HMS Scylla (F71)

HMS "Scylla" (F71) was a "Leander"-class frigate of the Royal Navy (RN). She was built at Devonport Royal Dockyard and was the last RN frigate to be built at the Dockyard so far. "Scylla" was launched in August 1968 and commissioned in 1970. It was the start of a long and eventful career that ended with her sinking as an artificial reef in 2004.

1970s

She came into to the public limelight in 1973 when she collided with the Torpoint ferry. That same year, "Scylla" took part in the Second Cod War during the fishing dispute with Iceland. She performed patrols against harassment on fishing boats by any Icelandic vessels. During that 'war', "Scylla" was rammed by the Icelandic gunboat "Aegir", a vessel that took part in a number of incidents with British vessels over the years. The following year, "Scylla" was present at Possession Island, Queensland to celebrate the 200th Anniversary of Captain James Cook's landing at the island, where he had declared all of East Australia to be British.

In 1975, "Scylla" was again in 'action' against Iceland during the Third Cod War due to further fishing disputes. She once again patrolled against harassment to British fishing trawlers by Icelandic gunboats and other vessels. In 1976, "Scylla" performed royal escort duties, and the following year took part in the Queen's Silver Jubilee celebrations, taking part in the last RN Fleet Review so far. During that review "Scylla" was placed in between HMS "Berwick" and her sister-ship HMS "Euryalus".

1980s

In 1980, "Scylla" performed humanitarian relief when Cayman Brac, part of the Cayman Islands, experienced a powerful hurricane. Between 1980 and 1984, "Scylla" underwent modernisation, including having Exocet and Sea Wolf missile launchers fitted, forcing "Scylla" to miss the Falklands War of 1982. She performed numerous patrols and guard ship duties, being used at times as guard ship for the West Indies, a duty still prominent for the present-day RN frigate, as well as patrolling the Persian Gulf as part of Armilla Patrol.

1990s

Her final deployment came in 1993 when she deployed to the South Atlantic as part of the British commitment to its territories in the region. By then she was showing her age, and was becoming difficult for the ship's engineers to maintain. While on patrol there, "Scylla" suffered steering problems and subsequently collided with the accompanying RFA tanker "Gold Rover". "Scylla" suffered only superficial damage, though "Gold Rover" suffered hull damage which was later repaired. "Scylla" visited a number of ports across South America during her time there, before heading for the Caribbean on her way home. She entered Portsmouth for the last time, and was decommissioned in December 1993. In 1992 HMS "Scylla", with the Commanding Officer, Officers and Members of the Ships Company in attendance, was granted the Freedom of the City of Aberdeen.

inking and use as a dive site

In 1998, her sister-ship "Sirius" was torpedoed by the submarine "Spartan" as a target-ship, making "Scylla" the last remaining "Leander" left in the UK. She lay in a state of disrepair for ten years until the 27 March 2004, when she was sunk off Whitsand Bay, Cornwall to form an artificial reef, the first of its kind in the UK. Her last CO, Captain Mike Booth, and former crew members were present during the sinking. The ship was 'planted' on a 23 metre sandy seabed at coord|50|19.64|N|3|15.20|W|display=inline,title next to the wreck of the liberty ship "James Eagan Layne", which has been a popular dive site for many years.

A lot of work was done to ensure the ship was safe and easy to explore inside, and as expected, she has become a very popular dive site, situated some 40 minutes by boat from Plymouth. The bridge, rear helicopter bay and deck and the side passages are all visible. Additionally there are penetration dives possible.

In August 2006 a team of Marine biologists from the National Marine Aquarium and simulation experts from the University of Birmingham conducted a dive with a Videoray ROV onto the wreck of the "Scylla". The dive lasted just over an hour, with the main purpose being to investigate the growth of marine life on the wreck and to collect data for a unique artificial life and serious game project, the [http://virtualscylla.org "Virtual Scylla"] addressing interactive educational tools for teaching climate change and ocean awareness.

Since then there has been a series of unexplained deaths amongst amateur divers visiting the wreck. As of 2007 enquiries continue, but there are fears that the continuing deposition close to the wreck of dredged waste from the Tamar estuary has led to large quantities of silt spreading through the ship and frequently mixing with the moving water reducing visibility to nil thereby preventing divers from finding their way out before their air is used up.