Engaging Strategy wrote:Ron5 wrote:The resulting public and political pressure resulted in the Type 21 orders. They ran massively over cost during build and, although popular with the younger officers for their speed & spacious accommodation, attracted zero export orders, needed expensive surgery to fix weaknesses in their hulls, were next to useless in the Falklands conflict and were quickly sold off for a song afterwards.
Sorry but a lot of that is frankly nonsense. Yes, they ran over cost but the estimate for them was unrealistic. A brand new gas turbine ship was always going to cost more than the later Leanders with their tried and tested design refined over more than a decade and tens of iterations.
As for zero export orders, Type 21 was an RN version of the Vospers Mk.5 and Mk.7 frigates, both of which generated export orders.
Next to useless in the Falklands war? No more useless than the Leanders and Rothesays sent down there. They did hard service on the gun line, supporting the army and RMs ashore and did their job protecting capital units in San Carlos Water, but I supppose that doesn't count.
Nor were they "quickly sold off". They served for another decade and were only ditched when the peace dividend reductions of the 1990s started to bite.
They were not fabulous first rate ships, but to paint them as worse than useless is frankly disingenuous.
I respect your love for the Type 21's and it was nice to call my comments "frankly nonsense" and not just "nonsense".
But ..
1. Type 21's were supposed to cost 3.5m each. They turned out at between 14 and 27 million. That's really crappy cost growth.
2. Mk 5's & 7's were noticeably different in design & equipment than Type 21's. There no evidence I am aware of that shows the RN acquiring 21's lead to sales of the other ships.
3. Yes, useless in the Falklands. They were employed as decoys in San Carlos as they had no credible AA armament. Any success at NGS was more due too the design of the 4.5" gun that the ship that carried it. Failed to detect any of the Argentinian submarines.
4. Aluminum superstructure was so bad that its left a prejudice in the RN that lasts to this day. See Adm Z's comments at DSEI 2017: "anything but aluminum".
5. Hull so weak, speed had to be dropped in a seaway. Expensive steel reinforcements cut 5 knots off top speed.
6. Insufficient margins to add towed array or CIWS.
6. Up for sale after the Faklands war, took some time to find a country willing to spend the money to get them working again and into service.
Bad ships. Lives on today in the LCS. Fast but weak & low capabilities.