HMS Aurora (F10)

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Career

Ordered:
Laid down:	1st June 1961
Launched:	28th November 1962
Commissioned:	9th April 1964
Decommissioned:	28th April 1987
Fate:	Scrapped 1990
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HMS Aurora (F10) was a Leander-class frigate of the Royal Navy (RN). Like other ships of the class, Aurora was named after a figure of mythology, Aurora being the Roman equivalent of the Greek goddess Eos. HMS Aurora was built by John Brown & Company, shipbuilders of Clydebank, Scotland. Aurora was launched on the 28 November 1962 and commissioned on the 9 April 1964.

Aurora became the leader of the 2nd Frigate Squadron in 1964. In 1972, during the Second Cod War, Aurora came to the aid of an Icelandic fishing vessel that had caught fire, rescuing its crew in the process. Soon after this incident, Aurora underwent modernisation which included the addition of the Ikara anti-submarine warfare (ASW) missile launcher that in effect changed the Batch One ships, of which Aurora was part of, into a specialised ASW batch rather than its original role as a general purpose batch. The modernisation was completed in 1976.

In 1978, Aurora joined the Fishery Protection Squadron, undertaking patrols and other duties in support of British fishing interests around the UK. She remained with the squadron until she was eventually transferred to the 7th Frigate Squadron which was stationed in the Far East, just as the RN's presence in that region was steadily dwindling. Further duties were undertook by Aurora across the world, but in 1987, due to defence cuts, as-well as manpower shortages, a common problem for the RN at that time, Aurora was decommissioned.

Aurora was sold to Devonport Management Limited (DML) who were the owners of Devonport Dockyard, with the intent of modernising and subsequently selling Aurora to a foreign navy. It was not to be, and in 1990, after no buyer had been found, she was sold for scrap.