View source for Leander-class frigate

{{Short description|Class of frigate in the Royal Navy}}
{{For|similarly named cruiser classes|Leander class (disambiguation){{!}}Leander class}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2020}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
| Ship image = HMS Apollo 1976 SMB-2008.jpg
| Ship caption = {{HMS|Apollo|F70|6}}, 1976
}}
{{Infobox ship class overview
| Name = ''Leander'' class
| Builders = 
| Operators = *{{navy|United Kingdom}}
*{{navy|India}}
*{{navy|New Zealand}}
*{{navy|Chile}}
*{{navy|Netherlands}}
*{{naval|Pakistan}}
*{{navy|Ecuador}}
*{{naval|Indonesia}}
| Class before = *{{sclass|Rothesay|frigate|4}}
*{{sclass|Salisbury|frigate|4}}
*{{sclass|Leopard|frigate|4}}
*{{sclass2|Tribal|frigate|4}}
| Class after = [[Type 21 frigate]]
| Subclasses = *{{sclass|Condell|frigate|4}}
*{{sclass2|River|destroyer escort|4}}
*{{sclass|Nilgiri|frigate|4||1972}}
*{{sclass|Van Speijk|frigate|4}}
| Cost = 
| Built range = 1959–1973
| In service range = 
| In commission range = 1963–1993 (Royal Navy)
| Total ships building = 
| Total ships planned = 
| Total ships completed = 26
| Total ships cancelled = 
| Total ships active = 
| Total ships laid up = 
| Total ships lost = 
| Total ships retired = 26 (3 as artificial reefs, 2 as targets)
| Total ships preserved = 
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
| Hide header = 
| Header caption = 
| Ship type = [[Frigate]]
| Ship displacement = *2,350 tons standard, broad-beam 2,500 tons (later 2,790 tons) standard
*2,860 tons full load, broad-beam 2,962 tons (later 3,300 tons) full load
| Ship length = {{convert|113.4|m}}
| Ship beam = {{convert|12.5|m}}, broad-beamed {{convert|13.1|m}}
| Ship draught = {{convert|4.5|m}} normal, {{convert|5.5|m}} deep, broad-beamed {{convert|5.5|m}} (later {{convert|5.8|m}}) deep
| Ship propulsion = 2 [[Babcock & Wilcox]] oil-fired boilers, geared steam turbines, {{convert|22,370|kW}}, 2 shafts
| Ship speed = {{convert|27|kn}}
| Ship range = {{convert|7,400|km|mi nmi}} at {{convert|15|kn}}
| Ship endurance = 
| Ship complement = 260
| Ship time to activate = 
| Ship sensors = *''Radar'':
* [[Type 965 radar|Type 965]] (air warning radar removed during the Ikara conversion), Type 992 Q, [[MRS-3|Type 903]], Type 974/978
*''Sonar'':
*Type 162, 184, 199, & later [[Sonar 2031|Type 2031]] and [[Sonar 2016|Type 2016]] sonar
*𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘣𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘴𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘮:
*ADAWS-5 (Action Data Automated Weapon System) for Batch 1 - Ikara
| Ship EW = ESM system with UAA-8/9 warning and Type 668/669 jamming elements.
| Ship armament = *''Initial'':
*2 × [[QF 4.5 inch Mk I – V naval gun|4.5-inch guns (1 × twin mounting Mk6)]]
*1 × [[Sea Cat missile|Seacat]] surface-to-air missile launcher
*2 × 20mm guns (single mountings)
*2 × 40mm Mk VII Bofors (single mountings) initially in first 7 instead of Seacat & 20mm guns 
*1 × ASW [[Limbo mortar]]
*''Batch 1 – Ikara'':
*1 × Ikara Anti-submarine missile Launcher
*2 × Seacat surface-to-air missile launchers
*2 × 40mm guns – single mountings
*2 × triple 324 mm (12.75) STWS-1 tubes for Mk 46 and [[Stingray torpedo|Stingray ASW torpedoes]]
*1 × Limbo ASW Mortar
*''Batch 2 – Exocet/Seacat'':
*4 × MM.38 [[Exocet]] anti-ship missile launchers
*3 × Seacat surface-to-air missile launchers
*2 × 40mm guns – single mountings
*2 × triple 324 mm (12.75 inch) STWS-1 tubes for Mk 46 and Stingray ASW torpedoes
*''Batch 3 – Exocet/Seawolf'':
*4 × MM.38 Exocet anti-ship missile launchers
*1 × sextuple GWS.25 launcher with 30 [[Sea Wolf missile|Sea Wolf]] SAMs
*2 × 20mm AA guns
*2 × triple 324 mm (12.75) STWS-1 tubes for Mk 46 and Stingray ASW torpedoes
| Ship aircraft = *''Initial and Batch 1'':
*1 × [[Westland Wasp]] ASW helicopter
*''Batch 2 and Batch 3'':
*1 × [[Westland Lynx]] HAS.Mk 2 ASW helicopter
| Ship aircraft facilities = 
| Ship notes = 
}}
|}
The '''''Leander''-class''', or '''Type 12I (Improved) frigates''',<ref name=1974RINApaper>Purvis, M.K.,  'Post War RN Frigate and Guided Missile Destroyer Design 1944–1969',  Transactions,  Royal Institution of Naval Architects (RINA),  1974</ref><ref name="RNFp87" /><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20061212183808/http://www.btinternet.com/~warship/Postwar/Frigates/leander.htm Postwar Frigates]</ref> 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. It had an unusually high public profile, due to the popular [[BBC]] television drama series ''[[Warship (1973 TV series)|Warship]]''. The ''Leander'' silhouette became synonymous with the Royal Navy through the 1960s until the 1980s.

The ''Leander'' design or derivatives of it were built for other navies:
*[[Royal New Zealand Navy]] as the ''Leander'' class
*[[Chilean Navy]]: {{sclass|Condell|frigate|4}}
*[[Royal Australian Navy]]: {{sclass2|River|destroyer escort|4}}
*[[Indian Navy]]: {{sclass|Nilgiri|frigate|4||1972}}
*[[Royal Netherlands Navy]]: {{sclass|Van Speijk|frigate|4}}

==Design==
The policy adopted by the Royal Navy during the 1950s of acquiring separate types of frigates designed for specialised roles (i.e. anti-submarine, anti-aircraft and aircraft direction) had proved unsatisfactory. Although the designs themselves had proved successful, the lack of standardisation between the different classes led to increased costs during construction and also in maintenance once the ships became operational. Furthermore, it was not always possible to have the ships with the required capabilities available for a specific task.

The first move towards creating a truly general-purpose frigate came with the [[Tribal-class frigate|Type 81 Tribal class]] which was initially ordered in 1956. The 24-knot speed of the Tribals was considered the maximum possible for tracking submarines with the new medium-range sonars,<ref>N. Friedman. British Destroyers and Frigates. The Second World War 7 After. 2006. Chatham, p. 243 ,</ref> entering service. The type 81 gas turbine saw the frigates underway quickly, without taking hours flashing up steam turbines, and the provision of a helicopter for long-range attack were considered essential in the nuclear age. These ships were mainly intended to operate in the tropics but lacked the speed and armament required for the priority fleet carrier escort role East of Suez, where fast radar picket capability was important, as much as anti-submarine capability. So the new frigates would combine the roles of the T12 and T61. The fully air-conditioned Royal New Zealand Navy ''Rothesay'' class variant, {{ship|HMNZS|Otago|F111|6}}, which gave all the crew a bunk and cafeteria messing<ref>D K Brown. A Century of Naval construction. Conway Maritime. 1983. London  pp. 203–207,</ref> and a RNZN commissioned design study for a more fully capable Type 12 frigate, which also assessed whether the Type 12 could carry 2 of the larger [[Westland Wessex|Wessex]] AS helicopters, was used as the basis of the RN Leander Improved Type 12 design.<ref>.R. Gardiner. Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships. Part 1. Western powers. Conway Maritime. London.1983, pp. 164–165.</ref> 
   
On 7 March 1960, the Civil Lord of the Admiralty [[Ian Orr-Ewing|C. Ian Orr-Ewing]] stated that the "[[Whitby-class frigate|Type 12 ''Whitby''-class anti-submarine frigates]] are proving particularly successful&nbsp;... and we have decided to exploit their good qualities in an improved and more versatile ship.  This improved Type 12 will be known as the ''Leander'' class. The hull and steam turbine machinery will be substantially the same as for the ''Whitby''s. The main new features planned are a long-range air warning radar, the Seacat anti-aircraft guided missile, improved anti-submarine detection equipment and a light-weight helicopter armed with homing torpedoes. We shall also introduce air conditioning and better living conditions."<ref name=Hansard07Mar1960>[https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1960/mar/07/navy-estimates-1960-61 Hansard HC Deb 07 March 1960 vol 619 cc39-200] Navy Estimates 1960–61, statement by the Civil Lord of the Admiralty (Mr C. Ian Orr-Ewing), 7 March 1960.</ref>  The 1963 edition of ''[[Jane's Fighting Ships]]'' described it as a "mainly anti-submarine but flexible and all-purpose type".<ref name=Janes1963p270/>

{{Blockquote|text=The ''Leander'' class have the same hull and substantially the same steam turbine machinery as the ''Whitby'' class, but are a revised and advanced design and will fulfil a composite anti-submarine, anti-aircraft and air direction role. The 40mm guns will eventually be replaced by ''Seacat'' ship-to-air launchers.  The ships are equipped with VDS ([[Variable Depth Sonar]]), formerly known as dipping asdic. |author=Jane's Fighting Ships |title=<ref name=Janes1963p270/> }}

The difference between the ''Leander''s (Type 12I) and the ''Whitby''s (Type 12) was most obviously that the stepped [[quarterdeck]] of the Type 12 had been done away with, resulting in a [[flush deck]], with the exception of the raised [[forecastle]]. The superstructure had been combined into a single block amidships and a new [[Bridge (nautical)|bridge]] design gave improved visibility. A [[Hangar#Hangars aboard ships|hangar]] and [[Helicopter deck|flight deck]] were provided aft for the [[Westland Wasp]] light anti-submarine helicopter, which was still at the [[prototype]] stage when the first ships were ordered. The ship was [[air conditioned]] throughout and there were no [[porthole]]s in order to improve [[CBRN defense|nuclear, biological and chemical defence]]. The ships were all given names which had previously been given to Royal Navy [[cruiser]]s, mostly of characters from [[classical mythology]], the exceptions being [[HMS Cleopatra (F28)|''Cleopatra'']] and [[HMS Sirius (F40)|''Sirius'']].<ref name ="Marriott_p.82">Marriott, p. 82</ref>

The Y160 boiler variant used on the Batch 3 ''Leander''s (such as {{HMS|Jupiter|F60|2}}) also incorporated steam atomisation equipment on the fuel supply so the diesel fuel entering the boilers ''via'' the three main burners was atomised into a fine spray for better flame efficiency. Some ships with Y100 Boilers were also converted to steam atomisation, HMS ''Cleopatra'' being one of them. The superheat temperature of the Y160 was controlled manually by the boiler room [[petty officer]] of the watch between {{convert|750|-|850|°F |°C|abbr=on}} and the steam supplied to the main turbines was at a pressure of {{convert|550|psi|kPa|abbr=on}}. The ''Leander''-class frigates did have Babcock & Wilcox boilers but of a more conventional two-drum design, one water drum and one steam drum, much like a [[Yarrow boiler]] without the second water drum. The water drum was offset to one side and below the furnace and steam drum. The two boilers fitted were 'handed' with the water drum inboard on both. Many ''Leander''s had six-burner furnaces (known as Five and a Half Boilers) and the output was varied by altering the number of burners in use.

