They were based on the hulls of World War II-era destroyers that had been rendered obsolete by rapid advances in technology.

They were similar in concept to the Type 15 frigate, but were a far more limited design rendered necessary by budget constraints.

At the start of the Cold War, the Royal Navy was in urgent need of fast escort ships to counter the large number of Whiskey-class submarines being built by the Soviet Union, which were faster than the Royal Navy's existing sloops and frigates.

[4] Ex-O class destroyers of the Pakistan Navy Onslow / Tippu Sultan and Onslaught / Tughril were returned to the UK between 1957 and 1959 to be converted along the lines of the Type 16 frigate.

Also two ex-W class destroyers of the South African Navy: SAS Jan van Riebeeck (ex-Wessex) and SAS Simon van der Stel (ex-Whelp) underwent conversions to modified Type 16 frigates in 1962–66.