HMS Danae (F47)

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Career

Ordered:
Laid down:	16th December 1964
Launched:	31st October 1965
Commissioned:	7th September 1967
Decommissioned:	1990
Fate:	Sold to Ecuadorian Navy. She was renamed Moran Valverde
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HMS Danae (F47) was a Leander-class frigate of the Royal Navy (RN). She was, like the rest of the class, named after a figure of mythology. Danae was built by Devonport Dockyard. She was launched on the 31st October 1965 and commissioned on the 7th September 1967.

In 1968, Danae became Gibraltar Guardship and later joined HMY Britannia her in South America to perform Royal escort duties. Danae subsequently undertook a Beira Patrol, which was designed to prevent oil reaching landlocked Rhodesia via the then Portuguese colony of Mozambique, of which the port of Beira there gave its name to the operation. Danae deployed to the Far East, remaining in that region until the middle of 1969. She then undertook a Beira Patrol, a routine duty until it was stopped in 1975.

In 1974, Danae deployed to the Persian Gulf to patrol that region. The following year, Danae performed a variety of duties while in the North Atlantic. In 1977, Danae took part in the Royal Navy Fleet Review to celebrate HM the Queen's Silver Jubilee. Danae was placed between her sister-ship HMS Euryalus and HMS Antlelope. Soon after, Danae commenced her modernisation program, which included the removal of her single 4.5-in twin turret which was replaced by the Exocet anti-ship missile system, giving Danae a powerful surface capability. The amount of SeaCat missiles she carried was also increased. The modernisation was completed in 1980. During the 1970's Danae was used in the BBC TV drama series Warship.

In 1982, Danae deployed to the South Atlantic in the tense aftermath of the Falklands War, where she would escort the carrier HMS Illustrious. She left later that year. The following year, Danae returned to the South Atlantic to undertake a Falkland Islands patrol, at a time when that region was still very tense. In 1985, Danae made yet another journey to the South Atlantic. In the late 1980s, Danae became ever more active with NATO's multi-national squadrons, though Danae was beginning to show signs of her increasing age. In 1990, Danae was decommissioned from the RN and sold to Ecuador and was renamed Morano Valverde.