[[File:HMNZS Canterbury F421 (1971).png|thumb|left|Profile of {{HMNZS|Canterbury|F421|6}} as she appeared at the time of commissioning. Note the [[Bofors 40 mm Automatic Gun L/60|40 mm Bofors gun]]s in place of [[Seacat missile]]s.]]
[[File:HMS Penelope, 1970 (IWM).jpg|thumb|left|Aerial view of {{HMS|Penelope|F127|6}} in 1970, showing the original layout of the class before conversion.]]
{{Clear}}

==Construction programme==
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:97%;"
!colspan=9|Royal Navy
|-valign=top
![[Pennant number|Pennant]]
!Name
!width="30%"|(a) Hull builder<br />(b) Main machinery manufacturers
!Laid down
!Launched
!Accepted into service
!Commissioned
!Estimated building cost<ref>"Unit cost, i.e. excluding cost of certain items (e.g. aircraft, First Outfits)."<br />Text from ''Defences Estimates''</ref>
!Conversion group
|-valign=top
!align=center bgcolor=#E0E0E0 colspan=9|Batch 1 ''Leander'' Y-100 machinery <ref name=Janes1975/>
|-valign=top
|  | F109
|  | [[HMS Leander (F109)|''Leander'']]
|  | (a) & (b) [[Harland & Wolff|Harland & Wolff Ltd]], [[Belfast]].<ref name=NE1963>''Navy Estimates, 1963–64'', page 71, ''Table 3 (Programme): List and particulars of new ships which have been accepted or are expected to be accepted into HM service during the Financial Year ended 31 March 1963''</ref>
|  | 10 April 1959 <ref name=Janes1963p270>Blackman, Raymond VB, ''Jane's Fighting Ships, 1963–64'', pub Sampson Low Marston & Co Ltd, 1963,  page 270.</ref>
|  | 28 June 1961 <ref name=Janes1963p270/>
|  | March 1963 <ref name=NE1963/>
|  | 27 March 1963 <ref name=Janes1963p270/>
|  | £4,630,000 <ref name=NE1963/>
|  | Ikara
|-valign=top
|  | F104
|  | [[HMS Dido (F104)|''Dido'']]
|  | (a) & (b) [[Yarrow & Company|Yarrow & Co Ltd]], [[Scotstoun|Glasgow]].<ref name=DE1964>''Defence Estimates, 1964–65'', page 73, ''Table 3 (Programme): List and particulars of new ships which have been accepted or are expected to be accepted into HM service during the Financial Year ended 31 March 1964''</ref>
|  | 2 December 1959 <ref name=Janes1963p270/>
|  | 22 December 1961 <ref name=Janes1963p270/>
|  | September 1963 <ref name=DE1964/>
|  | 18 September 1963 <ref name=Janes1963p270/>
|  | £4,600,000 <ref name=DE1964/>
|  | Ikara
|-valign=top
|  | F127
|  | [[HMS Penelope (F127)|''Penelope'']]
|  | (a) Vickers-Armstrongs (Shipbuilders) Ltd, Newcastle <br /> (b) Vickers-Armstrongs (Engineers) Ltd, Barrow-in-Furness <ref name=DE1964/>
|  | 14 March 1961 <ref name=Janes1963p270/>
|  | 17 August 1962 <ref name=Janes1963p270/>
|  | November 1963 <ref name=DE1964/>
|  | 31 October 1963 <ref name=Janes1963p270/>
|  | £4,600,000 <ref name=DE1964/>
|  | Exocet/Seacat
|-valign=top
|  | F114
|  | [[HMS Ajax (F114)|''Ajax'']]
|  | (a) & (b) [[Cammell Laird & Company|Cammell Laird & Co (Shipbuilders and Engineers) Ltd]], [[Birkenhead]].<ref name=DE1964/>
|  | 19 October 1959 <ref name=Janes1963p270/>
|  | 16 August 1962 <ref name=Janes1963p270/>
|  | December 1963 <ref name=DE1964/>
|  | 10 December 1963 <ref name=Janes1963p270/>
|  | £4,800,000 <ref name=DE1964/>
|  | Ikara
|-valign=top
|  | F10
|  | [[HMS Aurora (F10)|''Aurora'']]
|  | (a) & (b) [[John Brown & Company|John Brown & Co Ltd]], [[Clydebank]]<ref name=DE1964/><ref name=DE1965/>
|  | 1 June 1961 <ref name=Janes1963p270/>
|  | 28 November 1962 <ref name=Janes1963p270/>
|  | April 1964 <ref name=DE1965/>
|  | 9 April 1964 <ref name=Janes1975>Moore, John E, ''Jane's Fighting Ships, 1975–76'', pub Macdonald and Jane's, 1975, {{ISBN|0-354-00519-7}} pages 35405.</ref>
|  | £4,650,000 <ref name=DE1964/><ref name=DE1965/>
|  | Ikara
|-valign=top
|  | F18
|  | [[HMS Galatea (F18)|''Galatea'']]
|  | (a) [[Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson|Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson Ltd]], [[Wallsend|Wallsend-on-Tyne]] <br /> (b) The Wallsend Slipway & Engineering Co Ltd, Wallsend-on-Tyne (steam turbines) <br /> (b) Parsons Marine Turbines Co Ltd, Wallsend-on-Tyne (gearing).<ref name=DE1964/><ref name=DE1965/>
|  | 29 December 1961 <ref name=Janes1963p270/>
|  | 23 May 1963 <ref name=Janes1963p270/>
|  | April 1964 <ref name=DE1965/>
|  | 25 April 1964 <ref name=Janes1975/>
|  | £4,500,000 <ref name=DE1964/><ref name=DE1965/>
|  | Ikara
|-valign=top
|  | F15
|  | [[HMS Euryalus (F15)|''Euryalus'']]
|  | (a) [[Scotts Shipbuilding & Engineering Company|Scotts Shipbuilding & Engineering Co Ltd]], [[Greenock]] <br /> (b) Scotts Shipbuilding & Engineering Co Ltd (steam turbines) <br /> (b) Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering Co Ltd, Glasgow (gearing).<ref name=DE1965>''Defence Estimates, 1965–66'', page 75, ''Table 3 (Programme): List and particulars of new ships which have been accepted or are expected to be accepted into HM service during the Financial Year ended 31 March 1965''</ref>
|  | 2 November 1961 <ref name=Janes1963p270/>
|  | 6 June 1963 <ref name=Janes1963p270/>
|  | September 1964 <ref name=DE1965/>
|  | 16 September 1964 <ref name=Janes1975/>
|  | £4,350,000 <ref name=DE1965/>
|  | Ikara
|-valign=top
|  | F39
|  | [[HMS Naiad (F39)|''Naiad'']]
|  | (a) Yarrow & Co Ltd, Glasgow <br /> (b) Yarrow & Co Ltd, Glasgow (steam turbines) <br /> (b) Parsons Marine Turbines Co Ltd, Wallsend-on-Tyne (gearing).<ref name=DE1965/>
|  | 30 October 1962 <ref name=Janes1963p270/>
|  | 4 November 1963 <ref name=Janes1975/>
|  | March 1965 <ref name=DE1965/>
|  | 15 March 1965 <ref name=Janes1975/>
|  | £4,750,000 <ref name=DE1965/>
|  | Ikara
|-valign=top
|  | F38
|  | [[HMS Arethusa (F38)|''Arethusa'']]
|  | (a) [[J. Samuel White & Company|JS White & Co Ltd]], [[Cowes|Cowes, Isle of Wight]] <br /> (b) JS White & Co Ltd, Cowes, Isle of Wight (steam turbines) <br /> (b) Parsons Marine Turbines Co Ltd, Wallsend-on-Tyne (gearing).<ref name=DE1966/>
|  | 7 September 1962 <ref>''Jane's Fighting Ships'' 1963–64 edition said that ''Arethus'' was laid down on 17 September 1964, however the 1975–76 edition says that she was laid down on 7 September 1964.</ref>
|  | 5 November 1963 <ref name=Janes1975/>
|  | November 1965 <ref name=DE1966/>
|  | 24 November 1965 <ref name=Janes1975/>
|  | £4,850,000 <ref name=DE1966/>
|  | Ikara{{refn|group=Note|name=towed|Subsequently fitted with Type 2031 [[towed array sonar]]}}
|-valign=top
|  | F28
|  | [[HMS Cleopatra (F28)|''Cleopatra'']]
|  | (a) [[HMNB Devonport|HM Dockyard]], [[Devonport, Devon|Devonport]] <br /> (b) Cammell Laird & Co (Shipbuilders & Engineers) Ltd, Birkenhead (turbines) <br /> (b) John Brown & Co Ltd, Clydebank (gearing).<ref name=DE1966>''Defence Estimates, 1966–67'', page 72, ''Table 3 (Programme): List and particulars of new ships which have been accepted or are expected to be accepted into HM service during the Financial Year ended 31 March 1966''</ref>
|  | 19 June 1963 <ref name=Janes1975/>
|  | 25 March 1964 <ref name=Janes1975/>
|  | February 1966 <ref name=DE1966/>
|  | 4 January 1966 <ref name=Janes1975/>
|  | £5,300,000 <ref name=DE1966/>
|  | Exocet/Seacat{{refn|group=Note|name=towed}}
|-valign=top
!align=center bgcolor=#E0E0E0 colspan=9|Batch 2 ''Leander'' Y-136 machinery <ref name=Janes1975/>
|-valign=top
|  | F42
|  | [[HMS Phoebe (F42)|''Phoebe'']]
|  | (a) [[Alexander Stephen & Sons|Alexander Stephen & Sons Ltd]], [[Linthouse]], Glasgow <br /> (b) Alexander Stephen & Sons Ltd, Linthouse, Glasgow (steam turbines) <br /> (b) David Brown & Co Ltd, Huddersfield (gearing).<ref name=DE1967/>
|  | 3 June 1963 <ref name=Janes1975/>
|  | 8 July 1964 <ref name=Janes1975/>
|  | April 1966 <ref name=DE1967/>
|  | 15 April 1966 <ref name=Janes1975/>
|  | £4,750,000 <ref name=DE1967/>
|  | Exocet/Seacat{{refn|group=Note|name=towed}}
|-valign=top
|  | F45
|  | [[HMS Minerva (F45)|''Minerva'']]
|  | (a) [[Vickers Armstrongs|Vickers Ltd, Shipbuilding Group]], Newcastle <br /> (b) Alexander Stephen & Sons Ltd, Linthouse, Glasgow (steam turbines) <br /> (b) David Brown & Co Ltd, Huddersfield (gearing).<ref name=DE1967/>
|  | 26 July 1963 <ref name=Janes1963p270/>
|  | 19 December 1964 <ref name=Janes1975/>
|  | May 1966 <ref name=DE1967/>
|  | 14 May 1966 <ref name=Janes1975/>
|  | £4,700,000 <ref name=DE1967/>
|  | Exocet/Seacat
|-valign=top
|  | F40
|  | [[HMS Sirius (F40)|''Sirius'']]
|  | (a) [[HMNB Portsmouth|HM Dockyard]], [[Portsmouth]] <br /> (b) JS White & Co Ltd, Cowes, Isle of Wight (turbines) <br /> (b) David Brown & Co Ltd, Huddersfield (gearing).<ref name=DE1967>''Defence Estimates, 1967–68'', page 75, ''Table 3 (Programme): List and particulars of new ships which have been accepted or are expected to be accepted into HM service during the Financial Year ended 31 March 1967''</ref>
