HMS Penelope (F127)
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Aerial view of Penelope in her original configuration, 1970
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| History | |
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 United Kingdom
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| Name: | HMS Penelope |
| Operator: | Royal Navy |
| Builder: | Vickers-Armstrongs (Shipbuilders) Ltd, Newcastle |
| Laid down: | 14 March 1961 |
| Launched: | 17 August 1962 |
| Commissioned: | 31 October 1963 |
| Decommissioned: | 1991 |
| Identification: | Pennant number: F127 |
| Fate: | Sold to Ecuador, 1991 |
 Ecuador
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| Name: | Presidente Eloy Alfaro |
| Namesake: | Eloy Alfaro |
| Operator: | Ecuadorian Navy |
| Commissioned: | 1991 |
| Decommissioned: | 19 March 2008 |
| Identification: | Hull number: FM 01 |
| Fate: | Scrapped |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Leander-class frigate |
HMS Penelope was a Leander-class frigate of the Royal Navy. Like other ships of the class, Penelope was named after a figure of mythology. She was launched on 17 August 1962 and commissioned on 31 October 1963. Penelope had originally been intended to be part of the Salisbury class and was to have been named Coventry (and before that Panther), but instead became part of the Leander class.
Penelope was laid down at Vickers-Armstrongs' Walker shipyard on Tyneside on 14 March 1961, was launched on 17 August 1962. Penelope was commissioned on 31 October 1963 with the Pennant number F127. Total construction cost was £4,600,000.
The ship was 372 feet (113.4 m) long overall and 360 feet (109.7 m) at the waterline, with a beam of 41 feet (12.5 m) and a maximum draught of 18 feet (5.5 m). Displacement was 2,380 long tons (2,420 t) standard and 2,860 long tons (2,910 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).
A twin 4.5-inch (113 mm) Mark 6 gun mount was fitted forward. While the Leander-class was planned to be fitted with the Sea Cat surface-to-air missile, Penelope was completed with two Bofors 40 mm anti-aircraft guns as a temporary substitute until Sea Cat could be fitted. 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.
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