HMS Jupiter (F60): The Frigate That Hit London Bridge

Laid Down at Scotstoun

HMS Jupiter was built by Yarrow Shipbuilders at Scotstoun on the Clyde, launched on 4 September 1967 and commissioned on 9 August 1969, a Batch 3 Leander-class frigate that went on to enjoy a long and remarkably varied career, deploying to the Caribbean in 1970 before joining NATO's Standing Naval Force Atlantic the following year, taking her place in the alliance's permanent multinational squadron.

Rescuing a Trawler in the Cod Wars

HMS Jupiter found herself in the thick of the Second Cod War in 1973, and on 26 May that year she and her embarked Wasp helicopter came to the assistance of the British trawler Everton, which was taking on water after being struck by naval gunfire from the Icelandic gunboat Aegir, a dangerous escalation in a dispute that was supposed to be about fishing quotas rather than actual gunnery, and a reminder that the Cod Wars, however faintly comic they can seem in retrospect, involved real risk to real fishermen.

A Prince Aboard and a Star Turn on Television

HMS Jupiter carried a rather more prominent crew member in early 1974, when Prince Charles served aboard as Ship's Communications Officer during her deployment to the Far East and Pacific, a deployment that also saw her take part in a visit to Christchurch, New Zealand, for the 1974 Commonwealth Games.

She later gained a measure of public recognition by appearing as HMS Hero in the BBC drama series Warship, though HMS Phoebe did most of the actual filming duty, leaving HMS Jupiter with a supporting screen credit rather than a starring role.

Colliding With London Bridge

HMS Jupiter earned her most memorable, and least flattering, place in naval history on 13 June 1984, when she collided with London Bridge, causing significant damage to both ship and bridge alike, a particularly spectacular piece of misfortune for a frigate navigating one of the most famous and closely watched stretches of river in the world.

Her commanding officer was court-martialled that December and severely reprimanded, a sobering conclusion to an incident that, however embarrassing, thankfully caused no serious injury and has since become one of the more frequently retold anecdotes in Royal Navy folklore.

A Modernised Frigate's Final Years

HMS Jupiter underwent a substantial modernisation between 1980 and 1983 that fitted her with Sea Wolf missiles and Exocet anti-ship missiles, bringing her firepower up to a considerably more modern standard, and in 1986 she took part in the Armilla Patrol in the Persian Gulf, helping evacuate British and Commonwealth nationals from Yemen amid unrest there.

She was finally decommissioned in 1992 following a South Atlantic deployment, and was sold for scrap in 1997, towed to Alang in India to be beached and broken up, closing out the career of a frigate whose service ranged from Cod War rescues and a royal posting to one thoroughly unforgettable encounter with a London landmark.