|  | 9 August 1963 <ref name=Janes1975/>
|  | 22 September 1964 <ref name=Janes1975/>
|  | June 1966 <ref name=DE1967/>
|  | 15 June 1966 <ref name=Janes1975/>
|  | £5,600,000 <ref name=DE1967/>
|  | Exocet/Seacat{{refn|group=Note|name=towed}}
|-valign=top
|  | F52
|  | [[HMS Juno (F52)|''Juno'']]
|  | (a) [[John I. Thornycroft & Company|JI Thornycroft Ltd, Southampton]] <br /> (b) JI Thornycroft Ltd, Southampton (steam turbines) <br /> (b) David Brown & Co Ltd, Huddersfield (gearing)<ref name=DE1968/>
|  | 16 July 1964 <ref name=Janes1975/>
|  | 24 November 1965 <ref name=Janes1975/>
|  | July 1967 <ref name=DE1968/>
|  | 18 July 1967 <ref name=Janes1975/>
|  | £5,020,000 <ref name=DE1968/>
|  | Training
|-valign=top
|  | F56
|  | [[HMS Argonaut (F56)|''Argonaut'']]
|  | (a) [[Hawthorn Leslie]], [[Hebburn]] <br /> (b) JS White & Co Ltd, Cowes, Isle of Wight (steam turbines) <br /> (b) David Brown & Co Ltd, Huddersfield (gearing).<ref name=DE1968/>
|  | 27 November 1964 <ref name=Janes1975/>
|  | 8 February 1966 <ref name=Janes1975/>
|  | September 1967 <ref name=DE1968/>
|  | 17 August 1967 <ref name=Janes1975/>
|  | £5,000,000 <ref name=DE1968/>
|  | Exocet/Seacat{{refn|group=Note|name=towed}}
|-valign=top
|  | F47
|  | [[HMS Danae (F47)|''Danae'']]
|  | (a) HM Dockyard, Devonport <br /> (b) JS White & Co Ltd, Cowes, Isle of Wight (steam turbines) <br /> (b) Fairfields (Glasgow) Ltd (gearing).<ref name=DE1968>''Defence Estimates, 1968–69'', page 75, ''Table 3 (Programme): List and particulars of new ships which have been accepted or are expected to be accepted into HM service during the Financial Year ended 31 March 1968''<br />Note that the costs quoted in the Defence Estimates are slightly different from costs quoted by the Minister of State [[John Morris, Baron Morris of Aberavon|(Mr. John Morris)]] - see [https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/written-answers/1969/mar/26/leander-class-frigates#S5CV0780P0_19690326_CWA_48 Hansard HC Deb 26 March 1969 vol 780 c302W] Question to the Secretary of State for Defence how the cost of ''Leander''-class frigates built in the Royal Dockyards compares with that of those built in commercial shipyards.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
||''Danae''|| £5,720,000 (Defence Estimates) || £5,830,000 (Hansard 26 March 1969)
|-
|| ''Juno'' || £5,020,000 (Defence Estimates) || £5,000,000 (Hansard 26 March 1969)
|-
|| ''Argonaut'' || £5,000,000 (Defence Estimates) || £5,000,000 (Hansard 26 March 1969)
|}
</ref>
|  | 16 December 1964 <ref name=Janes1975/>
|  | 31 October 1965 <ref name=Janes1975/>
|  | October 1967 <ref name=DE1968/>
|  | 7 September 1967 <ref name=Janes1975/>
|  | £5,720,000 <ref name=DE1968/>
|  | Exocet/Seacat
|-valign=top
!align=center bgcolor=#E0E0E0 colspan=9|Broad-beamed ''Leander'' Y-160 machinery <ref name=Janes1975/>
|-valign=top
|  | F75
|  | [[HMS Charybdis (F75)|''Charybdis'']]
|  | (a) Harland & Wolff Ltd, Belfast <br /> (b) Vickers Ltd, Engineering Group, Barrow-in-Furness.<ref name=DE1970/>
|  | 27 January 1967 <ref name=Janes1975/>
|  | 28 February 1968 <ref name=Janes1975/>
|  | June 1969 <ref name=DE1970/>
|  | 2 June 1969 <ref name=Janes1975/>
|  | £6,330,000 <ref name=DE1970/>
|  | Exocet/Seawolf
|-valign=top
|  | F58
|  | [[HMS Hermione (F58)|''Hermione'']]
|  | (a) Yarrow & Co Ltd, Glasgow <br /> (b) Alex Stephen & Sons Ltd, Linthouse, Glasgow (steam turbines) <br /> (b) Vickers Ltd, Engineering Group, Barrow-in-Furness (gearing).<ref name=DE1970/>
|  | 6 December 1965 <ref name=Janes1975/>
|  | 26 April 1967 <ref name=Janes1975/>
|  | July 1969 <ref name=DE1970/>
|  | 11 July 1969 <ref name=Janes1975/>
|  | £6,400,000 <ref name=DE1970/>
|  | Exocet/Seawolf
|-valign=top
|  | F60
|  | [[HMS Jupiter (F60)|''Jupiter'']]
|  | (a) Yarrow & Co Ltd, Glasgow <br /> (b) JS White & Co Ltd, Cowes, Isle of Wight (steam turbines) <br /> (b) Vickers Ltd, Engineering Group, Barrow-in-Furness (gearing).<ref name=DE1970/>
|  | 3 October 1966 <ref name=Janes1975/>
|  | 4 September 1967 <ref name=Janes1975/>
|  | August 1969 <ref name=DE1970/>
|  | 9 August 1969 <ref name=Janes1975/>
|  | £6,100,000 <ref name=DE1970/>
|  | Exocet/Seawolf
|-valign=top
|  | F69
|  | [[HMS Bacchante (F69)|''Bacchante'']]
|  | (a) Vickers Ltd, Shipbuilding Group, Newcastle <br /> (b) JS White & Co Ltd, Cowes, Isle of Wight (steam turbines) <br /> (b) Vickers Ltd, Engineering Group, Barrow-in-Furness (gearing).<ref name=DE1970/>
|  | 27 October 1966 <ref name=Janes1975/>
|  | 29 February 1968 <ref name=Janes1975/>
|  | October 1969 <ref name=DE1970/>
|  | 17 October 1969 <ref name=Janes1975/>
|  | £6,200,000 <ref name=DE1970/>
|  | Gun
|-valign=top
|  | F57
|  | [[HMS Andromeda (F57)|''Andromeda'']]
|  | (a) HM Dockyard, Portsmouth <br /> (b) JS White & Co Ltd, Cowes, Isle of Wight (steam turbines) <br /> (b) David Brown & Co Ltd, Huddersfield (gearing).<ref name=DE1969>''Defence Estimates, 1969–70'', page 75, ''Table 3 (Programme): List and particulars of new ships which have been accepted or are expected to be accepted into HM service during the Financial Year ended 31 March 1969''</ref>
|  | 25 May 1966 <ref name=Janes1975/>
|  | 24 May 1967 <ref name=Janes1975/>
|  | December 1969 <ref name=DE1969/>
|  | 2 December 1968 <ref name=Janes1975/>
|  | £6,700,000 <ref name=DE1969/>
|  | Exocet/Seawolf
|-valign=top
|  | F71
|  | [[HMS Scylla (F71)|''Scylla'']]
|  | (a) HM Dockyard, Devonport <br /> (b) JS White & Co Ltd (turbines)<br />(b) David Brown & Co Ltd (gearing).<ref name=DE1970>''Defence Estimates, 1970–71'', page XII-81, ''Table V: List and particulars of new ships which have been accepted or are expected to be accepted into HM service during the Financial Year ended 31 March 1970''</ref>
|  | 17 May 1967 <ref name=Janes1975/>
|  | 8 August 1968 <ref name=Janes1975/>
|  | February 1970 <ref name=DE1970/>
|  | 12 February 1970 <ref name=Janes1975/>
|  | £6,600,000 <ref name=DE1970/>
|  | Exocet/Seawolf
|-valign=top
|  | F12
|  | [[HMS Achilles (F12)|''Achilles'']]
|  | (a) Yarrow & Co Ltd, Glasgow <br /> (b) JS White & Co Ltd (turbines)<br />(b) David Brown & Co Ltd (gearing).<ref name=DE1971>''Defence Estimates, 1971–72'', page XII-81, ''Table V: List and particulars of new ships which have been accepted or are expected to be accepted into HM service during the Financial Year ended 31 March 1971''</ref>
|  | 1 December 1967 <ref name=Janes1975/>
|  | 21 November 1968 <ref name=Janes1975/>
|  | July 1970 <ref name=DE1971/>
|  | 9 July 1970 <ref name=Janes1975/>
|  | £6,270,000 <ref name=DE1971/>
|  | Gun
|-valign=top
|  | F16
|  | [[HMS Diomede (F16)|''Diomede'']]
|  | (a) Yarrow & Co Ltd, Glasgow <br /> (b) JS White & Co Ltd (turbines)<br />(b) David Brown & Co Ltd (gearing).<ref name=DE1972>''Defence Estimates, 1972–73'', page XII-92, ''Table V: List and particulars of new ships which have been accepted or are expected to be accepted into HM service during the Financial Year ended 31 March 1972''</ref>
|  | 30 January 1968 <ref name=Janes1975/>
|  | 15 April 1969 <ref name=Janes1975/>
|  | April 1971 <ref name=DE1972/>
|  | 2 April 1971 <ref name=Janes1975/>
|  | £5,980,000 <ref name=DE1972/>
|  | Gun
|-valign=top
|  | F70
|  | [[HMS Apollo (F70)|''Apollo'']]
|  |(a) Yarrow & Co Ltd, Glasgow <br /> (b) JS White & Co Ltd (turbines)<br />(b) David Brown & Co Ltd (gearing).<ref name=DE1973>''Defence Estimates, 1973–74'', page XII-96, ''Table V: List and particulars of new ships which have been accepted or are expected to be accepted into HM service during the Financial Year ended 31 March 1973''</ref>
|  | 1 May 1969 <ref name=Janes1975/>
|  | 15 October 1970 <ref name=Janes1975/>
|  | 10 June 1972 <ref name=DE1973/>
|  | 28 May 1972 <ref name=Janes1975/>
|  | £6,573,000 <ref name=DE1973/>
|  | Gun
|-valign=top
|  | F72
|  | [[HMS Ariadne (F72)|''Ariadne'']]
|  | (a) Yarrow & Co Ltd, Glasgow <br /> (b) JS White & Co Ltd (turbines)<br />(b) David Brown & Co Ltd (gearing).<ref name=DE1973/>
|  | 1 November 1969 <ref name=Janes1975/>
|  | 10 September 1971 <ref name=Janes1975/>
|  | 10 February 1973 <ref name=DE1973/>
|  | 10 February 1973 <ref name=Janes1975/>
|  | £6,576,000 <ref name=DE1973/>
|  | Gun
|-
!colspan=9|Royal New Zealand Navy
|-valign=top
!Pennant
!Name
!Builder
!Laid down
!Launched
!colspan=2|Commissioned
!colspan=2| Type
|-
| F55
| [[HMNZS Waikato (F55)|''Waikato'']]
| Harland and Wolff, Belfast
| 10 January 1964
| 18 February 1965
| colspan=2|19 September 1966
| colspan=2|Batch 2 Towed Array
|-
|  F421
|  [[HMNZS Canterbury (F421)|''Canterbury'']]
|  Yarrow Shipbuilders, Glasgow
|  12 June 1969
|  6 May 1970
| colspan=2|22 October 1971
| colspan=2|Broad beam
|}

