2 × twin 21-inch (533mm) deck-mounted tubes for anti-submarine homing torpedoes (Blackwood, Exmouth, Malcolm and Palliser only, later removed)
The Type 14 Blackwood class were a ship class of minimal "second-rate" anti-submarine warfare frigates. Built for the Royal Navy during the 1950s at a time of increasing threat from the Soviet Union's submarine fleet, they served until the late 1970s. Twelve ships of this class served with the Royal Navy and a further three were built for the Indian Navy.[1][2]
The Type 14 frigates were designed to be cheaper and smaller than the expensive Type 12 frigates. Although they lacked gun armament, their anti-submarine armament of two Limbo mortars, Mk 20 torpedoes and sonar fit equalled the larger Type 12, and as the crews of the Type 14 concentrated almost entirely on practising anti-submarine warfare, they were often the most effective frigates in anti-submarine exercises until the mid 1960s. The class were entirely specialised for the anti-submarine role and hence had little capability in any other, though they did perform fishery protection duties during the confrontations with Iceland over fishing rights.
In the late 1950s, during their time on patrols around Iceland to ensure that Iceland did not interfere with British fishermen's attempts to fish, problems were found with the hulls of the Type 14s in such heavy waters, so that their hulls had to be strengthened to cope with these patrols. However, they proved to be good sea boats throughout the dispute, which continued into the mid-1970s. The low profile of the superstructure was a deliberate design feature to confuse enemy attackers.[3] The Type 14 design was flawed by the lack of a gun, and also by general lack of space. After experience with these frigates, the Admiralty decided that quality was the top priority of all ships, even though it meant having a smaller fleet.[citation needed]
One of the ships, Exmouth, was later converted 1966–1968 to act as experimental trials vessel for gas turbine propulsion, becoming the first major warship of the Royal Navy to be entirely powered by gas turbines. In this configuration she was easily distinguishable from other members of the class due to her larger (non-cylindrical, streamlined) funnel and large air intakes sited immediately fore and aft of the funnel. The success of these trials led to the adoption of all-gas turbine propulsion as standard on subsequent Royal Navy warship designs (Type 21 & 22 Frigates, Type 42 destroyers, 'Invincible' class carriers).[1]
Service
The Type 14s' limited size, at just 310 feet (94m), restricted them from operating past the 1970s as anti-submarine ships. Their small hull limited the extent of modifications and upgrades possible, preventing the Type 14s from being armed with more effective weapons, effectively rendering them obsolete. All were decommissioned in the 1970s. The last operational were the gas powered Exmouth in 1977 and Hardy which attended the Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II in 1977 and deployed again from the standby squadron in 1978.
In film
The 1960 Norman Wisdom film The Bulldog Breed was made in Portland harbour with co-operation from the Royal Navy, and features several of the Blackwood-class frigates. An early scene shows a flotilla of Type 14s led by Murray. The 1958 British comedy "Further Up The Creek" features the fictional HMS Aristotle, a type 14 frigate. HMS Pellew (F62) appeared in 1961 British monster movie "Gorgo". HMS Dundas appeared in the Ava Gardner film The Little Hut in 1957.
Ships
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy ships were all named after British captains. Many had been in the Napoleonic wars and some were present at the Battle of Trafalgar.
1 2 3 Marriott,Leo, 'Royal Navy Frigates Since 1945', Second Edition, ISBN0-7110-1915-0, Published by Ian Allan Ltd (Surrey, UK), 1990
↑ Purvis,M.K., 'Post War RN Frigate and Guided Missile Destroyer Design 1944–1969', Transactions, Royal Institution of Naval Architects (RINA), 1974
↑ Freidman, Norman (2006). British Frigates and Destroyers: The Second World War and After. p.236.
↑ "Unit cost, i.e. excluding cost of certain items (e.g. aircraft, First Outfits)." Text from Defences Estimates
1 2 3 4 5 6 Navy Estimates, 1956–57, pages 238–9, List and particulars of new ships which have been accepted or are expected to be accepted into HM service during the Financial Year ended 31 March 1956
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Navy Estimates, 1957-8, pages 234–5, List and particulars of new ships which have been accepted or are expected to be accepted into HM service during the Financial Year ended 31 March 1957
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Navy Estimates, 1958–59, pages 234–5, List and particulars of new ships which have been accepted or are expected to be accepted into HM service during the Financial Year ended 31 March 1958
1 2 3 Navy Estimates, 1959–60, pages 230–1, List and particulars of new ships which have been accepted or are expected to be accepted into HM service during the Financial Year ended 31 March 1959
The Type 22 frigate also known as the Broadsword class was a class of frigates built for the British Royal Navy. Fourteen were built in total, with production divided into three batches.
