Type 42 Destroyer (Sheffield Class) (1975-2013) (RN)

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SKB
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Type 42 Destroyer (Sheffield Class) (1975-2013) (RN)

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Image
^ HMS Sheffield, first of class.

Introduction
The Type 42 or Sheffield class, were light guided missile destroyers used by the Royal Navy. The first ship of the class was ordered in 1968 and launched in 1971. Two of the class (Sheffield and Coventry) were lost in action during the Falklands Conflict of 1982. The Royal Navy used this class of destroyer for 38 years between 1975 and 2013. No ships of this class remain active in the Royal Navy, having replaced them with the 'Daring' class Type 45 destroyers.

History
The class was designed in the late 1960s to provide fleet area air-defence. In total fourteen vessels were constructed in three batches. In addition to the Royal Navy ships, two more ships were built to the same specifications as the Batch 1 vessels for the Argentine Navy. Hércules was built in the UK and Santísima Trinidad in the AFNE Rio Santiago shipyard in Buenos Aires.

Sheffield and Coventry were lost in the Falklands Conflict to enemy action. (This was the first conflict when surface warships of the same design have been on opposite sides since World War II, when four Flower-class corvettes built for France in 1939 were taken over by the Kriegsmarine in 1940.) The final ship of the class (Edinburgh) decommissioned on 6 June 2013. One Argentine Navy ship (Hércules) remains in service, the other vessel (Santísima Trinidad) sank whilst alongside in Puerto Belgrano Naval Base in early 2013.

When the Type 82 air-defence destroyers were cancelled along with the proposed CVA-01 carrier by the Labour Government of 1966, the Type 42 was proposed as a lighter and cheaper design with similar capabilities to the Type 82. The class is fitted with the GWS30 Sea Dart surface-to-air missile first deployed on the sole Type 82 destroyer, Bristol. The Type 42s were also given a flight deck and hangar to operate an anti-submarine warfare helicopter, greatly increasing their utility compared to the Type 82, which was fitted with a flight deck but no organic aviation facilities.

The design was budgeted with a ceiling of £19 million per hull, but soon ran over-budget. The original proposed design (£21 million) was similar to the lengthened 'Batch 3' Type 42s. To cut costs, the first two batches had 47 feet removed from the bow sections forward of the bridge, and the beam-to-length ratio was proportionally reduced. These early, batch 1 Type 42s performed poorly during the contractor's sea trials particularly in heavy seas, and the hull was extensively examined for other problems. Batch 2 vessels (Exeter onwards) embodied better sensors fits, and slight layout modifications. The ninth hull, Manchester, was lengthened in build, as part of an extensive design review. This proved a better hull form at sea and later hulls were built to this specification, although minor equipment and hull layout changes made the remaining ships all unique in their own way. Strengthening girders were later designed into the weather deck structure in the batch 1 and 2 ships, and the batch 3 ships received an external 'strake' to counter longitudinal cracking.

"Mickey Mouse" ears
The first of class, Sheffield, was initially fitted with the odd-looking "Mickey Mouse" ears on her funnel tops which were in fact exhaust deflectors - "Loxton bends" - for the Rolls Royce Olympus TM1A gas turbines, to guide the high-temperature exhaust efflux sidewards and minimise damage to overhead aerials. As this provided a prominent target for the new infrared homing missiles, only Sheffield had these 'ears'. All subsequent Olympus and Tyne uptakes were fitted with 'cheese graters' which mixed machinery space vent air with the engine exhaust to reduce infrared signatures.

Design details
The Type 42 destroyer was built to fill the gap left by the cancellation of the large Type 82 destroyer. It was intended to fulfil the same role, with similar systems on a smaller and more cost-effective hull. The ships are primarily carriers for the GWS-30 Sea Dart surface-to-air missile system. The first batch were limited by obsolete 965 or 966 surveillance radar which was slow processing and lacked an effective moving-target indicator for over-land tracking. A very cramped operations room slowed the work rate and made early Type 42s, notably the lead ship Sheffield, very difficult to fight. Although often described as obsolete, the Type 42 still proved effective against modern missile threats during the 1991 Gulf War.

