Pakistan
Navy Warships Part 3C: Leander Frigates
v.1.0 March 8, 2006 Usama
Ahmed Malik & Ravi Rikhye
Zulfiqar F262 (ex
HMS Apollo F70; commissioned May 28, 1972) PHOTO CREDIT http://www.pakdef.info/pakmilitary/navy/index.html Commissioned in the Pakistan Navy on October 14, 1988,
the frigate was relatively new, having served in the Royal Navy for only 16
years. She belongs to the Batch 3B Broad Beam Leander class. Armament was not
changed except for the substitution of the original Wasp helicopter by the
Alouette 3, a standard PN helicopter. Nonetheless, the Leander class in general saw hard
service in the Royal Navy, and mechanical problems had begun affecting the
class in the late 1980s. In Pakistan Navy service, however, the ship has
been operated lightly. Moreover, the
North Arabian Sea is a more benign environment than the Atlantic. After working up in UK waters, the frigate sailed for
Pakistan in December 1988. In 1991-93 she was extensively refitted. Zulfiqar is now a training ship. PAKISTAN NAVY Shamsher F263 (ex
HMS Diomede F16; commissioned April 2, 1971) PHOTO CREDIT http://www.pakdef.info/pakmilitary/navy/index.html
Commissioned in the Pakistan Navy on July 15, 1988, the
frigate was relatively new, having served in the Royal Navy for only 16
years. She belongs to the Batch 3A Broad Beam Leander class. Armament was not
changed except for the substitution of the original Wasp helicopter by the
Alouette 3, a standard PN helicopter. After working up in UK waters, the frigate sailed for
Pakistan in August 1988. In 1991-93 she was extensively refitted. No. 333 Squadron (PNS Mehran, Karachi) flies the
Alouette 3s in the Pakistan Navy. Now decommissioned and used as spares for Zulfiqar. This is HMS Diomede at Campbeltown in South Africa. The
photograph, from http://www.battleships-cruisers.co.uk/broad_beam.htm#HMS%20Diomede,
gives the date as December 1988, which must be a misprint: earlier that year
the frigate had recommissioned as PNS Shamsher. Description
Batch 3
Displacement: 3000 tons full load Length: 372 ft (113 m) Beam: 43 ft
(13.1 m) Batch 3 Draught: 18 ft (5.5 m) Propulsion: 2 shafts, 2 steam turbines, 2 boilers,
25,000 shp[1] (19 MW) Speed: 28 knots (52 km/h) Range: 4500 nautical miles (8,000 km) at 12 knots (22
km/h) Complement: 257 |