The County class was a class of British guided missile destroyers, the first such warships built by the Royal Navy. Designed specifically around the Seaslug anti-aircraft missile system, the primary role of these ships was area air defence around the aircraft carrier task force in the nuclear-war environment.
The Type 21 frigate, or Amazon-class frigate, was a British Royal Navy general-purpose escort that was designed in the late 1960s, built in the 1970s and served throughout the 1980s into the 1990s.
The Type 81, or Tribal class, frigates were ordered and built as sloops to carry out similar duties to the immediate post war improved Black Swan-class sloops and Loch-class frigates in the Persian Gulf. In the mid 1960s the seven Tribals were reclassified as second class general-purpose frigates to maintain frigate numbers. After the British withdrawal from East of Suez in 1971 the Tribals operated in the NATO North Atlantic sphere with the only update the fitting of Seacat missiles to all by 1977, limited by their single propeller and low speed of 24 knots. In 1979–80 age and crew and fuel shortages saw them transferred to the stand-by squadrons; three were reactivated in 1982 during the Falklands War for training and guardship duties in the West Indies.
The Leander-class, or Type 12I (Improved) 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.
The Valiant class were a class of nuclear-powered fleet submarines in service with the Royal Navy from the mid-1960s until 1994. They were the first fully British nuclear fleet submarine; the earlier HMS Dreadnought used an American nuclear reactor. There were only two boats in the class, the first, Valiant commissioned in 1966 three years after Dreadnought, and Warspite the following year. Both were built by Vickers at Barrow-in-Furness.
The Type 12 or Whitby-class frigates were a six-ship class of anti-submarine frigates of the Royal Navy, which entered service late in the 1950s. They were designed in the early 1950s as first-rate ocean-going convoy escorts, in the light of experience gained during World War II. At this time, the Royal Navy were designing single-role escorts and the Whitbys were designed as fast convoy escorts capable of tackling high-speed submarines. However, this made the Whitbys more expensive and sophisticated to produce in large numbers in the event of a major war, and so the Type 14 "utility" or "second-rate" anti-submarine frigate was developed to complement the Type 12. Although themselves rapidly outdated, the Type 12 proved to be an excellent basis for a series of frigate designs used by the British and Commonwealth navies for the next 20 years.
The Type 82 or Bristol-class destroyer was a 1960s guided missile destroyer design intended to replace County-class destroyers in the Royal Navy. Originally eight warships were planned to provide area air-defence for the four planned CVA-01 aircraft carriers. They would also have been able to operate independently as modern cruisers "East of Suez".
The three Churchill class, sometimes known as the Repeat Valiant-class submarines were nuclear-powered fleet submarines which served with the Royal Navy from the 1970s until the early 1990s. The Churchill class was based on the older Valiant class, but featured many internal improvements.
HMS Exmouth was a Royal Navy anti-submarine warfare frigate of the Blackwood or Type 14 class.
The Type 41 or Leopard class were a class of anti-aircraft defence frigates built for the Royal Navy and Indian Navy in the 1950s. The Type 41, together with the Type 61 variant introduced diesel propulsion into the Royal Navy, the perceived benefits being long range, low fuel use, reduced crew, and reduced complexity.
The Type 61 Salisbury class was a class of the Royal Navy aircraft direction (AD) frigate, built in the 1950s. The purpose of the aircraft direction ships was to provide radar picket duties at some distance from a carrier task force and offer interception guidance to aircraft operating in their area.
HMS Dundas was a Blackwood-class anti-submarine warfare frigate of the Royal Navy.
The Rothesay class, or Type 12M frigates were a class of frigates serving with the Royal Navy, South African Navy and the Royal New Zealand Navy.
The Type system is a classification system used by the British Royal Navy to classify surface escorts by function. The system evolved in the early 1950s, when the Royal Navy was experimenting with building single-purpose escort vessels with specific roles in light of experience gained in World War II. The original numbering scheme was:
HMS Blackwood was the name ship of her class of second-rate anti-submarine frigates built for the Royal Navy in the 1950s.
HMS Grafton was one of a dozen Blackwood-class frigate of second-rate anti-submarine frigates built for the Royal Navy in the 1950s.
HMS Murray (F91) was one of a dozen Blackwood-class frigate of second-rate anti-submarine frigates built for the Royal Navy in the 1950s. She was named for George Murray, who served during the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
HMS Pellew (F62) was one of a dozen Blackwood-class frigate of second-rate anti-submarine frigates built for the Royal Navy in the 1950s. She was named for Israel Pellew, who served during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. He was brother to Edward Pellew, 1st Viscount Exmouth
The Rolls-Royce Marine Olympus is a marine gas turbine based on the Rolls-Royce Olympus aircraft turbojet engine.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
