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HMS ''Ajax'' was a of the Royal Navy. She was built by the famous Cammell Laird company of Birkenhead. ''Ajax'' was launched on 16 August 1962 and commissioned on 10 December 1963. She was originally intended to be named , and laid down as a ''Rothesay'' class, but instead became part of Batch 1 of the Leander class. ==Service history== In 1964, ''Ajax'' deployed to the Far East, becoming leader of the 24th Escort Group. It was a long deployment, and she did not return to the UK until 1968.〔Critchley 1986, p. 116.〕 In 1970, ''Ajax'' became the Gibraltar guard ship,〔 a required deployment at that time due to the tense fears of invasion by General Franco. In September 1970, ''Ajax'' began a modernisation at Devonport Dockyard that lasted to 1973,〔 having her 4.5 inch turret replaced by an Ikara anti-submarine missile system. A pair of quadruple GWS22 SeaCat launchers were fitted aft and 40 mm guns were mounted amidships.〔Marriott 1986, pp. 80, 82.〕 Following her conversion she became leader of the 8th Frigate Squadron. In 1974, she assisted in the evacuation of British citizens after the Turkish invasion of Cyprus. In 1976, while on a visit to Canada, ''Ajax'' visited the town of Ajax, Ontario, which had been named in honour of her predecessor, the ''Leander''-class cruiser ''Ajax'' made famous by the Battle of the River Plate during the Second World War. The 'new' ''Ajax'' was granted the freedom of the city. In 1977, ''Ajax'' underwent a refit at Devonport Dockyard,〔 deploying in 1979 to the Mediterranean. In 1980, she underwent a refit at Gibraltar which was completed in 1981. That year, ''Ajax'' became leader of the 1st Frigate Squadron. She did not take part in the 1982 Falklands War , but was deployed as Persian Gulf guard ship; she later completed a 4 month deployment around the Falklands as part of the South Atlantic Protection Force in 1984. She participated in further deployments that culminated in the highlight of her final year in 1985, when she escorted the HMY ''Britannia'', which took a number of the Royal Family on a tour of Italy. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「HMS Ajax (F114)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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