==Midlife major refits==
The entire class were designed for a standard weapons fit when built, with a twin [[QF 4.5-inch Mk I – V naval gun|4.5-inch Mark 6 gun]] mount, [[Seacat (missile)|GWS-22 Seacat]] missile system and [[Limbo (weapon)|Limbo anti-submarine mortar]], though the first seven entered service fitted with two single [[Bofors 40 mm Automatic Gun L/60|40 mm Bofors guns]] on the hangar roof instead of Seacat, with the [[surface to air missile|SAM]] system fitted later.  All but one of the ships had Seacat GWS-22; the exception was ''Naiad'', which had Seacat GWS-20.<ref name=Marriott82>{{citation|pages=82, 84|title=Royal Navy Frigates Since 1945|first1=Leo|last1=Marriott|edition=2nd|publisher=Ian Allan Ltd|year=1990|isbn=0-7110-1915-0}}</ref>  However, advances in weapons systems led to a number of different conversions being undertaken on various members of the class. This saw the class grouped into four broad batches:
*Ikara – installation of the [[Ikara (missile)|Ikara]] ASW missile system in place of the 4.5-inch gun mount, plus an additional Seacat missile system.
*Exocet/Seacat – installation of [[Exocet]] anti-ship missile system in place of 4.5-inch gun mount, plus two additional Seacat missile systems.
*Exocet/Seawolf – installation of Exocet anti-ship missile system in place of 4.5-inch gun mount; replacement of Seacat with single GWS-25 [[Sea Wolf (missile)|Seawolf]] [[surface-to-air missile]] system.
*Gun – retained 4.5-inch gun mount and Seacat missile system.

===Batch 1, Ikara conversion===
[[File:HMS Naiad F39 1982.jpeg|thumb|right|''Naiad'', an Ikara conversion in 1982]]
Eight of the first ten ''Leander''s were given the so-called "Batch 1" or "[[Ikara (missile)|Ikara]]" conversion,<ref name=RNFp87/> which saw the Ikara anti-submarine warfare missile installed in place of the 4.5-inch gun, plus an additional Seacat system,<ref name=Hansard06Jul81c47W/> and the removal of the [[Type 965 radar]] and its AKE(1) aerial.  The internal space previously used by the Type 965 was used for the [[Action Data Automated Weapons System|ADAWS]] needed for Ikara.<ref name=RNFp87/>

{| class="wikitable" 
|+Ikara conversion
|-valign=top
! Pennant
! Name
! Place undertaken
! Started
! Completed
! Cost<ref name=Outturn>[https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/written-answers/1983/dec/14/leander-class-frigate Hansard HC Deb 14 December 1983 vol 50 c473W] The phrase used in Hansard was ''Outturn''.</ref>
|-valign=top
!align=center bgcolor=#E0E0E0 colspan=6 | Batch 1A
|-valign=top
| F109
| [[HMS Leander (F109)|''Leander'']]
| Devonport <ref name=Hansard14Dec83refitdates/><ref name=RNFp87>{{citation|page =87|title=Royal Navy Frigates Since 1945|first1=Leo|last1=Marriott|edition=2|publisher=Ian Allan Ltd|year=1990|isbn=0-7110-1915-0}}<br />Note that Marriott gives slightly different dates than [https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/written-answers/1981/jul/06/frigates-refits Hansard (6 July 1981)] for the completion of the following refits:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
|| ''Leander'' || Dec 1972 (Marriott) || Jan 1973 (Hansard)
|-
||''Ajax'' || Sep 1973 (Marriott) || Feb 1974 (Hansard)
|-
||''Aurora'' || Mar 1976 (Marriott) || Feb 1976 (Hansard)
|-
||''Naiad'' || Jul 1975 (Marriott) || Jun 1975 (Hansard)
|}</ref>
|  | 8 June 1970 <ref name=Hansard14Dec83refitdates>Hansard HC Deb 14 December 1983 vol 50 c473W] Refit dates and costs for ''Leander''-class frigates, 14 December 1983.</ref><ref name=BTInternet>[https://web.archive.org/web/20061212183808/http://www.btinternet.com/~warship/Postwar/Frigates/leander.htm Royal Navy Postwar: Leander Class General Purpose Frigate (Type 12 Improved)]<br />Note that this source says that ''Penelope'' started her Exocet conversion in January 1978, which agrees with [https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/written-answers/1983/dec/14/leander-class-frigate Hansard (14 December 1983)], which says 30 January 1978, but disagrees with [https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/written-answers/1981/jul/06/frigates-refits Hansard (6 July 1981)] recorded that ''Penelope'' started her conversion in June 1978.  It also gives a different start date for ''Arethusa'' – October 1973, whereas [https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/written-answers/1983/dec/14/leander-class-frigate Hansard (14 December 1983)] quotes 10 September 1973 It gives a different start date for ''Andromeda'' – March 1978, whereas Hansard (14 December 1983) quotes 3 January 1978.</ref>
|  | 12 January 1973 <ref name=RNFp87/><ref name=Hansard06Jul81c47W/><ref name=Hansard14Dec83refitdates/>
|  | £7,587,000 <ref name=Hansard14Dec83refitdates/>
|-valign=top
| F114
| [[HMS Ajax (F114)|''Ajax'']]
| Devonport <ref name=RNFp87/><ref name=Hansard14Dec83refitdates/>
| 19 October 1970 <ref name=Hansard14Dec83refitdates/><ref name=BTInternet/>
| 7 February 1974 <ref name=RNFp87/><ref name=Hansard06Jul81c47W/><ref name=Hansard14Dec83refitdates/>
| £8,269,000 <ref name=Hansard14Dec83refitdates/>
|-valign=top
| F18
| [[HMS Galatea (F18)|''Galatea'']]
| Devonport <ref name=RNFp87/><ref name=Hansard14Dec83refitdates/>
| 4 October 1971  <ref name=Hansard14Dec83refitdates/><ref name=BTInternet/>
| 6 September 1974 <ref name=RNFp87/><ref name=Hansard06Jul81c47W/><ref name=Hansard14Dec83refitdates/>
| £9,217,000 <ref name=Hansard14Dec83refitdates/>
|-valign=top
!align=center bgcolor=#E0E0E0 colspan=6|Batch 1B
|-valign=top
|  | F10
|  | [[HMS Aurora (F10)|''Aurora'']]
|  | Chatham <ref name=RNFp87/><ref name=Hansard14Dec83refitdates/>
|  | 4 December 1974 <ref name=Hansard14Dec83refitdates/><ref name=BTInternet/>
|  | 27 February 1976 <ref name=RNFp87/><ref name=Hansard06Jul81c47W/><ref name=Hansard14Dec83refitdates/>
|  | £15,580,000 <ref name=Hansard14Dec83refitdates/>
|-valign=top
|  | F39
|  | [[HMS Naiad (F39)|''Naiad'']]
|  | Devonport <ref name=RNFp87/><ref name=Hansard14Dec83refitdates/>
|  | 15 January 1973 <ref name=Hansard14Dec83refitdates/><ref name=BTInternet/>
|  | 20 June 1975 <ref name=RNFp87/><ref name=Hansard06Jul81c47W/><ref name=Hansard14Dec83refitdates/>
|  | £10,410,000 <ref name=Hansard14Dec83refitdates/>
|-valign=top
|  | F15
|  | [[HMS Euryalus (F15)|''Euryalus'']]
|  | Devonport <ref name=RNFp87/><ref name=Hansard14Dec83refitdates/>
|  | 7 May 1973 <ref name=Hansard14Dec83refitdates/><ref name=BTInternet/>
|  | 12 March 1976 <ref name=RNFp87/><ref name=Hansard06Jul81c47W/><ref name=Hansard14Dec83refitdates/>
|  | £12,127,000 <ref name=Hansard14Dec83refitdates/>
|-valign=top
|  | F38
|  | [[HMS Arethusa (F38)|''Arethusa'']]
|  | Portsmouth <ref name=RNFp87/><ref name=Hansard14Dec83refitdates/>
|  | 10 September 1973 <ref name=Hansard14Dec83refitdates/><ref name=BTInternet/>
|  | 7 April 1977 <ref name=RNFp87/><ref name=Hansard06Jul81c47W/>
|  | £16,585,000 <ref name=Hansard14Dec83refitdates/>
|-valign=top
|  | F104
|  | [[HMS Dido (F104)|''Dido'']]
|  | Devonport <ref name=RNFp87/><ref name=Hansard14Dec83refitdates/>
|  | 7 July 1975 <ref name=Hansard14Dec83refitdates/><ref name=BTInternet/>
|  | 27 October 1978 <ref name=RNFp87/><ref name=Hansard06Jul81c47W/><ref name=Hansard14Dec83refitdates/>
|  | £23,006,000 <ref name=Hansard14Dec83refitdates/>
|-
|}

