Tribal-class frigate
Pennant Name Builder Laid Down Launched Accepted into service Commissioned Estimated building cost Fate
F117 Ashanti ( a ) Yarrow & Co Ltd , Glasgow ( b ) Associated Electrica Industries Ltd , Manchester 15 January 1958 9 March 1959 November 1961 23 November 1961 £5,315,000 Sunk as target 1988
F131 Nubian ( a ) HM Dockyard , Portsmouth ( b ) Associated Electrica Industries Ltd , Manchester 7 September 1959 6 September 1960 November 1962 9 October 1962 £4,360,000 Sunk as target 1987
F122 Gurkha ( a ) JI Thornycroft & Co Ltd , Southampton ( b ) JI Thornycroft & Co Ltd , Southampton ( steam and gas turbines ) ( b ) Parsons Marine Turbine Co Ltd , Wallsend-on-Tyne ( gearing ) 3 November 1958 11 July 1960 February 1963 13 February 1963 £4,865,000 Indonesian 332 KRI Wilhelmus Zakarias Yohannes
F119 Eskimo ( a ) JS White & Co Ltd , Cowes , Isle of Wight ( b ) JS White & Co Ltd , Cowes , Isle of Wight ( steam and gas turbines ) ( b ) Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Co Ltd , Govan , Glasgow ( gearing ) 22 October 1958 20 March 1960 February 1963 21 February 1963 £4,560,000 Sunk as target 1986
F133 Tartar ( a ) HM Dockyard , Devonport ( b ) Vickers-Armstrongs ( Engineers ) Ltd , Barrow-in-Furness ( steam turbines and gearing ) ( b ) Yarrow and Co Ltd , Glasgow ( gas turbine ) 22 October 1959 19 September 1960 April 1963 26 February 1962 £4,300,000 Indonesian 333 KRI Hasanuddin
F125 Mohawk ( a ) Vickers-Armstrongs ( Shipbuilders ) Ltd , Barrow-in-Furness ( b ) Associated Electrical Industries Ltd , Manchester ( gas turbine ) ( b ) Vickers-Armstrongs ( Engineers ) Ltd , Barrow-in-Furness ( steam turbines and gearing ) 23 December 1960 5 April 1962 December 1963 29 November 1963 £4,750,000 Sold for scrap
F124 Zulu ( a ) Alex Stephen & Sons , Ltd , Linthouse , Glasgow ( b ) JI Thornycroft & Co Ltd , Southampton ( steam and gas turbines ) ( b ) Parsons Marine Turbine Co Ltd , Wallsend-on-Tyne ( gearing ) 13 December 1960 3 July 1962 April 1964 17 April 1964 £5,100,000 Indonesian 331 KRI Martha Khristina Tiyahahu
Ships
The Type 81, or Tribal class, were ordered and built as Sloops to carry out similar duties to the immediate post war Improved Black Swan Sloops and Loch class frigates in the Gulf. In the mid 1960s the seven Tribals were reclassified as second class general-purpose frigates to maintain frigate numbers. After the British withdrawal from East of Suez in 1971 the Tribals operated in the Nato North Atlantic sphere with the only update the fitting of Seacat missiles to all by 1977, limited by their single propeller and low speed of 24 knots. In 1979-80 age and crew and fuel shortages, saw them transferred to the stand by squadrons, three being reactivated in 1982 in the Falklands crisis for training and West Indies guardship duties.