Type 80 Air Defence Frigate
During the 1950s the Admiralty planned guided-missile frigates with a SAM system. The American RIM-24 Tartar was the weapon of choice and historically they attempted to replace the twin 4.5in of the Type 12 for a Tartar mount and adding a Wessex aft.
In this AU the Type 80 is a hybrid design, falling midway between the Rothesays and the Leanders. The Type 12 hull is lengthened and larger a flush deck design with a raised forecastle to keep the missile launcher as dry as possible. The powerplant is a COSAG layout developed from that fitted to the Type 81 Tribals with two Y.102 machinery plants (two boilers supplying two 15,000hp Metrovick geared turbines and two 7,500hp A.E.I G6 gas turbines) for a top speed of 27.5 knots (17 knots just on turbines). Generator capacity includes two 750 kW turbo-generators and two 450 kW diesel generators.
The weapon system was British-developed rather than Tartar to save Dollar expenditure. Work on Orange Nell began in 1953. The missile was designed to intercept supersonic missiles. It had a max range of 5.7 miles and a minimum range of 1.1 miles. It could reach Mach 1.2 speed and had a 'warmed-up' reaction time of 10 seconds from detection to launch. The missile had four booster rockets. It was guided by an S-band volume scanning TIR and an X- or Q-band illuminator. It could be looked on before launch or acquire after launch. The missile had a 100lb HE-frag or continuous rod warhead. The twin-rail launcher was fed by a magazine consisting of two concentric rings totalling 40 missiles. The likely miss distance of 20ft would damage a missile airframe but the warhead might survive. In this AU it escapes cancellation in 1957 to be fitted to four Type 80 frigates. Problems with the development and increased US defence aid funding saw the last two ships completed with RIM-24 Tatar but magazine capacity fell to 16 missiles. The bridge was also extensively modernised using experience from the Leander class then under construction.
HMS Archer, Type 80, 1963
HMS Arrow, Type 80, 1965
Four ships commissioned:
HMS Archer June 1963
HMS Slingshot October 1963
HMS Arrow August 1965
HMS Javelin November 1965
Dimensions: 386ft 6in (oa) length; 43ft beam; 13ft draught (hull).
Machinery: two boilers supplying two 15,000hp Metrovick geared turbines and two 7,500hp A.E.I G6 gas turbines
Speed: 27.5kits (deep and clean), 17kts (steam turbines alone)
Displacement: 2,550 tons standard
Armament:
1x2 Orange Nell SAM launcher (40x missiles), fire-control by one Q-band illuminator [second pair have RIM-24 Tartar (16x missiles), controlled by 2 SPG-51]
1x4 GWS-22 Seacat (24x missiles), fire-control by one MRS-3
2x1 40mm Bofors Mk.VIII
1x3 Mortar Mk.10 Limbo (30x depth-bombs)
1x Westland Wasp MATCH helicopter
Radars: one Type 965, one Type 293Q, one Type 993Q and one Type 974.
Sonar: Type 170 and Type 162M
ESM: UA-8, UA-9, UA-10, two Type 667 Cooky jammers
HMS Arrow, 1979
The two Orange Nell armed Type 80 frigates were retired from their primary duties quite early on due to the limitations of the SAM system. HMS Arrow became the trials ship for the Confessor SAM system, to enter service as the Sea Wolf and the successor to Orange Nell. A 12-cell VLS was fitted forward and all other armament removed. A prototype Type 996 radar was also fitted, along with a dedicated IFF antenna. She served on missile development from 1976 to 1992 when she was finally decommissioned. Other weapons tested aboard included Shorts Seastreak and development work on the Type 911 and Type 912 trackers.
HMS Slingshot, 1977
The other Type 80 frigate with the Orange Nell system was converted to a patrol frigate at the height of the 'Cod Wars'. The missile system and Limbo was replaced by a 375mm Bofors A/S mortar mounted forward. Her already upgraded SeaCat 2 systems (installed in the late 1960s) were retained and another MRS-3 fitted forward. Two triple lightweight torpedo tube mounts were also fitted and the old 40mm Bofors (removed in 1968) were replaced by 20mm cannon. HMS Slingshot served in this guise from 1976 to 1983.