Type 82 destroyer
Encyclopedia
The Type 82 or Bristol-class destroyer was to be a class of four Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
warships intended as area air-defence destroyers to replace the County-class destroyers
County class destroyer
The County class was a class of guided missile destroyers, the first such vessels built by the Royal Navy. Designed specifically around the Sea Slug anti-aircraft missile system, the primary role of these ships was area air-defence around the aircraft carrier task force in the nuclear-war...
, and to serve as escorts to the planned CVA-01
CVA-01
The CVA-01 aircraft carrier was to be a class of at least two fleet carriers that would have replaced the Royal Navy's existing aircraft carriers, most of which had been designed prior to or during World War II....
aircraft carrier
Aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...
s. Eventually only a single ship, HMS Bristol was built and served as a testbed for much of the modern technology and armaments seen in later classes of Royal Navy warships. Sometimes described as a "light cruiser", she was officially classified as a destroyer.
History
The CVA-01CVA-01
The CVA-01 aircraft carrier was to be a class of at least two fleet carriers that would have replaced the Royal Navy's existing aircraft carriers, most of which had been designed prior to or during World War II....
aircraft carrier project was cancelled in the 1966 Defence White Paper
1966 Defence White Paper
The 1966 Defence White Paper was a major review of the United Kingdom's defence policy brought about by the Labour Party government under the Prime Minister Harold Wilson. The main author was the then Secretary of State for Defence, Denis Healey...
, eliminating the requirement for the Type 82 class. Nevertheless, one hull of the original four was ordered on 4 October 1966 for use as a testbed for new technologies. HMS Bristol
HMS Bristol (D23)
HMS Bristol is a Type 82 destroyer, the only vessel of her class to be built for the Royal Navy. Originally intended as the first of a class of new large destroyers to escort the CVA-01 aircraft carriers projected to come into service in the early 1970s, Bristol turned out to be a unique ship...
was laid down in 1967, featuring four new systems;
- The Sea Dart missileSea Dart missileSea Dart or Guided Weapon System 30 is a British surface-to-air missile system designed by Hawker Siddeley Dynamics and built by British Aerospace from 1977...
that would later be fitted in the Type 42 destroyers and Invincible-class carriersInvincible class aircraft carrierThe Invincible class is a class of light aircraft carrier operated by the British Royal Navy. Three ships were constructed, , and . The vessels were built as aviation-capable anti-submarine warfare platforms to counter the Cold War North Atlantic Soviet submarine threat, and initially embarked...
. - The IkaraIkara (missile)The Ikara missile was an Australian ship-launched anti-submarine missile, named after an Australian Aboriginal word for "throwing stick". It launched an acoustic torpedo to a range of , allowing fast-reaction attacks against submarines at ranges that would otherwise require the launching ship to...
anti-submarine weapon, later fitted to some Leander-class frigates. - A new 4.5 inch (114 mm) Mk 84.5 inch (114 mm) Mark 8 naval gunThe 4.5 inch Mark 8 is a British naval gun system which currently equips the Royal Navy's frigates and some British destroyers and frigates sold to other countries.-Background:...
main gun. - The advanced ADAWS-2 (Action Data Automation Weapons System Mk.2), a computer system designed to coordinate the ship's weapons and sensors.
The latter feature, although not externally apparent, was perhaps the most pioneering of the design; a leap forward from the rudimentary action information system of the "Counties" and its heavy reliance on manual data input.
The Type 82 was followed into service by the smaller Type 42 destroyer
Type 42 destroyer
The Type 42 or Sheffield class, are guided missile destroyers used by the British Royal Navy and the Argentine Navy. The first ship of the class was ordered in 1968 and launched in 1971, and today three ships remain active in the Royal Navy and one in the Argentinian Navy...
that featured the same Sea Dart missile, 114 mm Mark 8 gun and integrated ADAWS. It was not a direct replacement for the Type 82 per se, but filled the area air defence role in a Cold War, North Atlantic navy. The Type 42 design was however smaller and had a lower manpower requirement and as such many more hulls could be brought into service than a design of the Type 82's size. It also featured a flightdeck and hangar for its own air component providing improved anti-submarine, surface-strike and general utility to the design.
Design
The Type 82 was loosely based on the layout of the County-class destroyerCounty class destroyer
The County class was a class of guided missile destroyers, the first such vessels built by the Royal Navy. Designed specifically around the Sea Slug anti-aircraft missile system, the primary role of these ships was area air-defence around the aircraft carrier task force in the nuclear-war...
and the Type 12 Leander-class frigate
Leander class frigate
The Leander class, or Type 12I 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...
(hence the inclusion in the escort Type numbering system
Type system of the Royal 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 vessel was powered by a combined steam and gas (COSAG) plant, and was the last warship designed for the Royal Navy to be powered by steam. The steam plant vented through the large fore funnel while the gas plant exhausted though a side-by-side pair of after funnels (on either side of the extensive air intakes and filters for the gas turbines), giving rise to a unique three-funnelled layout.
