Thursday in History: Sinking

On this day in (not-so-ancient) history in 2004, the last of the Leander class frigates was sunk off Whitsand Bay, Cornwall, England.

The HMS Scylla served the United Kingdom from the 1970s to the early 1990s. She patrolled England’s waters and was involved in action during the Second and Third Cod Wars, which were territorial disputes with Iceland. She was one of the ships sent to the Cayman Islands in 1980 for aid after a hurricane, and went to the South Atlantic in the 90s. That final, long trip demonstrated to her crew that she was not the young frigate that she used to be, and upon arriving home, she was decommissioned.

The HMS Scylla above water in 1989. If you want to see her today,
you'll have to be prepared to go underwater.
(via wikipedia)

But at least she did not share the fate of some of her sister ships. The HMS Sirius was used for submarine torpedo target practice. The Scylla instead became a tourist stop. She was scrubbed down and made safe for marine life and divers alike, and on March 27th, 2004, her former crew members stood to watch her sink.