The Type 42 is also equipped with a 4.5 inch Mark 8 naval gun and earlier vessels shipped six Ships Torpedo Weapon System (STWS) torpedo launchers. Two Vulcan Phalanx Mk 15 close-in weapon systems (CIWS) were fitted to British Type 42s in way of the carried 27-foot whaler and Cheverton launch after the loss of Sheffield to an Exocet missile. There have been three batches of ships, batch 1 and 2 displacing 4,820 tonnes and batch 3 (sometimes referred to as the Manchester class) displacing 5,200 tonnes. The batch 3 ships were heavily upgraded, though the proposed Sea Wolf systems upgrades were never fitted. Because of their more general warfare role, both Argentine ships were fitted with the MM38 Exocet, and not with a CIWS.

The electronics suite includes one Type 1022 D band long-range radar with Outfit LFB track extractor or one Type 965P long-range air surveillance radar, one Type 996 E band/F band 3D radar for target indication with Outfit LFA track extractor or type 992Q surface search, two Type 909 I/J-band fire-control radars and an Outfit LFD radar track combiner.

All ships were propelled by Rolls Royce TM3B Olympus and Rolls Royce RM1C Tyne marinised gas turbines, arranged in a COGOG (combined gas or gas) arrangement, driving through synchronous self-shifting clutches into a double-reduction, dual tandem, articulated, locked-train gear system and out through two five-bladed controllable pitch propellers. All have four Paxman Ventura 16YJCAZ diesel generators, each generating 1 megawatt of three-phase electric power (440 V 60 Hz).

Availability and use of the Type 42
This class was originally conceived to be a stopper for long-range strategic bombers from the former Soviet long range aviation and as area defence for carrier battle groups. As world political climates shifted, so too the role of the Type 42 followed. The class reached its operational zenith during the Falklands War with seven ships partaking in Operation Corporate and the immediate aftermath. The Type 42 provided a capable, if limited, long range reach against Argentine air force assets, confirming three kills. With their weaknesses exposed - Sheffield was hit and disabled by a long-range first generation air-to surface missile and sank six days later, Coventry was sunk by conventional iron bombs and Glasgow was disabled by a single bomb which passed straight through her aft engine room without exploding - an extensive rethink was conducted and future iterations in and out of build and refit contained better upgrades, but limited by the Type 42s now ageing overall design. Later uses included Gulf War 1, when Gloucester struck and eliminated a large, land-based surface to surface missile with her Sea Dart missile system. More often than not, Type 42s were called upon to carry out fleet contingency ship duties, West Indies counter drugs operations and Falkland Islands patrol, NATO Mediterranean and Atlantic task group operations and Persian Gulf patrols. There was essentially no task this ship class was not engaged in over its forty-year collective career. As far as value-for-money is concerned, notwithstanding its ability to burn fifteen tonnes per hour of marine diesel at top speed and a large, cramped ships' company, this class provided the UK with considerable ability during a very changeable political, economic and military background of change. The deployment of Type 23s in lieu of Type 42s to high-intensity mission areas became more prevalent as serviceability and reliability issues dogged Type 42s availability, as has obsolescence of their combat and machinery system equipment. The 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review sounded a death knell for these venerable warships and they have all been decommissioned and in most cases scrapped.

Batch 1 (Overall Length: 125.6 m (412 ft))
1. HMS Sheffield (D80) Commissioned 1975. Lost in the Falklands Conflict, 1982.
2. HMS Birmingham (D86) Commissioned 1976. Decommissioned 1999. Scrapped 2000.
3. HMS Glasgow (D88) Commissioned 1977. Decommissioned 2005. Scrapped 2008.
4. HMS Newcastle (D87) Commissioned 1978. Decommissioned 2005. Scrapped 2008.
5. HMS Coventry (D118) Commissioned 1978. Lost in the Falklands Conflict, 1982.
6. HMS Cardiff (D108) Commissioned 1979. Decommissioned 2005. Scrapped 2008.

Batch 2 (Overall Length: 125.6 m (412 ft))
7. HMS Exeter (D89) Commissioned 1980. Decommissioned 2009. Scrapped 2011.
8. HMS Southampton (D90) Commissioned 1981. Decommissioned 2009. Scrapped 2011.
9. HMS Liverpool (D92) Commissioned 1982. Decommissioned 2012. Scrapped 2014.
10. HMS Nottingham (D91) Commissioned 1983. Decommissioned 2010. Scrapped 2011.

