"Eastbourne" was laid down at Vickers Armstrongs Newcastle upon Tyne shipyard on 13 January 1951 and was launched on 29 December 1955. The ship was being fitted out when on 20 February 1956 a fire broke out on board, killing three men, while a dockyard ship manager, Richard Joicey, was awarded the George Medal for rescuing four trapped workers. Construction continued at Vickers Armstrongs' Barrow-in-Furness shipyard, and "Eastbourne" was completed on 9 January 1958. On commissioning "Eastbourne" joined the 3rd Training Squadron, based at Londonderry Port, Northern Ireland. "Eastbourne" carried the flag of Commodore, Fishery Protection Squadron (CFPS) in the first Cod War, off Iceland. The ship paid courtesy visits to its namesake town of Eastbourne on the south coast of England, and to Odense, Denmark, Stockholm, Sweden and Brest, France. Early in her career "Eastbourne" was the leader of the 4th Frigate Squadron and in 1966 was leader of the Dartmouth Training Squadron. In 1972, "Eastbourne" replaced as the 'afloat' training ship for the artificer apprentices at HMS "Caledonia". During their 14 weeks aboard ship, the apprentices were trained in general engineering and were examined for their auxiliary machinery certificates. She also took part in the Royal Navy's Fleet Review in celebration of HM the Queen's Silver Jubilee. In 1976 "Eastbourne" was dispatched to Iceland to assist in the Cod War and on 20 May she was damaged in a collision with the Icelandic gunboat "Baldur". During the subsequent repairs in Rosyth in 1977, a hull inspection found that "Eastbourne" was no longer fit for sea, though her machinery was still in good condition. Her propellers were removed, and 'brake wheels' were fitted as a replacement. This enabled her to be steamed at full power with no forward movement. This enabled the apprentices to assist in operation of her machinery at full power, with the added benefit of churning the dockyard basin water up to improve its aeration. Officers under training from Royal Naval Engineering College Manadon were also able to be trained onboard before their first sea draft. In the 1980s, "Eastbourne" remained moored at Rosyth Dockyard alongside as harbour training ship for the marine engineering artificer apprentices of "Caledonia". Once "Caledonia" was scheduled to close, both "Eastbourne" and "Duncan" were de-stored and paid off for disposal in March 1984.