HMS Dido

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Seven ships of the British Royal Navy have been named HMS Dido, after Dido, the legendary founder and queen of Carthage.

• The first Dido was a 28-gun sixth-rate launched in 1784 and sold 1817.

• The second Dido was an 18-gun corvette launched in 1836, used as a coal hulk after 1860, and sold 1903.

• The third Dido was to be a wooden screw-propelled corvette. Laid down 14 January 1861, construction was cancelled 12 December 1863.

• The fourth Dido was a wooden screw corvette launched in 1869, hulked 1886, renamed Actaeon in 1906 and sold 1922.

• The fifth Dido was a 2nd class cruiser launched in 1896, used as a depot ship after 1913 and sold 1926.

• The sixth Dido, a light cruiser, was launched on July 18, 1939. The ship took part in the evacuation of troops and defense of Crete, where she was damaged on B gun, resulting in the deaths of 46 men. Dido also took part in the Second Battle of Sirte during 1942, sinking three supply ships off North Africa, and in the Anzio landings and the invasion of Southern France in August 1944. The ship was broken up after 1958.

• The seventh Dido (F104) was a Leander-class frigate laid down in 1959 and launched in 1961 at Yarrow, Scotstoun. After being sold to the Royal New Zealand Navy in 1980 the ship was renamed Southland and later sunk as an artificial reef. She was one of the Leander class frigates used as the fictional frigate HMS Hero (F42) in the popular and acclaimed Warship BBC television drama series during the 1970s.