Batch 3 ('Stretched T42') (Overall Length: 141.1 m (462.8 ft))
11. HMS Manchester (D95) Commissioned 1982. Decommissioned 2011. Scrapped 2014.
12. HMS Gloucester (D96) Commissioned 1985. Decommissioned 2011. Fate: Towed to Turkey for scrapping, 22nd September 2015.
13. HMS Edinburgh (D97) Commissioned 1985. Decommissioned 2013. Fate: Towed to Turkey for scrapping, 12th August 2015.
14. HMS York (D98) Commissioned 1985. Decommissioned 2012. Fate: Towed to Turkey for scrapping, 19th August 2015.

Class and type: Type 42 destroyer
Displacement:
Batch 1 & 2:
3,500 long tons (3,600 t) standard,
4,100 long tons (4,200 t) or 4,350 tons full load
Batch 3: 3,500 long tons (3,600 t) standard,
4,775 long tons (4,852 t) or 5,350 tons full load
Length:
Batch 1 & 2: 119.5 m (392 ft) waterline,
125 m (412 ft) or 125.6 m (412 ft) overall
Batch 3: 132.3 m (434 feet) waterline,
141.1 m (462.8 ft) overall
Beam:
Batch 1 & 2: 14.3 m (47 ft)
Batch 3: 14.9 m (49 ft)
Draught:
Batch 1, 2 & 3: 4.2 m (13.9 ft) keel,
screws 5.8 m (19 feet)
Decks: 8
Installed power: 50,000 shp
Propulsion:2 shafts COGOG;
2 x Rolls-Royce Olympus TM3B high-speed gas turbines, (50,000 shp (37.5 MW))
2 x Rolls-Royce Tyne RM1C cruise gas turbines, (5,340 shp (6 MW))
Speed: 30 knots (2 x Olympus)
24 knots (1 Olympus and 1 Tyne per shaft)
20 knots(1 x Olympus)
18 knots (2 x Tyne)
13.8 knots(1 x Tyne)
Range: 4200 nm single Tyne RM1C/other shaft trailing at 13.8 knots
Boats and landing craft carried: 2
Crew Complement:
Batch 1 & 2: 253 (inc 24 officers) or 274, accommodation for 312
Batch 3: 269 (2013); 301 (inc 26 officers)(1993)
Batch 1, 2 & 3: 24 officers and 229 ratings
Sensors and processing systems:
Radar Type 1022/965P air surveillance,
Radar Type 996/992Q 3-D surveillance,
2× Radar Type 909 GWS-30 fire-control,
Radar Type 1007 navigation,
Sonar Type 2050 / 2016 search,
Sonar Type 162 bottom profiling,
Electronic warfare and decoys: UAA2
Armament:
1× twin launcher for GWS-30 Sea Dart missiles (22 missiles, space was reserved for an additional 15 in Batch 3)
1× 4.5 inch Mark 8 naval gun
2× 20 mm Phalanx CIWS (after Falklands Conflict)
2× Oerlikon / BMARC 20 mm L/70 KAA guns in GAM-B01 single mounts
2 x triple anti-submarine torpedo tubes
Aircraft carried: 1× Westland Lynx HAS / HMA Armed with 4× anti ship missiles, 2× anti submarine torpedoes
Aviation facilities: Flight deck and enclosed hangar for embarking one helicopter

Image
^ HMS Manchester, first of the 'Stretched' Batch 3 Type 42 destroyers.

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Re: Type 42 Destroyers (Sheffield Class) (1975-2013) (RN)

Post by Tony Williams »

SKB wrote: 2× Oerlikon / BMARC 20 mm L/70 KBA guns in GAM-B01 single mounts
Very minor nitpick: the guns were KAA, not KBA.

The Oerlikon designation system works like this:
- the first letter stands for the type of weapon (Kanone)
- the second letter tells you the calibre (A=20mm, B=25mm, C=30mm, D=35mm)
- the third letter tells you the model of gun in that calibre.

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Re: Type 42 Destroyers (Sheffield Class) (1975-2013) (RN)

Post by SKB »

Type 42 promotional video:

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Re: Type 42 Destroyers (Sheffield Class) (1975-2013) (RN)

Post by Ebro »

Another minor nitpick
The radar extractors outfit LFA/B/C & D were fitted in ADAWS 20 edition1 (ADIMP) Ships only

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Re: Type 42 Destroyers (Sheffield Class) (1975-2013) (RN)

Post by SKB »

HMS Sheffield (D80) tribute video:


HMS Coventry (D118) tribute video:

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Re: Type 42 Destroyer (Sheffield Class) (1975-2013) (RN)

Post by The Armchair Soldier »

HMS Edinburgh Sets Sail For Final Time

Image
As dawn breaks over the home of the Royal Navy, a maritime veteran and the Royal Navy's last type 42 destroyer, prepares to set sail from Portsmouth Harbour.

Despite a campaign to Save HMS Edinburgh and transform her into a museum, the ship will set sail on her final voyage to Turkey for scrap.
Read More: http://forces.tv/29290552

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Re: Type 42 Destroyer (Sheffield Class) (1975-2013) (RN)

Post by CarrierFan2006 »

I saw ex HMS York in Portsmouth yesterday, astern HMS Dauntless. Looking very tired, neglected and shabby. A shame, but they've served their time and done so well. She's been stripped of everything important (gun, etc). Time for the long sleep has come...
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Re: Type 42 Destroyer (Sheffield Class) (1975-2013) (RN)

Post by CarrierFan2006 »

Oh, and yes that pic was snapped from the main deck of HMS Victory!

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Re: Type 42 Destroyer (Sheffield Class) (1975-2013) (RN)

Post by SKB »

12th August 2015: Edinburgh being towed from Portsmouth to Turkey for scrapping.


19th August 2015: York has been towed to Turkey for scrapping. She was the youngest of the Type 42 class and also the fastest at 34kts.
Photos: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... -yard.html


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Re: Type 42 Destroyer (Sheffield Class) (1975-2013) (RN)

Post by The Armchair Soldier »

Here's the same ship launching a salvo of Sea Darts just over two years ago:


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Re: Type 42 Destroyer (Sheffield Class) (1975-2013) (RN)

Post by SKB »

The Armchair Soldier wrote:HMS Edinburgh awaiting her fate in Turkey:

Image
^ York in the background

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Re: Type 42 Destroyer (Sheffield Class) (1975-2013) (RN)

Post by ArmChairCivvy »

The Armchair Soldier wrote:Here's the same ship launching a salvo of Sea Darts just over two years ago:

Expending that many (of the soon surplus) missiles in one go must have been like Xmas... compared to the normal frugality in live firing
Ever-lasting truths: Multi-year budgets/ planning by necessity have to address the painful questions; more often than not the Either-Or prevails over Both-And.
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Re: Type 42 Destroyer (Sheffield Class) (1975-2013) (RN)

Post by zanahoria »

From BBC News:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-34325241

End of an era' for HMS Gloucester as ship is scrapped

4 hours ago

A former commanding officer of HMS Gloucester called it "the end of an era" as the destroyer left Portsmouth for the last time bound for the scrapyard.

Former crew members joined those who turned out to wave goodbye to the Royal Navy's last remaining Type 42 destroyer.
Known as "Fighting G", the ship was decommissioned in 2011 after 25 years of service. It will be dismantled in Turkey.

Rear Adm Philip Wilcocks, who was in charge of Gloucester during the Gulf War, said it was an emotional day.

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Re: Type 42 Destroyer (Sheffield Class) (1975-2013) (RN)

Post by SKB »

So thats it then. No more British T42's left. Goodbye Gloucester and thankyou ;)


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Re: Type 42 Destroyer (Sheffield Class) (1975-2013) (RN)

Post by SKB »

Batch 1 Type 42 Destroyers

Image
^ HMS Sheffield (D80)
Launched: 10th June 1971. Commissioned 16th February 1975. Sunk: 10th May 1982 (Falklands)


Image
^HMS Birmingham (D86)
Launched: 30th July 1973. Commissioned: 3rd December 1976. Decommissioned: 31st December 1999. Scrapped: 2000


Image
^ HMS Newcastle (D87)
Launched: 24th April 1975. Commissioned: 23rd April 1978. Decommissioned: 1st February 2005. Scrapped: 2008


