HMS Eastbourne History 1951 - 1984

Ordered: 6 March 1951 from the builder: Vickers Armstrongs, of  Newcastle-on-Tyne (completed at Barrow) Laid down: 13 January 1954 Launched: 29 December 1955 Commissioned: 9 January 1958

HMS Eastbourne was a Whitby-class or Type 12 anti-submarine frigate of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom. Eastbourne took part in the Royal Navy's Fleet Review in celebration of HM the Queen's Silver Jubilee

In March 1965 I joined Eastbourne on secondment from Drake for a year, during that draft we steamed across the north Atlantic to Canada. On route we joined forces with our sister ships Tenby, Torquay and Whitby. We navigated up the St. Lawrence river to Quebec a French speaking city of Canada on a flag flying exercise, (the four ships pictured right alongside) job done, we left Quebec for Montreal. On passage to Montreal we developed engine trouble forcing us to extend our visit for repairs there and Montreal became our host port for quite some time. On completion of the refit we left port for engine trials and having successfully completed the trials we sailed for the uk taking part in nato exercises on route. The north Atlantic can be unforgiving at times and this was one of those times, heavy swells turned into force storms making the nato excerise that much more difficult to keep on station with other ships taking part, but in true form we prevailed completing the task, setting course for home and   arriving back in blighty to pay off in April 1966. Eastbourne then entered drydock for extensive refit before replacing HMS Rapid.

In 1972, Eastbourne replaced Rapid as the 'afloat' training ship for the artificer apprentices at HMS Caledonia. During their 14 weeks aboard ship, the apprentices were trained in general engineering and were examined for their auxiliary machinery certificates. In 1976 she was dispatched to Iceland to assist in the Cod War and was damaged in a collision with the Icelandic Gunboat Baldur. During the subsequent repairs in Rosyth in 1977, a hull inspection found that Eastbourne was no longer fit for sea, though her machinery was still in good condition. Her propellers were removed, and 'brake wheels' were fitted as a replacement. This enabled her to be steamed at full power with no forward movement. This enabled the apprentices to assist in operation of her machinery at full power, with the added benefit of churning the dockyard basin water up to improve its aeration. Officers under training from Royal Naval Engineering College Manadon were also able to be trained onboard before their first sea draft.

In the 1980s, Eastbourne remained moored at Rosyth Dockyard alongside Duncan as harbour training ship for the marine engineering artificer apprentices of Caledonia. Once Caledonia was scheduled to close, both Eastbourne and Duncan were de-stored and paid off for disposal in March 1984.