Weapon systems
The new Sea Dart missile was fired from a twin-arm launcher on the quarterdeckQuarterdeck
The quarterdeck is that part of a warship designated by the commanding officer for official and ceremonial functions. In port, the quarterdeck is the most important place on the ship, and is the central control point for all its major activities. Underway, its importance diminishes as control of...
and there was a pair of radar Type 909 target illumination sets, an improvement over the single radar Type 901 set of the County-class design.
The single Mark 8 114 mm gun was not intended as an anti-aircraft weapon, and as such had an elevation of only 55°. The weapon was designed specifically for reliability over rate of fire, allowing only a single mounting to be shipped, and the comparatively low rate of fire of 25 rounds per minute was more than suitable for the intended anti-ship and shore-bombardment roles.
The third weapon system was the Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n Ikara
Ikara (missile)
The Ikara missile was an Australian ship-launched anti-submarine missile, named after an Australian Aboriginal word for "throwing stick". It launched an acoustic torpedo to a range of , allowing fast-reaction attacks against submarines at ranges that would otherwise require the launching ship to...
anti-submarine weapon; a rocket-powered aircraft capable of carrying a Mk.44 homing torpedo
Mark 44 torpedo
The Mark 44 torpedo is an obsolete air-launched and ship-launched lightweight torpedo manufactured in the U.S., and under licence in Canada, France, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom with 10,500 being produced for U.S. service. It was superseded by the Mark 46 torpedo...
or nuclear depth bomb
Nuclear Depth Bomb
A Nuclear Depth Bomb is the nuclear equivalent of the conventional depth charge and can be used in Anti-Submarine Warfare for attacking submerged submarines...
out to 10 miles from the ship. The Ikara primary anti-submarine weapon was backed up by a Mark 10 Limbo
Limbo (weapon)
Limbo, or Anti Submarine Mortar Mark 10 , was the final British development of a forward-throwing anti-submarine weapon originally designed during the Second World War. Limbo, a three-barreled mortar similar to the earlier Squid that it superseded, was developed by the Admiralty Underwater Weapons...
anti-submarine mortar. Although capable of landing a Westland Wasp
Westland Wasp
The Westland Wasp was a British small first-generation, gas-turbine powered, shipboard anti-submarine helicopter. Produced by Westland Helicopters, it came from the same P.531 programme as the British Army Westland Scout, and was based on the earlier piston-engined Saunders-Roe Skeeter...
helicopter on the quarterdeck
Quarterdeck
The quarterdeck is that part of a warship designated by the commanding officer for official and ceremonial functions. In port, the quarterdeck is the most important place on the ship, and is the central control point for all its major activities. Underway, its importance diminishes as control of...
the ship lacked a hangar and aviation facilities and thus had to rely on external air support.
Electronics
The original design called for a long range 3-D air search radar to be fitted, and early drawings and artist's impression show a large dome on the bridge to carry this set. A similar set was to be fitted to the CVA-01 design. However, the projected Anglo-Dutch system never materialised, and instead she was fitted with the venerable radar Type 965 air search radar, with a "twin bedstead" AKE-2 antennae, on a stump foremast. Radar Type 992Q low-angle search was carried on the tall, slender mainmast and as such the electronics fit had not advanced significantly from the County class. Type 909 sets were shipped fore and aft for Sea Dart fire control, allowing two targets to be engaged at any one time.The main advance in the design was with how the sensor data was processed and displayed. The ADAWS-2 system, based on two Ferranti
Ferranti
Ferranti or Ferranti International plc was a UK electrical engineering and equipment firm that operated for over a century from 1885 until it went bankrupt in 1993. Known primarily for defence electronics, the Company was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index but ceased trading in 1993.The...
FM1600 computers, integrated the identification, tracking and engagement of targets into a single system. ADAWS-2 could accept input from any of the ship’s radars or sonars, identify targets and produce continuous track histories. Using this information it could evaluate threat levels and control the engagement of targets using the relevant weapons systems. The whole process occurred almost automatically, requiring only oversight and command from the human operator. This new generation of warship would be commanded from an operations room within the ship rather than the traditional location of the bridge.
Specifications
- Electronics:
- ADAWS-2 combat direction system
- 1 x radar Type 965 2D air warning, later;
- 1 x radar Type 1022 2D air search
- 1 x radar Type 992Q low-angle target indication
- 2 x radar Type 909 Sea Dart target illumination
- 1 x radar Type 978 (later 1006) navigation
- 1 x sonar Type 170 search
- 1 x sonar Type 184 target indication
Shortcomings
Despite introducing various new systems, the role for which Bristol was designed never materialised. She faced the problem of entering a navy that had no operational role or requirement for her and that was faced with rapidly changing priorities. This single, large ship was manpower- and maintenance-intensive and was not fitted out to the standard required for front line deployment.The major shortcomings in the design were twofold; the lack of an air component and the lack of a long-range anti-ship weapon. Within a few years these features would be standard on ships of this size and type and as such the Type 82 was somewhat lacking. These deficiencies limited her to squadron (rather than individual patrol) duties, and Bristol is usually seen as something of a white elephant
White elephant
A white elephant is an idiom for a valuable but burdensome possession of which its owner cannot dispose and whose cost is out of proportion to its usefulness or worth...
