The
Leander-class, or
Type 12I frigates, comprising twenty-six vessels, was among the most numerous and long-lived classes of frigate in the
Royal Navy's modern history. The class was built in three batches between 1959 and 1973. It had an unusually high public profile, due to the popular
BBC television drama series
Warship. The Leander silhouette became synonymous with the Royal Navy through the 1960s until the 1980s. Only two Leander Class Frigates survive today, serving in the Ecuadorian Navy as of February 2015.