HMS Galatea (F18) was a Leander-class

Leander class frigate

The Leander class, or Type 12I frigates, comprising twenty-six vessels, was among the most numerous and long-lived classes of frigate in the Royal Navy's modern history. The class was built in three batches between 1959 and 1973...

 frigate

Frigate

A frigate is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built"...

 of the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

. She was built by Swan Hunter & Wigham on the Tyne

River Tyne

The River Tyne is a river in North East England in Great Britain. It is formed by the confluence of two rivers: the North Tyne and the South Tyne. These two rivers converge at Warden Rock near Hexham in Northumberland at a place dubbed 'The Meeting of the Waters'.The North Tyne rises on the...

. She was launched on the 23 May 1963 and commissioned on the 25 April 1964. She was nicknamed the "Black Pig".

Upon her commission, Galatea was immediately stationed in the Mediterranean. The following year, Galatea was involved in exercises in that region, and in 1966 joined the 27th Escort Group which were also based in the Mediterranean. Later that year, Galatea returned to United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 waters when she joined the Home Fleet, a fleet soon to be consigned to the history books. In 1968, Galatea was present in West Germany

West Germany

West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....

 during the Kiel Week

Kiel Week

Kiel Week is an annual sailing event in Kiel, Germany. It is the largest sailing event in the world, and also one of the largest Volksfest in Europe.- Procedure :...

 event, which combines a yachting

Yachting

Yachting refers to recreational sailing or boating, the specific act of sailing or using other water vessels for sporting purposes.-Competitive sailing:...

 race

Racing

A sport race is a competition of speed, against an objective criterion, usually a clock or to a specific point. The competitors in a race try to complete a given task in the shortest amount of time...

 and festival

Festival

A festival or gala is an event, usually and ordinarily staged by a local community, which centers on and celebrates some unique aspect of that community and the Festival....

 entertainment.

In 1971, Galatea began a modernisation refit, which included the fitting of the Ikara

Ikara (missile)

The Ikara missile was an Australian ship-launched anti-submarine missile, named after an Australian Aboriginal word for "throwing stick". It launched an acoustic torpedo to a range of , allowing fast-reaction attacks against submarines at ranges that would otherwise require the launching ship to...

 and Sea Cat

Sea Cat missile

Sea Cat was a British short-range surface to air missile system intended to replace the ubiquitous Bofors 40 mm gun aboard warships of all sizes. It was the world's first operational shipboard point-defence missile system and was designed so that the Bofors guns could be replaced with minimum...

 weapons systems. The refit was completed in 1974. The following year, Galatea took part in the Third Cod War with Iceland

Iceland

Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...

, patrolling against any aggression towards British fishing trawlers from Icelandic vessels, including gunboats. In 1976, Galatea truly got involved in the 'war', when she was rammed by the Icelandic gunboat Baldur, a gunboat that became notorious for such actions during the Cod Wars.

In 1977, Galatea underwent a refit, and later that year as part of the 1st Frigate Squadron, Galatea was leader of the squadron during the last ever, so far, Fleet Review

Fleet Review, Royal Navy

A fleet review is a traditional gathering of ships from a particular navy to be observed by the reigning monarch or his or her viceroy, a practice allegedly dating back to the 15th century. Such an event is not held at regular intervals and originally only occurred when the fleet was mobilised for...

 of the Royal Navy, in celebration of Her Majesty the Queen's

Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom

Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...

 Silver Jubilee

Silver Jubilee

A Silver Jubilee is a celebration held to mark a 25th anniversary. The anniversary celebrations can be of a wedding anniversary, ruling anniversary or anything that has completed a 25 year mark...

. Galatea was positioned in between her sister-ship HMS Phoebe

HMS Phoebe (F42)

HMS Phoebe was a Leander-class frigate of the Royal Navy . She was, like the rest of her class, named after a figure of mythology. Built by Vickers on the River Tyne, she was launched on the 19th December 1964 and commissioned on the 15th May 1966.In the year of her commission, Phoebe assisted in...

 and the cruiser HMS Blake

HMS Blake (C99)

HMS Blake was a guided missile cruiser of the Tiger class of the Royal Navy, the last of the Royal Navy cruisers. She was named after Admiral Robert Blake, a 17th century admiral who was the "Father of the Royal Navy". She was ordered in 1942 as one of the Minotaur class of light cruisers...

. In 1978, Galatea was stationed once again in the Mediterranean where she took part in a number of patrols, as well as exercises. The majority of 1980 was spent on deployment to the Far East where her 9 month deployment was marginally cut short by the start of the Iran - Iraq war. In 1981, she had another refit, this time in Gibraltar

Gibraltar

Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...

, and the following year, remained in sunny climes when she deployed to the Persian Gulf

Persian Gulf

The Persian Gulf, in Southwest Asia, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.The Persian Gulf was the focus of the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War, in which each side attacked the other's oil tankers...

 on Armilla Patrol

Armilla patrol

The Armilla patrol is the British Royal Navy's permanent presence in the Persian Gulf.The Royal Navy withdrew its forces from the Persian Gulf in 1971 in line with the UK's general retreat from imperial commitments. However, tensions in the area remained high and Royal Navy ships were still a...

 during the tense times of the Iran–Iraq War, where she remained until about 1983. Her career was coming to an end like many Batch 1 Leanders, and in January 1987, Galatea's career did come to an end when she was decommissioned. The following year in July, Galatea came to an explosive end when she was sunk as a target during naval exercises in the North Sea

North Sea

In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...

.