Type 42 destroyer: Encyclopedia - Type 42 destroyer

Type 42 destroyer

2 Rolls-Royce Olympus TM3B high-speed gas turbines, 50,000 shp (37.5 MW) 2 Rolls-Royce Tyne RM1A cruise gas turbines, 8,000 shp (6 MW)

1 x 4.5 inch (114 mm) L/45 Vickers Mark 8 gun
2 x 20 mm Oerlikon guns
2 x three tube STWS-1 launchers for 324 mm (12.75") A/S torpedoes (Mk.44 / 46, Stingray)
later; 2 x 20 mm Phalanx CIWS 2 x twin 30 mm L/75 BMARC GCM-A03 guns 2 x 20 mm BMARC L/70 GAM-B01 guns

Radar Type 965 'AKE-2' air search
Radar Type 992Q low-angle search
2 x Radar Type 909 GWS-30 fire-control
Radar Type 1006 navigation
Sonar Type 184M search
Sonar Type 162 bottom profiling
later;
Radar Type 1022 air search
Radar Type 996 3-D search
2 x Radar Type 909 GWS-30 fire-control
Radar Type 1007 navigation
Sonar Type 2050 / 2016 search
Sonar Type 162 bottom profiling

2 x 6-tube Loral-Hycor SRBOC, later; 4 x 6-tube Marconi Sea Gnat launchers
Graseby Type 182 towed decoy
UAA-2 interception ESM
2 x Type 670 jammer, later; 2 x Type 675(2) jammer

The Type 42 or Sheffield class, are guided missile destroyers of the Royal Navy.

Type 42 destroyer - History

The class was designed in the late 1960s to provide fleet area air-defence. In total fourteen vessels were constructed in three batches, eleven of which remain in service. In addition, two ships were also built to the same specifications as the Batch 1 vessels for the Armada Republica Argentina. The ships, along with the Type 23 frigates, today form the backbone of the Royal Navy surface fleet. HMS Sheffield and Coventry were lost in the Falklands War to enemy action.

Type 42 destroyer - 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 yet on a smaller and more cost effective hull. The ships are primarily carriers for the GWS-30 Sea Dart surface-to-air missile system. Although claimed to be obsolete, it is still effective against most modern missile threats, as proven in the 1991 Gulf War.

The Type 42 is also equipped with a 4.5 inch (114 mm) gun, six torpedo launchers, and two Vulcan Phalanx Mk.15 Close-In Weapons Systems (CIWS) were fitted after the loss of the Sheffield to an Exocet missile. There have been three batches of ships, Batch 1 & 2 displacing 4,820 tonnes and Batch 3 (sometimes referred to as the Manchester class) displacing 5,200 tonnes. As per the norm, Batch 3 ships were heavily upgraded. Although the Batch 3 ships were lengthened, the planned Sea Wolf missile systems were never fitted. Because of their more general warfare role, the two Argentine ships have been fitted with the MM38 Exocet, and not with a CIWS.

The electronics suite includes one Type 1022 L-band long range radar with Outfit LFB track extractor, one Type 996 S-band 3D target indication radar with Outfit LFA track extractor, two Type 909 X-band fire control radars and a Outfit LFD Radar Track Combiner.

In recent years the importance of the Type 42 destroyers has increased rather than diminished. The UK has adopted an increasingly expeditionary defence policy and the deletion of the Sea Dart missile systems from the Invincible class aircraft carriers has made the role of escort all the more important.

Type 42 destroyer - Replacement

The ships are all scheduled to be out of service by 2014. Initially, the UK sought to procure replacements first in collaboration with seven other NATO nations under the NFR-90 project and then with France and Italy through the Horizon CNGF programme. However, both these collaborative ventures failed and the UK decided to go it alone with a national project.

The Type 42s are now to be replaced by eight Type 45 destroyers. The first six Type 45s; HMS Daring, Dauntless, Defender, Dragon, Duncan and Diamond have been ordered, with a further two due to be ordered later in the decade. The Type 42 class has always suffered from cramped accommodation, a problem for both crew safety and comfort and also when finding space for upgrades. The Type 45s are to be considerably larger; displacing almost 7,400 tonnes, compared to the Type 42 displacement of 4,820 - 5,200 tonnes.

See also

Categories: Ship classes | Royal Navy destroyers

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Type 42 destroyer", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki