 1 × Type 184P active search and attack sonar
  • 1 × Type 2031Z passive search towed array sonar
Electronic warfare
& decoys:		 CAAIS (Computer Assisted Action Information System) combat information system, ESM system with UAA-8/9 warning and Type 668/669 jamming elements.
Armament:
Aircraft carried: 1 × Wasp, later Lynx helicopter

HMS Dido was a Royal Navy (RN) Leander-class Batch 2TA frigate. Entering service in 1961, Dido was involved in the Indonesia-Malaysia confrontation, served with NATO's Standing Naval Force Atlantic on several occasions, and was one of the frigates used for the filming of the drama series Warship.

Following a defence review at the start of the 1980s, the ship was transferred to the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN), and was recommissioned as HMNZS Southland. Southland remained in service until 1995. After decommissioning, the frigate was towed to the Philippines, where her boilers were removed, then to India for scrapping.

Construction

Dido was built by Yarrow of Glasgow. She was originally to be called Hastings. The naming ceremony for Dido took place on 21 December 1961, but her launch was delayed until the next day because of fog.[1]

Royal Navy Service

The ship was assigned to the Far East, joining the 22nd Escort Group in 1964 and took part in the Indonesia-Malaysia confrontation, and became leader of the 21st Escort Group the following year.[2]

Dido was reassigned to the NATO Standing Naval Force Atlantic (STANAVFORLANT) in 1969 and also took part in a fleet review at Spithead on 16 May 1969 as part of the celebrations of the 20th anniversary of the formation of NATO.

The ship was one of four used as the fictional frigate HMS Hero in the 1970s BBC television drama series Warship.

Dido was extensively refitted at Devonport between July 1975 and October 1978, as a Batch 1B Ikara conversion (and the last to be completed). An Ikara ASW missile launcher replaced one of the ship's twin 4.5-inch (110 mm) guns and various sensors were upgraded. In 1983 the ship was briefly assigned again to the Standing Naval Force Atlantic (STANAVFORLANT).

Royal New Zealand Navy Service

As a result of the 1981 Defence Review, which had recommended the disposal of some older frigates, the ship was sold to the RNZN, along with sister ship HMS Bacchante. The already 18-year-old Southland was selected mainly to train RNZN personnel on computerised command and control systems.The option of purchasing a second Ikara Leander was available in the general offer after the UK 1981 Defence Review, with HMS Leander, HMS Ajax and in particular HMS Naiad, completed in March 1965, also offered. Given the extremely specialised nature of the Ikara Leanders [3] and their incompatibility with the rather different Ikara systems in the Australian Type 12 frigates and Charles F. Adams-class guided missile destroyers, the acquisition of two Ikara Leanders would actually have given a real capability, able to test and practice, joint computer age anti submarine operations. As UK experience and UK Treasury costing already indicated that the 13 year old Bacchante was too old for cost-containable structural modernisation, a view also held by the former captain of Waikato,[4] Southland received a five month, $15 million refit at Vosper Thornycroft after recommissioning on 18 July 1983 as HMNZS Southland. During the refit the Limbo mortar and VDS were removed as were the associated 170 and 199 sonars, while US Mk 32 torpedo tubes for anti-submarine torpedoes were fitted. The refit was completed in late December 1983 and over the following months, HMNZS Southland had several workups at Portland and participated in a number of Royal Navy and Nato exercises before sailing for New Zealand in mid 1984. An earlier HMS Dido already had historical links with Southland.

Decommissioning and fate

Around 1986 extensive plans were drawn up for a major refit of Southland which would have allowed its Ikara capability to remain operational until the mid-1990s. The RN had significantly modernised one of its remaining Ikara Leanders, Arethusa at the time with long range 2031 towed array capable of passive detection in the 160 km + range zone. The Royal Australian Navy planned to continue with its similar, but incompatible, Ikara system for a while. However quotes for refitting Southland in UK yards or at Lyttleton proved high, the Cold War effectively ended in 1989 and with the RN and USN withdrawing its stock of nuclear depth charges, (the intended warhead option for RN Ikara Leanders to attack Soviet submarines at 10–20 km range, where two directional sound transmission times were probably too great for accurate proximity direction of Ikara carrying MK 46 torpedoes) meant Ikara was no longer useful to the Royal Navy. As a result the Ikara system was withdrawn from RNZN use in 1989 with space found for a low cost refit at the RNZN dockyard for it to continue as a General Purpose frigate until 1993.

Decommissioned in 1995, Southland was towed away by two patrol craft to the Philippines where her boilers were removed for a rubber plantation. She was then towed to Singapore where she was sold to an Indian tug company who took her to Goa beach in India. She was pulled up on the beach and her parts were sold.[citation needed]

Commanding Officers

1971||1972|||Commander Simon Argles, RN

From To Captain
1965 1966 Captain Thomas W Stocker RN
1966 1968 Captain Roger E Wykes-Sneyd RN
1969 1971 Commander Anthony (Tony) R Barnden, RN
1972 1973 Commander Mike England RN
1978 1980 Commander G M Booth RN
1980 1982 Commander Peter Voute RN

See also

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.[dead link]
  2. ↑ Royal Navy Senior Appointments, Colin Mackie
  3. ↑ P.Marland. Post War Weapons of the Royal Navy. Warship 2015. Conway Maritime Press. UK
  4. ↑ I. Bradley. Defending NZ. Listener, Sept 1982

Publications

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  • Marriott, Leo, 1983. Royal Navy Frigates 1945-1983, Ian Allen Ltd. ISBN 07110 1322 5
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External links

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