===Batch 2, Seacat/Exocet conversion===
[[File:HMS Phoebe F42 off NorfolkVA 1990.jpeg|thumb|''Phoebe'', an Exocet conversion, in 1990]]
Two of the ''Leander''s with Y-100 machinery, and five out of the six with Y-136 machinery, were given the so-called "Batch 2" or "Exocet" conversion.<ref name=RNFp90/>  This conversion gave them Exocet anti-shipping missiles in place of the 4.5-inch gun mount, 2 additional Seacat systems, and the ability to operate the Lynx helicopter.<ref name=Hansard06Jul81c47W/>

{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:97%;"
|+Exocet / Seacat conversion
|-valign=top
! [[Pennant number|Pennant]]
!  Name
!  Commissioned
!  Place undertaken
!  Started
!  Completed
!  Cost <br />("Outturn")<ref name=Outturn/>
|-valign=top
!align=center bgcolor=#E0E0E0 colspan=8|Batch 2A
|-valign=top
|  F28
| [[HMS Cleopatra (F28)|''Cleopatra'']]
|  4 January 1966 <ref name=Janes1975/>
|  Devonport <ref name=Hansard14Dec83refitdates/><ref name=RNFp90>Marriott, Leo, ''Royal Navy Frigates since 1945'' 2nd ed., pub Ian Allan Ltd, 1990, {{ISBN|0-7110-1915-0}} p. 90.<br />Note that Marriott gives slightly different dates than [https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/written-answers/1981/jul/06/frigates-refits Hansard (6 July 1981)] or [https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/written-answers/1983/dec/14/leander-class-frigate Hansard 14 Dec 1983] for the completion of the following refits:<br />
{| class="wikitable" |- 
||''Cleopatra'' || Nov 1975 (Marriott) ||Dec 1975 (Hansard 6 July 1981)
|- 
||''Sirius'' || Oct 1977 (Marriott) || Feb 1978 (Hansard 6 July 1981) 
|-
||''Minerva'' || Mar 1979 (Marriott) || Apr 1979 (Hansard 6 July 1981)
|-
|| ''Danae'' || Sep 1980 (Marriott) || Apr 1981 (Hansard 6 July 1981) 
|-
|| ''Penelope'' || Mar 1981 (Marriott) || 15 January 1982 (Hansard 14 December 1983) 
|-
|}
In addition, Marriott states that ''Juno's'' Exocet conversion was cancelled in 1984.  However Hansard (14 December 1983) states "''Juno'' is currently being converted at Rosyth to serve as a navigational training ship."</ref>
|  | 23 July 1973 <ref name=Hansard14Dec83refitdates/><ref name=BTInternet/>
|  | 19 December 1975 <ref name=Hansard06Jul81c47W/><ref name=Hansard14Dec83refitdates/><ref name=RNFp90/>
|  | £13,820,000 <ref name=Hansard14Dec83refitdates/>
|-valign=top
| F42
| [[HMS Phoebe (F42)|''Phoebe'']]
| 15 April 1966 <ref name=Janes1975/>
| Devonport <ref name=Hansard14Dec83refitdates/><ref name=RNFp90/>
| 5 August 1974 <ref name=Hansard14Dec83refitdates/><ref name=BTInternet/>
| 28 April 1977 <ref name=Hansard06Jul81c47W/><ref name=Hansard14Dec83refitdates/><ref name=RNFp90/>
|  | £18,204,000 <ref name=Hansard14Dec83refitdates/>
|-valign=top
|  | F40
|  | [[HMS Sirius (F40)|''Sirius'']]
|  | 15 June 1966 <ref name=Janes1975/>
|  | Devonport <ref name=Hansard14Dec83refitdates/><ref name=RNFp90/>
|  | 10 March 1975 <ref name=BTInternet/>
|  | 10 February 1978 <ref name=Hansard06Jul81c47W/><ref name=Hansard14Dec83refitdates/><ref name=RNFp90/>
|  | £21,598,000 <ref name=Hansard14Dec83refitdates/>
|-valign=top
|  | F45
|  | [[HMS Minerva (F45)|''Minerva'']]
|  | 14 May 1966 <ref name=Janes1975/>
|  | Chatham <ref name=Hansard14Dec83refitdates/><ref name=RNFp90/>
|  | 1 December 1975 <ref name=Hansard14Dec83refitdates/><ref name=BTInternet/>
|  | 11 April 1979 <ref name=Hansard06Jul81c47W/><ref name=Hansard14Dec83refitdates/><ref name=RNFp90/>
|  | £31,575,000 <ref name=Hansard14Dec83refitdates/>
|-valign=top
!align=center bgcolor=#E0E0E0 colspan=8|Batch 2B
|-valign=top
|  | F56
|  | [[HMS Argonaut (F56)|''Argonaut'']]
|  | 17 August 1967 <ref name=Janes1975/>
|  | Devonport <ref name=Hansard14Dec83refitdates/><ref name=RNFp90/>
|  | 23 February 1976 <ref name=Hansard14Dec83refitdates/><ref name=BTInternet/>
|  | 28 March 1980 <ref name=Hansard06Jul81c47W/><ref name=Hansard14Dec83refitdates/><ref name=RNFp90/>
|  | £30,262,000 <ref name=Hansard14Dec83refitdates/>
|-valign=top
|  | F47
|  | [[HMS Danae (F47)|''Danae'']]
|  | 7 September 1967 <ref name=Janes1975/>
|  | Devonport <ref name=Hansard14Dec83refitdates/><ref name=RNFp90/>
|  | 1 August 1977 <ref name=Hansard14Dec83refitdates/><ref name=BTInternet/>
|  | 8 April 1981 <ref name=Hansard06Jul81c47W/><ref name=Hansard14Dec83refitdates/><ref name=RNFp90/>
|  | £39,279,000 <ref name=Hansard14Dec83refitdates/>
|-valign=top
|  | F127
|  | [[HMS Penelope (F127)|''Penelope'']]
|  | 31 October 1963 <ref name=Janes1963p270/>
|  | Devonport <ref name=Hansard06Jul81c47W/><ref name=Hansard14Dec83refitdates/><ref name=RNFp90/>
|  | November 1981 <ref name=Hansard06Jul81c47W>[https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/written-answers/1981/jul/06/frigates-refits Hansard HC Deb 06 July 1981 vol 8 c47W] Question to the Secretary of State for Defence which frigates are now undergoing major refits; at which dockyards; when they commenced; and when they are planned to be completed.</ref><ref name=Hansard14Dec83refitdates/>
|  | 15 January 1982 <ref name=Hansard14Dec83refitdates/><ref name=RNFp90/>
|  | £47,687,000 <ref name=Hansard14Dec83refitdates/>
|-valign=top
|  | F52
|  | [[HMS Juno (F52)|''Juno'']]
|  | 18 July 1967 <ref name=Janes1975/>
| colspan=5 align=center| Exocet conversion cancelled.<ref name=RNFp90/>
|-
|}

===Batch 2, navigational training ship conversion===
''Juno'', commissioned 18 July 1967, was converted to serve as a navigational [[training ship]].<ref name=Hansard14Dec83refitdates/> Work at Rosyth<ref name=Hansard14Dec83refitdates/> began in January 1982 and completed in February 1985.<ref name=Hansard14Jul87c437>[https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/written-answers/1987/jul/14/destroyers-and-frigates#S6CV0119P0_19870714_CWA_250 Hansard HC Deb 14 July 1987 vol 119 cc437-40W] Question to the Secretary of State for Defence asking for a list by class the destroyers and frigates presently 438W serving in the Royal Navy showing for each vessel the current age and the dates between which they have undergone major refits, 14 July 1987.</ref> This conversion involved the removal of the Type 965 radar and all of her armament. The flight deck was extended by plating over the mortar well; the STWS 1 torpedo system and two 20 mm guns were installed. ''Juno'' replaced {{HMS|Torquay|F43|6}} in the training role, as well as serving as the trials ship for the Type 2050 sonar.<ref>Marriott, p. 98</ref>

===Batch 3, Seawolf/Exocet conversion===
[[File:HMS Andromeda DN-SC-90-11423.jpg|thumb|right|''Andromeda'', a Seawolf conversion, in 1990]]

The Seawolf conversion gave the broad-beamed ''Leander''s Exocet anti-shipping missiles in place of the 4.5-inch mounting, a [[Sea Wolf (missile)|Seawolf]] missile system in place of Seacat, Sonar 2016, and the ability to operate the Lynx helicopter.<ref name=Hansard06Jul81c47W/>  All the radar systems were removed and replaced by Type 967, 968, 975 and 910 radars.<ref name=MarriottFrigate94>{{citation|page =94|title=Royal Navy Frigates Since 1945|first1=Leo|last1=Marriott|edition=2|publisher=Ian Allan Ltd|year=1990|isbn=0-7110-1915-0}}</ref> Only five of the broad-beamed ''Leander''s were converted to carry Seawolf due to costs (£70 million for each refit) and, as a lesser consideration, to retain some ships capable of [[naval gunfire support]].<ref name=RNFp94/>