.
Service
The role which the Type 82 was built for never materialised and as such she spent most of her service in the 1970s trialling and building up experience using the new weapons and computer systems. A major boiler fire in 1974 destroyed the steam plant. Older ships may have been crippled by this, but Bristol was able to operate for 3 years using only her gas plant, demonstrating the flexibility and utility of the latter. The steam plant was repaired in 1976 and it was not until 1979 that she was fitted out for frontline service with ECMElectronic countermeasures
An electronic countermeasure is an electrical or electronic device designed to trick or deceive radar, sonar or other detection systems, like infrared or lasers. It may be used both offensively and defensively to deny targeting information to an enemy...
, Corvus
Corvus (weapon)
The corvus or harpago was a Roman military boarding device used in naval warfare during the First Punic War against Carthage....
countermeasures launchers and a pair of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
-era Oerlikon 20 mm cannon
Oerlikon 20 mm cannon
The Oerlikon 20 mm cannon is a series of autocannons, based on an original design by Reinhold Becker of Germany, very early in World War I, and widely produced by Oerlikon Contraves and others...
s. During this refit the Limbo weapon was removed; the well subsequently saw service as a make-shift swimming pool.
Being a large ship Bristol was suitable for use as a flagship as she could embark the extra staff members necessary for this role. As such, she served as the Royal Navy flagship during Exercise Ocean Safari 81. After a short refit, during which the mortar well was plated over to allow the landing of large helicopters on the quarterdeck, she joined the Royal Navy task force in the South Atlantic in the 1982 Falklands War
Falklands War
The Falklands War , also called the Falklands Conflict or Falklands Crisis, was fought in 1982 between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the disputed Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands...
as a component of the carrier battle-group. After the conflict she remained ‘’in situ’’ as flagship of the remaining Royal Navy forces. On return to the UK she entered a refit and, in light of the lessons of the conflict, she had her light anti aircraft weapons augmented with a pair of twin Oerlikon / BMARC 30 mm GCM-A03 and a pair of single Oerlikon / BMARC 20 mm GAM-B01 guns. Loral-Hycor SRBOC countermeasures launchers were also added to augment the elderly Corvus launchers.
With the Royal Navy short on hulls after damages and losses incurred in the Falklands, Bristol remained in commission and made several overseas deployments until paid off for refit in 1984. Another boiler explosion when entering refit caused extensive damage and had to be repaired. The major work undertaken in the refit was to replace the obsolete radar Type 965 with the new radar Type 1022 for long range air search duties. In addition, the Ikara system was removed and it was intended that it be replaced with two triple STWS-1 launchers for 324 mm anti-submarine torpedo
Torpedo
The modern torpedo is a self-propelled missile weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with it or in proximity to it.The term torpedo was originally employed for...
es, although these were never fitted.
In 1987 she became part of Dartmouth training squadron, for which duties she had extra accommodation and classrooms added in the former Ikara and Limbo spaces. Finally she was withdrawn from service on the 14 June 1991 and configured for her current role in 1993 as a replacement for HMS Kent
HMS Kent (D12)
HMS Kent was a batch-1 County-class destroyer of the Royal Navy. She and her sisters were equipped with the SeaSlug Mk-1 medium range surface to air missile SAM system, along with the short-range SeaCat SAM, two double mount 4.5" gun turrets, two single 20mm cannon, ASW torpedo tubes, and a...
as a static training ship at HMS Excellent, Portsmouth.
Revival of the large air defence escort
In 1999, the eventual replacement for the Type 42 was announced. Unlike in the 1970s, when economics dictated a large number of smaller hulls, the Type 45Type 45 destroyer
The United Kingdom's Type 45 destroyer is an air defence destroyer programme of the Royal Navy which will replace its Type 42 destroyers. The first ship in the class, HMS Daring, was launched on 1 February 2006 and commissioned on 23 July 2009. The ships are now built by BAE Systems Surface Ships...
destroyer is even bigger than the Type 82, but will be limited to a total of six units, which will primarily be charged with escorting the Royal Navy's new aircraft carriers. In this way, the Type 45 can be seen as the true modern descendent of the Type 82.
Construction programme
| Pennant Pennant number In the modern Royal Navy, and other navies of Europe and the Commonwealth, ships are identified by pennant numbers... |
Name | (a) Hull builder (b) Main machinery manufacturers |
Laid down | Launched | Accepted into service | Commissioned | Estimated building cost | Fate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D23 | Bristol | (a) Swan Hunter & Tyne Shipbuilders Ltd (b) General Electrical Co Ltd (turbines and gearing) (b) Rolls Royce (1971) Ltd (gas turbines) |
15 November 1967 | 30 June 1969 | 15 December 1972 | 31 March 1973 | £24,217,000 | Permanently moored as training ship, at HMS Excellent |