HMS Scylla (Wreck) | shipwreck

 shipwreck, invisible

Her pennant number was F71. She was launched from Devonport Dockyard on 8 August, 1968, 2500 tons of broad-beam Leander-class frigate and the the fourth warship to be christened HMS Scylla since 1809.

On 14 February 1970 she joined the Western Fleet in the Med with her 263 crew, reaching her top speed of 28 knots from her 30,000hp geared-turbine engines in trials near Gibraltar. She carried Seacat missiles, a Lynx helicopter and 4.5in guns.

In 1971 she joined the Far East Fleet in Australia, Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong and then the Beria Patrol, returning to Plymouth in February 1972. In January 1973 she collided with the Torpoint-Devonport ferry in fog. No one was injured but her captain was court-martialled and found negligent.

Playing bumper cars with Icelandic fisheries vessels in the Cod War of 1972-1976, Scylla earnt a reputation as the toughest RN fishery protection warship. In June 1973 she was accused of helping two British trawlers to ram the Icelandic gunboat Arhakur.

Scylla claimed merely to have stood by. Six days later, however, she did take positive action after being rammed by the gunboat Aegir. She rammed much harder back and the gunboat limped away.

Scylla later seemed to be everywhere - entertaining US President Jimmy Carter aboard off the Leeward Islands, in the Channel to scatter the ashes of Cruel Sea author Nicholas Montserrat and, in 1980, helping the victims of Hurricane Allen in the Cayman islands. In 1986 she was on Gulf Patrol duty and in 1992 was given the freedom of Aberdeen.

December 1993 saw Scylla paid off. And on 27 March 2004, the 372ft frigate, with a beam of 43ft and drawing 19ft, was "placed" on the seabed in 21m in Whitsand Bay - not far from Devonport.