{| class="wikitable" 
|+Exocet / Seawolf conversion
|-valign=top
! Pennant
! Ship
! Commissioned
! Place undertaken
! Started
! Planned completion
! Actual completion
! Cost<ref name=Outturn/>
|-
!colspan=8|Batch 3A
|-
|-valign=top
| F57
|   [[HMS Andromeda (F57)|''Andromeda'']]
|   2 December 1968 <ref name=Janes1975/>
|   Devonport <ref name=Hansard14Dec83refitdates/><ref name=RNFp94>Marriott, Leo, ''Royal Navy Frigates since 1945'' 2nd ed., pub Ian Allan Ltd, 1990, {{ISBN|0-7110-1915-0}} p. 92.<br />There are also some differences between Marriott and Hansard on the following completion dates:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
||''Andromeda'' ||December 1980 (Marriott) ||February 1981 (Hansard 6 July 1981)
|-
||''Charybdis'' ||August 1982 (Marriott) ||16 July 1982 [https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/written-answers/1983/dec/14/leander-class-frigate (Hansard 14 December 1983)]
|-
||''Hermione''||June 1983 (Marriott) || 8 December 1983 (Hansard 14 December 1983)
|}
</ref>
|  | 3 January 1978  <ref name=Hansard14Dec83refitdates/><ref name=BTInternet/><ref>Marriott, Leo, ''Royal Navy Frigates since 1945'' 2nd ed., pub Ian Allan Ltd, 1990, {{ISBN|0-7110-1915-0}} p. 92 says that she paid off in January 1978.</ref>
|  |
|  | 6 February 1981 <ref name=Hansard06Jul81c47W/><ref name=Hansard14Dec83refitdates/><ref name=RNFp94/>
|  | £59,990,000 <ref name=Hansard14Dec83refitdates/>
|-valign=top
| F75
|  | [[HMS Charybdis (F75)|''Charybdis'']] 
|  | 2 June 1969 <ref name=Janes1975/>
|  | Devonport <ref name=Hansard06Jul81c47W/><ref name=Hansard14Dec83refitdates/><ref name=RNFp94/>
|  | 25 June 1979 <ref name=Hansard14Dec83refitdates/><ref name=BTInternet/><ref name=Hansard06Jul81c47WBatch3/>
|  | June 1982 <ref name=Hansard06Jul81c47WBatch3>[https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/written-answers/1981/jul/06/frigates-refits Hansard HC Deb 06 July 1981 vol 8 c47W] Question to the Secretary of State for Defence which frigates are now undergoing major refits; at which dockyards; when they commenced; and when they are planned to be completed.<br />[https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/written-answers/1981/nov/30/leander-class-frigates-modernisation#S6CV0014P0_19811130_CWA_169 Hansard HC Deb 30 November 1981 vol 14 c23W] Question to the Secretary of State for Defence asking how many ''Leander''-class frigates are undergoing modernising refits at an estimated unit cost equal to or exceeding the figure of £70 million, 30 November 1981.<br />The answers given on 6 July and 30 November 1981 for the start and forecast completion times for ''Jupiter'', ''Scylla'', ''Charybdis'', and ''Hermione'' are identical, except that on 6 July 1981, it was stated that ''Charybdis'' was forecast to complete in June 1983, and on 30 November, it was stated that she was forecast to complete in June 1982.</ref>
|  | 16 July 1982 <ref name=Hansard14Dec83refitdates/><ref name=RNFp94/>
|  | £61,581,000 <ref name=Hansard14Dec83refitdates/>
|-valign=top
| F60
|  | [[HMS Jupiter (F60)|''Jupiter'']] 
|  | 9 August 1969 <ref name=Janes1975/>
|  | Devonport <ref name=Hansard06Jul81c47W/><ref name=Hansard14Dec83refitdates/><ref name=RNFp94/>
|  | 28 January 1980 <ref name=Hansard14Dec83refitdates/><ref name=BTInternet/><ref name=Hansard06Jul81c47WBatch3/>
|  | July 1983 <ref name=Hansard06Jul81c47WBatch3/>
|  | 14 October 1983 <ref name=Hansard14Dec83refitdates/><ref name=RNFp94/>
|  | †£68,348,000 <ref name=Hansard14Dec83refitdates/>
|-valign=top
| F58
|  | [[HMS Hermione (F58)|''Hermione'']] 
|  | 11 July 1969 <ref name=Janes1975/>
|  | Chatham/Devonport <ref name=Hansard06Jul81c47W/><ref name=Hansard14Dec83refitdates/><ref>Marriott puts ''Hermione''{{'}}s Seawolf conversion at Devonport, whereas [https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/written-answers/1981/jul/06/frigates-refits 6 July 1981, Hansard] puts it at Chatham.</ref>
|  | 14 January 1980 <ref name=Hansard14Dec83refitdates/><ref name=BTInternet/><ref name=Hansard06Jul81c47WBatch3/>
|  | January 1983 <ref name=Hansard06Jul81c47WBatch3/>
|  | 8 December 1983 <ref name=Hansard14Dec83refitdates/><ref name=RNFp94/>
|  | †£79,692,000 <ref name=Hansard14Dec83refitdates/>
|-valign=top
| F71
|  | [[HMS Scylla (F71)|''Scylla'']] 
|  | 12 February 1970 <ref name=Janes1975/>
|  | Devonport <ref name=Hansard06Jul81c47W/><ref name=Hansard14Dec83refitdates/><ref name=RNFp94/>
|  | 10 November 1980 <ref name=Hansard14Dec83refitdates/><ref name=BTInternet/><ref name=Hansard06Jul81c47WBatch3/>
|  | September 1983 <ref name=Hansard06Jul81c47WBatch3/>
|  | December 1984 <ref name=RNFp94/>
|  | †£79,278,000 <ref name=Hansard14Dec83refitdates/>
|}
† = Latest estimate as at 14 December 1983.<ref name=Hansard14Dec83refitdates/>

===Batch 2 TA & Batch 1B – towed array conversions===
[[File:HMS Argonaut F56 in 1995.jpg|thumb|right|''Argonaut'', a batch 2 Exocet conversion fitted with a towed array, in 1985. Note the platform at the stern added in the towed array conversion in 1982–1983.]]
In 1981 the Admiralty said that they intended to devote "substantial resources to improving the effectiveness of the sensors and anti-submarine weapons&nbsp;... This includes the new passive towed array system that we hope to introduce into service next year."<ref name=Hansard22Jul81c326>{{cite web |url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1981/jul/22/royall-navy |work=[[Hansard|Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)]] |title=Hansard HC Deb vol 9 cc326-409 Debate on the Royal Navy |date=22 July 1981}}</ref>

{{HMS|Matapan|D43|6}} and {{HMS|Lowestoft|F103|6}} were used for testing prototypes in 1978–1981.<ref name=BDFp302>{{cite book |last=Friedman |first=Norman |title=British Destroyers and Frigates, the Second World War and After |publisher=Seaforth |year=2006 |isbn=978-1-84832-015-4 |page=302}}</ref> It was planned to install them on [[Rothesay-class frigate|''Rothesay'' conversions]], but this was not possible due to industrial strikes.<ref name=BDFp302/>  Scheduling then made it easier to fit them onboard four of the Batch II ''Leander''s.  "Compensation for the additional 70 tons of top weight included lowering the Exocet launchers.  This interesting quartet was to have been followed by five Batch III ''Leander''s, but the latter fell foul of the [[John Nott|Nott]] cancellations.  A fifth ''Leander'', the Ikara-carrying HMS ''Arethusa'', was fitted with a towed array in 1985, the year the towed-array trials ship ''Lowestoft'' was withdrawn from service."<ref name=BDFp302/>

[[Julian Oswald|Admiral Sir Julian Oswald]] said to the Defence Committee in 1989, "in order to capitalise on the really very exciting and important development of towed arrays, we had to get them to sea as soon as we could. The only sensible, cost-effective option open to us was to take some relatively older ships – the ''Leanders'' – and convert them quickly to the towed array. We have done that with great success, and the peacetime patrols have achieved some remarkable results, but there has been a price to pay because of the age of those ships."<ref>Defence Committee, sixth report, ''The Royal Navy's Surface Fleet: Current Issues –  report, together with the proceedings of the committee, minutes of evidence and memoranda'', pub HMSO, 21 June 1989, minutes of evidence pp.&nbsp;12–13.</ref>

In general, "as a ship gets older it tends to get noisier – the hull and also the propulsion system".<ref>Defence Committee, sixth report, ''The Royal Navy's Surface Fleet: Current Issues –  report, together with the proceedings of the committee, minutes of evidence and memoranda'', pub HMSO, 21 June 1989, minutes of evidence p. 3, remarks by former naval officer [[Jonathan Sayeed|Jonathan Sayeed MP]].</ref> At the same Defence Committee meeting, Oswald spoke "to counter the presumption that older ships get noisier. That is not necessarily true and it is not true, in my experience, in the case of the ''Leander''s because understanding of ship-generated noise is improving all the time and our techniques for countering it are improving – our noise monitoring and so on – so, despite the fact that these ships are getting older, they are in many cases managing to improve their performance with regard to ship noise."<ref name=HansardDC21Jun89p3>Defence Committee, sixth report, ''The Royal Navy's Surface Fleet: Current Issues –  report, together with the proceedings of the committee, minutes of evidence and memoranda'', pub HMSO, 21 June 1989, minutes of evidence p. 3.</ref> Captain [[Geoffrey Biggs]] said "the ''Leander''s are remarkably quiet in operation and our experience has been that they have made excellent towed-array platforms despite the rather short notice of actually getting the towed-array programme together to start with.  They actually perform very well."<ref name=HansardDC21Jun89p3/>