Image
^ HMS Coventry (D118)
Launched: 21st June 1974. Commissioned: 10th November 1978. Sunk: 25th May 1982 (Falklands)


Image
^ HMS Glasgow (D88)
Launched: 14th April 1976. Commissioned: 25th May 1979. Decomissioned: 1st February 2005. Scrapped: 2009


Image
^ HMS Cardiff (D108)
Launched: 22nd February 1974. Commissioned: 24th September 1979. Decommissioned: 14th July 2005. Scrapped: 2008


Batch 2 Type 42 Destroyers

Image
^ HMS Exeter (D89)
Launched: 25th April 1978. Commissioned: 19th September 1980. Decommissioned: 27th May 2009. Scrapped: 2011


Image
^ HMS Southampton (D90)
Launched: 29th January 1979. Commissioned: 31st October 1981. Decommissioned: 12th February 2009. Scrapped: 2011


Image
^ HMS Liverpool (D92)
Launched: 25th September 1980. Commissioned: 1st July 1982. Decommissioned: 30th March 2012. Scrapped: 2014


Image
^ HMS Nottingham (D91)
Launched: 18th February 1980. Commissioned: 14th April 1983. Decommissioned: 11th February 2010. Scrapped: 2011


Batch 3 "Stretched" Type 42 Destroyers

Image
^ HMS Manchester (D95)
Launched: 24th November 1980. Commissioned: 16th December 1982. Decommissioned: 24th February 2011. Scrapped: 2014

Image
^ HMS York (D98)
Launched: 20th June 1982. Commissioned: 9th August 1985. Decommissioned: 27th September 2012. Scrapped: 2015


Image
^ HMS Gloucester (D96)
Launched: 2nd November 1982. Commissioned: 11th September 1985. Decommissioned: 30th June 2011. Scrapped 2015


Image
^ HMS Edinburgh (D97)
Launched: 14th April 1983. Commissioned: 17th December 1985. Decommissioned: 6th June 2013. Scrapped: 2015

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Re: Type 42 Destroyer (Sheffield Class) (1975-2013) (RN)

Post by GibMariner »

Details of the recycling of HMS Manchester and HMS Liverpool:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... erpool.pdf

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Re: Type 42 Destroyer (Sheffield Class) (1975-2013) (RN)

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It was announced today that HMS Glasgow's name will reappear as the first of the new Type 26 frigates. :)
Here's a tribute video of the Type 42 HMS Glasgow (D88), which served from 1979-2005

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Re: Type 42 Destroyer (Sheffield Class) (1975-2013) (RN)

Post by SKB »

Image
^ The Type 42 Destroyer HMS Cardiff (D108), which served from 1979-2005.

It has just been announced today, on St. David's Day, that the HMS Cardiff name will be returning as one of the new Type 26 "City" class frigates!


The new HMS Cardiff will be the fourth ship to carry the name.


Apparently, HMS Dragon is carrying the T42 HMS Cardiff nameplate in her wardroom!


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Re: Type 42 Destroyer (Sheffield Class) (1975-2013) (RN)

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Image
Image

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Re: Type 42 Destroyer (Sheffield Class) (1975-2013) (RN)

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Image
^ HMS Coventry (D118)

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Re: Type 42 Destroyer (Sheffield Class) (1975-2013) (RN)

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Re: Type 42 Destroyer (Sheffield Class) (1975-2013) (RN)

Post by SKB »

Waterskiing behind a Type 42!

(Nik Coleman) Published on 5 Mar 2013
Incredible leaked footage from, we think, the first Gulf war.

A sailor on waterskis first chases a full blown warship on a fast inflatable assault boat, in pursuit of a line being towed BEHIND THE WARSHIP. See the red circle with the tow line bar bobbing in the huge wake of the warship turbines.

When that technique doesn't work they try launching him directly from the RIB and incredibly IT WORKS. This is thought to be the only footage in existence of someone being towed behind a full blown warship. Amazing stuff, not faked and you can tell the size of the ship from the wake.

Amazingly brave stunt which we think was done for charity. Incredible. Video by http://www.nikcoleman.com
The waterskier is identified by commentors as Cmdr Bruce Trentham RN, of HMS Nottingham on 6th February 1987 during Armilla Patrol 1986-1987.

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