Five ships were converted to use Waverley Type 2031(I) towed array (passive search very low frequency).  They were as follows:<ref>Sharpe, Richard ''Jane's Fighting Ships 1988–89'', pub Jane's Publishing Company Ltd, 1988, {{ISBN|978-0-7106-0858-1}}, page 660 lists five ships as having Type 2031Z towed arrays: ''Arethusa'', ''Cleopatra'', ''Sirius'', ''Phoebe'', and ''Argonaut''.  The last four were described by Jane's as "Batch 2TA".<br /> Defence Committee, sixth report, ''The Royal Navy's Surface Fleet: Current Issues –  report, together with the proceedings of the committee, minutes of evidence and memoranda'', pub HMSO, 21 June 1989, page xviii lists four Exocet ''Leander''s described as Batch 2A: ''Cleopatra'', ''Sirius'', ''Phoebe'', and ''Argonaut''.  "Batch 2A are fitted with towed array sonar."</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|-
|+Refit when towed array fitted<ref name=Janes1975/><ref name=TArefitVarious>Marriott ''Royal Navy Frigates since 1945'' second edition, page 98 lists which year the ''Leander''s completed the refits in which the towed array was fitted. Friedman ''British Destroyers and Frigates, the Second World War and After'' 2006, p. 302 says that the prototype Type 2031 was installed on ''Cleopatra'', the conversion beginning in 1980, and that ''Arethusa''{{'}}s towed array was fitted in 1985.<br />[https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1981/jul/22/royall-navy Hansard (22 July 1981)] made it clear that towed-arrays were not in service in 1981, but that it was intended to introduce them into service in 1982.[https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/written-answers/1987/jul/14/destroyers-and-frigates#S6CV0119P0_19870714_CWA_250 Hansard HC Deb 14 July 1987 vol 119 cc437-40W] contains a list of all the refits by the ''Leander''s up to 14 July 1987.</ref>
|-
|-valign=top
!  [[Pennant number|Pennant]]
! Name
!  Commissioned
! Started 
! Completed 
|-valign=top
!align=center bgcolor=#E0E0E0 colspan=8|Batch 2A Exocet ''Leander'' (Batch 2TA)
|-valign=top
|  | F42
|  | [[HMS Phoebe (F42)|''Phoebe'']]
|  | 15 April 1966 
|  | February 1981 
|  | July 1982 
|-valign=top
|  | F28
|  | [[HMS Cleopatra (F28)|''Cleopatra'']]
|  | 4 January 1966 
|  | January 1982 
|  | April 1983 
|-valign=top
|  | F56
|  | [[HMS Argonaut (F56)|''Argonaut'']]
|  | 17 August 1967 
|  | August 1982 
|  | November 1983 
|-valign=top
|  | F40
|  | [[HMS Sirius (F40)|''Sirius'']]
|  | 15 June 1966 
|  | April 1985 
|  | December 1985 
|-valign=top
!align=center bgcolor=#E0E0E0 colspan=8|Batch 1B Ikara ''Leander''
|-valign=top
|  | F38
|  | [[HMS Arethusa (F38)|''Arethusa'']]
|  | 24 November 1965 
|  | May 1985 
|  | February 1986 
|-
|}

==Royal Navy service==
{{more citations needed section|date=August 2018}}
During their lengthy service with the Royal Navy ''Leander''s were employed during the [[Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation]] in 1963–1966. The 1973 and 1975–1976 [[Cod Wars]] in the latter of which HMS ''Diomede'' suffered severe damage with a 30 feet gash in its hull after being rammed by an [[Icelandic Coast Guard]] gunboat. The frigates with their thin hulls being much less suited to this duty than the later offshore patrol vessels.

Four members of the class saw action during the 1982 Falklands War, three Batch Two conversions, HMS ''Argonaut'', HMS ''Minerva'' and HMS ''Penelope'' <ref name=MarriotFrigates90>L. Marriot. ''Royal Navy Frigates 1945–1983''.Ian Allan. 1983. London, p. 90.</ref> ''Argonaut'' experienced 15 air attacks in San Carlos Sound and was hit by a number of bombs and cannon fire; it was stranded for six days, with two bombs lodged in the forward Seacat magazine and boiler room.<ref name=MarriotFrigates90/> The first Seawolf conversion HMS ''Andromeda'', was one of only three Seawolf fitted frigates available with the Royal Navy's newest missile in the war and served during the war as the critical "goalkeeper"- the last line of defence for the carrier HMS ''Invincible'' during the war.<ref>Marriot. ''Royal Navy Frigates 1945–1983'', pp. 90–91</ref> The five unconverted, gun-armed, broad-beam ''Leanders'', arrived in the war zone in the last week of the conflict and immediately after it to serve with the post-war task force led by the brand new carrier HMS ''Illustrious''. An Argentine naval dive team planned to place limpet mines on HMS ''Ariadne'' at [[Gibraltar]] during the conflict ([[Operation Algeciras]]). The last ''Leander'' commissioned in 1973,  like the two built for Chile, carried special electronic warfare systems, for countering{{Clarify|date=August 2018}} Exocet missiles, and the Argentine services may have anticipated the ''Ariadne'' was scheduled for service in the [[Total Exclusion Zone]], which in fact did not happen until after the end of the war.{{citation needed|date=August 2018}}

The ships performed excellently in Royal Navy service, with relatively low noise levels giving the 2031(I) towed sonar a range of more than 100 miles, better than that of the more advanced 2031(Z) sonar when fitted in the [[Type 22 frigate]]s. However, all ''Leander''s in Royal Navy service were decommissioned by the early 1990s due to the ships' ageing design and the high number of crew.{{Citation needed|date=May 2009}} ''Scylla'' was sunk on 27 March 2004 as an artificial reef off [[Cornwall]], eleven years after her decommissioning in 1993.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.shipsproject.org/Wrecks/Wk_Scylla.html|title=HMS Scylla|website=shipsproject.org|access-date=2 October 2021}}</ref>

===Running costs===
{|class="wikitable"
|-
!  Period
!  Running cost
!  What is included
|-
|  {{nowrap|1972–1973}}
| £250,000<ref>[https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/written-answers/1974/dec/16/ships-refits#S5CV0883P0_19741216_CWA_104 "Ships (Refits)] Hansard HC Deb 16 December 1974 vol 883 c316W] <!--Question to the Secretary of State for Defence about the approximate annual average refit cost per vessel for (a) a County class destroyer and (b) a Leander class frigate, 16 December 1974. --></ref>
|  Average annual maintenance cost per vessel
|-
|  1980–1981 
|  £6 million<ref>[https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/written-answers/1981/jun/09/leander-class-frigates#S6CV0006P0_19810609_CWA_441 "Leander Class Frigates"] Hansard HC Deb 9 June 1981 vol 6 c121W <!-- Question to the Secretary of State for Defence about the cost of (a) a mid-life and (b) a normal refit for a Leander class frigate, 9 June 1981.--></ref>
| Average current cost for a "normal refit".
|-
|   1981–1982
| £6.8 million <ref>[https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/written-answers/1982/jul/16/naval-vessels-operating-costs#S6CV0027P0-09171 "Naval Vessels (Operating Costs)"] Hansard HC Deb 16 July 1982 vol 27 cc485-6W <!-- Question to the Secretary of State for Defence, 16 July 1982.--></ref>
| "at average 1981–1982 prices and including associated aircraft costs but excluding the costs of major refits."
|-
| 1985–1986
|  £6.5 million<ref>[https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/written-answers/1987/jan/22/ships-operating-costs#S6CV0108P0-10356 "Ships (Operating Costs)"] Hansard HC Deb 22 January 1987 vol 108 c730W <!-- Question to the Secretary of State for Defence, 22 January 1987.--></ref>
|  "the average cost of running and maintaining a ''Leander''-class frigate for one year".
|-
|  1987–1988
| £3.8 million<ref>[https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/written-answers/1989/mar/10/warships#S6CV0148P0-04574 "Warships"] Hansard HC Deb 10 March 1989 vol 148 c44W <!-- Question to the Secretary of State for Defence, 10 March 1989.--></ref>
|  "average annual operating costs, at financial year 1987–88 prices"..."These costs include personnel, fuel, spares and so on, and administrative support services, but exclude new construction, capital equipment, and refit-repair costs".
|-
|}

==Overseas service==
''Leander''-class frigates were also successfully exported to serve in the [[Royal New Zealand Navy]] and [[Chilean Navy]]; in the latter they were designated as the {{sclass|Condell|frigate|4}}. Further frigates were modelled on the ''Leander''-class frigates and were [[Licence-built|built under licence]] in Australia as the {{sclass2|River|destroyer escort|4}} for the [[Royal Australian Navy]], [[India]] as the {{sclass|Nilgiri|frigate|4||1972}} and the [[Netherlands]] as the {{sclass|Van Speijk|frigate|4}}. Royal Navy ships were sold to the navies of Chile, [[Ecuadorian Navy|Ecuador]], New Zealand ({{HMS|Bacchante|F69|2}} becoming {{HMNZS|Wellington|F69|6}} and {{HMS|Dido|F104|2}} becoming HMNZS ''Southland''), India and [[Pakistan Navy|Pakistan]].

Starting in 1986, the six ''Van Speijk''-class ships were sold to the [[Indonesian Navy]] and renamed the {{sclass|Ahmad Yani|frigate|4}}, five of which are still in service.{{refn|group=Note|{{KRI|Slamet Riyadi|352|6}} was decommissioned on 16 August 2019.}} Pakistan decommissioned the last of its ''Leander''-class frigates, ''Zulfiqar'', in January 2007,<ref name="globalsecurity.org">{{cite web |url=https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/pakistan/f-shamsher.htm |title=Shamsher Class (UK Leander Type 12) |author=<!--Not stated--> |website=globalsecurity.org |access-date=2 April 2017 }}</ref>  India decommissioned her last ''Leander'' class on 24 May 2012.<ref name=Krishna/>

{{HMNZS|Canterbury|F-421|6}}, the last steam-turbine driven ''Leander''-class frigate in the Royal New Zealand Navy, was decommissioned in Auckland on 31 March 2005 after 33 years operational service.  In 2006 it was announced that the ship was to be [[Sinking ships for wreck diving sites|sunk as a dive attraction]] in the [[Bay of Islands]], and this was carried out on 3 November 2007 at Deep Water Cove. She lies near her sister ship {{HMNZS|Waikato|F55|6}}.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Colledge |first1=J J |last2=Warlow |first2=Ben |date=2010 |title=Ships Of The Royal Navy: A Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy from the 15th Century to the Present |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WfODMIsqtTQC&pg=PA67 |publisher=Casemate |page=67 |isbn=978-1935149071 }}</ref>

==Fate==
;Royal Navy
{| class="wikitable"
|-valign=top
!  | [[Pennant number|Pennant]]
!  | Name
!  | Commissioned
! width="30%"|Fate
|-valign=top
! colspan="8" align="center" bgcolor="#E0E0E0" |Batch 1 (Ikara conversion)
|-valign=top
|  | F109
|  | [[HMS Leander (F109)|''Leander'']]
|  | 27 March 1963 <ref name=Janes1963p270/>
|  | Sunk as target 1989
|-valign=top
|  | F104
|  | [[HMS Dido (F104)|''Dido'']]
|  | 18 September 1963 <ref name=Janes1963p270/>
|  | To New Zealand as HMNZS ''Southland'' 1983, paid off 1995 and sold for scrap. Towed to the Philippines to have her boilers removed for a rubber plantation. Then towed to Goa Beach, India, for scrapping. 
|-valign=top
|  | F114
|  | [[HMS Ajax (F114)|''Ajax'']]
|  | 10 December 1963 <ref name=Janes1963p270/>
|  | Scrapped 1988
|-valign=top
|  | F10
|  | [[HMS Aurora (F10)|''Aurora'']]
|  | 9 April 1964 <ref name=Janes1975/>
|  | Scrapped 1990
|-valign=top
|  | F18
|  | [[HMS Galatea (F18)|''Galatea'']]
|  | 25 April 1964 <ref name=Janes1975/>
|  | Sunk as target 1988
|-valign=top
|  | F15
|  | [[HMS Euryalus (F15)|''Euryalus'']]
|  | 16 September 1964 <ref name=Janes1975/>
|  | Sold for scrap 1990
|-valign=top
|  | F39
|  | [[HMS Naiad (F39)|''Naiad'']]
|  | 15 March 1965 <ref name=Janes1975/>
|  | Sunk as target 1990
|-valign=top
|  | F38
|  | [[HMS Arethusa (F38)|''Arethusa'']]
|  | 24 November 1965 <ref name=Janes1975/>
|  | Sunk as target 1991
|-valign=top
! colspan="8" align="center" bgcolor="#E0E0E0" |Batch 2 (Exocet conversion)
|-valign=top
|  | F127
|  | [[HMS Penelope (F127)|''Penelope'']]
|  | 31 October 1963 <ref name=Janes1963p270/>
|  | To Ecuador 1991 as ''Presidente Eloy Alfaro''. Decommissioned 2008 and subsequently scrapped.
|-valign=top
|  | F28
|  | [[HMS Cleopatra (F28)|''Cleopatra'']]
|  | 4 January 1966 <ref name=Janes1975/>
|  | Sold for scrap 1993
|-valign=top
|  | F42
|  | [[HMS Phoebe (F42)|''Phoebe'']]
|  | 15 April 1966 <ref name=Janes1975/>
|  | Sold for scrap 1992
|-valign=top
|  | F45
|  | [[HMS Minerva (F45)|''Minerva'']]
|  | 14 May 1966 <ref name=Janes1975/>
|  | Decommissioned. March 1992. Sold for scrap 1993
|-valign=top
|  | F40
|  | [[HMS Sirius (F40)|''Sirius'']]
|  | 15 June 1966 <ref name=Janes1975/>
|  | Decommissioned 27 February 1993. Sunk as target 1998
|-valign=top
|  | F56
|  | [[HMS Argonaut (F56)|''Argonaut'']]
|  | 17 August 1967 <ref name=Janes1975/>
|  | Sold for scrap 1995
|-valign=top
|  | F47
|  | [[HMS Danae (F47)|''Danae'']]
|  | 7 September 1967 <ref name=Janes1975/>
|  | To Ecuador 1991 as ''Morán Valverde''.<ref name=Expreso01Dec09/> She was decommissioned in 2008, and put up for sale in December 2009 and scrapped 2010/11 in Andec Dock, Ecuador.<ref name=Expreso01Dec09>[http://www.expreso.ec/ediciones/2009/12/02/nacional/actualidad/marina-subastara-el-moran-valverde/ Expreso, 1 December 2009, ''Marina subastará el Morán Valverde'']  {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091203194755/http://www.expreso.ec/ediciones/2009/12/02/nacional/actualidad/marina-subastara-el-moran-valverde/ |date=3 December 2009 }}</ref>
|-valign=top
! colspan="8" align="center" bgcolor="#E0E0E0" |Batch 2 
|-valign=top
|  | F52
|  | [[HMS Juno (F52)|''Juno'']]
|  | 18 July 1967 <ref name=Janes1975/>
|  | Sold for scrap 1994
|-valign=top
! colspan="8" align="center" bgcolor="#E0E0E0" |Batch 3A / broad-beamed ''Leander'' (Sea Wolf conversion)
|-valign=top
|  | F75
|  | [[HMS Charybdis (F75)|''Charybdis'']]
|  | 2 June 1969 <ref name=Janes1975/>
|  | Sunk as target 1993
|-valign=top
|  | F58
|  | [[HMS Hermione (F58)|''Hermione'']]
|  | 11 July 1969 <ref name=Janes1975/>
|  | Decommissioned 30 June 1992. Sold for scrap 1997
|-valign=top
|  | F60
|  | [[HMS Jupiter (F60)|''Jupiter'']]
|  | 9 August 1969 <ref name=Janes1975/>
|  | Sold for scrap 1997
|-valign=top
|  | F57
|  | [[HMS Andromeda (F57)|''Andromeda'']]
|  | 2 December 1968 <ref name=Janes1975/>
|  | To India 1995 as training ship, ''Krishna''. Decommissioned 24 May 2012.<ref name=Krishna>{{cite web|url=http://www.kemmannu.com/index.php?action=highlights&type=3256|title= INS Krishna, one of Indian Navy's 1st Training Squadron Ships, decommissioned|publisher=kemmannu.com|access-date=28 May 2012}}</ref>
|-valign=top
|  | F71
|  | [[HMS Scylla (F71)|''Scylla'']]
|  | 12 February 1970 <ref name=Janes1975/>
|  | Sunk as artificial reef off [[Whitsand Bay]] 2004
|-valign=top
! colspan="8" align="center" bgcolor="#E0E0E0" |Batch 3B / broad-beamed ''Leander''
|-valign=top
|  | F69
|  | [[HMS Bacchante (F69)|''Bacchante'']]
|  | 17 October 1969 <ref name=Janes1975/>
|  | To New Zealand 1982 as ''Wellington'', sunk as artificial reef in [[Wellington Harbour]] 2005
|-valign=top
|  | F12
|  | [[HMS Achilles (F12)|''Achilles'']]
|  | 9 July 1970 <ref name=Janes1975/>
|  | To Chile 1990 as ''Ministro Zenteno'', in reserve from 2006. Washed out to sea by a tsunami and scuttled, 2010
|-valign=top
|  | F16
|  | [[HMS Diomede (F16)|''Diomede'']]
|  | 2 April 1971 <ref name=Janes1975/>
|  | To Pakistan 1988 as ''Shamsher'', retired pre-2007 to salvage spare parts for ''Zulfiqar''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ordersofbattle.darkscape.net/site/history/volume4/432/pn%20frigates%203C.htm |title=Pakistan Navy Warships Part 3C: Leander Frigates |website=www.ordersofbattle.darkscape.net |access-date=14 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719173806/http://www.ordersofbattle.darkscape.net/site/history/volume4/432/pn%20frigates%203C.htm |archive-date=19 July 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
|-valign=top
|  | F70
|  | [[HMS Apollo (F70)|''Apollo'']]
|  | 28 May 1972 <ref name=Janes1975/>
|  | To Pakistan 1988 as ''Zulfiquar'', retired from Pakistani service 4 January 2007.<ref name="globalsecurity.org"/> Sunk as target 12 March 2010
|-valign=top
|  | F72
|  | [[HMS Ariadne (F72)|''Ariadne'']]
|  | 10 February 1973 <ref name=Janes1975/>
|  | To Chile 1992 as ''General Baquedano'', sunk as target 2004
|}

==See also==
* [[List of naval ship classes in service]]
* {{sclass|Whitby|frigate|1}}, the original Type 12 frigate.
* {{sclass|Rothesay|frigate|1}}, the follow-on Type 12M frigate.
* ''[[Warship (1973 TV series)|Warship]]'', a [[BBC]] television drama series.

==Notes==
{{Reflist|group=Note}}

==References==
{{Reflist|40em}}

==Bibliography==
* Allanway, Jim (1995) ''Leander Class Frigates'', H M Stationery Office, {{ISBN|978-0117724587}}
* {{cite book |last1=Colledge |first1=J J |last2=Warlow |first2=Ben |date=2010 |title=Ships Of The Royal Navy: A Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy from the 15th Century to the Present |publisher=Casemate |isbn=978-1935149071 }}
* Jackson, Robert (2006) ''The Encyclopedia of Warships, From World War Two to the Present Day,'' Grange Books Ltd, {{ISBN|978-1840139099}}
* Marriott, Leo (1990), ''Royal Navy Frigates Since 1945'', Second Edition, Ian Allan Ltd (Surrey, UK), {{ISBN|0-7110-1915-0}}
* Meyer C J (1984) ''Modern Combat Ships 1: Leander Class'', Littlehampton Book Services Ltd, {{ISBN|978-0711013858}}
* Osbourne, Richard and Sowdon, David (1991), ''Leander Class Frigates: History of Their Design and Development, 1958–90'', World Ship Society, {{ISBN|978-0905617565}}
* Purvis, M K, ''Post War RN Frigate and Guided Missile Destroyer Design 1944–1969'',  Transactions,  Royal Institution of Naval Architects (RINA),  1974

==External links==
{{commons category|Leander class frigates}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090326210259/http://middle-watch.com/index.html Archived comprehensive website on the design and history of the Leander class and related frigate designs]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20061212183808/http://www.btinternet.com/~warship/Postwar/Frigates/leander.htm Leander (Type 12) class frigate website]
* [http://www.hazegray.org/navhist/rn/frigates/leander/ Hazegray.org on the Leander class]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050620073535/http://www.leanders.plus.com/ An unofficial Leander Class Frigate Site]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090118032359/http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/series/27878 British Film Institute site on ''Warship'']
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20121022093109/http://homepage.ntlworld.com/r.pavely/Phoebe-Herobooklet.PDF Royal Navy leaflet on ''Warship'', from the HMS Phoebe Association website]
* [https://www.michaelbriant.com/warship.htm Comments on ''Warship'' by series Director Michael Briant]
* [http://www.mjbird.org.uk/Warship.html Webpage (at Home > Scriptwriting > Warship) about Michael J Bird's scripts for ''Warship'']
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090417083817/http://www.hmsphoebe.co.uk/ HMS Phoebe Association website]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080509142859/http://www.hms-danae.co.uk/ HMS Danae website (all commissions)]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20040810160322/http://www.hms-danae.com/ HMS Danae website (first commission)]
* [http://www.hms-dido.com/ HMS Dido Association website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070505011545/http://www.hms-dido.com/ |date=5 May 2007 }}
* [http://www.hmsjupiter.co.uk/ HMS Jupiter Association website]
* [http://www.hmshermione.co.uk/ HMS Hermione Association website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061208061924/http://www.hmshermione.co.uk/ |date=8 December 2006 }}
* [https://www.hmsnaiad.co.uk/naiad_leander_class_frigate.html HMS Naiad Association website ("the leander class frigate")]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20061212183808/http://www.btinternet.com/~warship/Postwar/Frigates/leander.htm Postwar Frigates website, retrieved 2010-10-12]

{{Leander class frigate}}
{{Chilean frigates (Modern Era)}}
{{Frigates_of_the_Indian_Navy}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leander class frigate}}
[[Category:Leander-class frigates| ]]
[[Category:Frigate classes]]
[[Category:Ship classes of the Royal Navy]]