Shipbucket

Classic RN ships...love'em!

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There is no "I" in TEAM but there is a ME


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Current Worklist:
Redrawing my entire AU after a long absence from Shipbucket

Thanks for the feedback gentlemen; and yes, the lack of guns was part of the design consideration; the type should really be seen as a 'weapons system', with the hull and machinery (and crew) designed around the twin Limbo launchers and (for the time) advanced sonar. The target would have been the large number of Soviet submarines that could have threatened the convoy's from the USA to Europe. We tend to forget, that should the cold war have gone hot, the reinforcements for NATO would have had to cross the Atlantic, the actual NATO forces in Europe holding the fort meanwhile; and of course, there was no ocean seperating the Soviet forces from their resupply.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing; now we'd be saying: wait for the helicopter to prove itself; or, make the hull bigger and factor in a decent surface gun; but at the time this was probably a reasonable design to meet a specific need. And yes, the ship that was converted was the Exmouth, into the RN's first all gas turbine warship - and I will do that version. Overall, I've sort of got to like this ugly duckling, having pored over numerous photo's and books I've acquired a grudging respect, and it does make a change, when we can't argue the pro's and con's of 20-in guns

They would have made good basis for an enhanced RNR.
I do like those era Type 12,14,41 & 61 leading to the Type 12M and Leanders.

Very nice ship all the same Bill

Just a pity that the Last of that Era is rusting away in Liverpool!

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"There was nothing wrong with Titanic when she left the Shipyard" Tim McGarry Belfast Comedian

Do you mean there is still one that can be saved? When you think about it that generation of warships - the ones you mention - should have one preserved somewhere; the problem being they were not seen as glamorous.

BTW, forgot to reply to Kim re the COA; sure, but I did crib this one from the OGFL AU, where I did it for the alt type 14 as also the Hardy; so its not as good as it could be, but if you think its worthy.......

HMS Plymouth is rusting away in Liverpool after warships on the mersey collapsed.

http://www.demotix.com/news/867005/hms- ... -left-rust

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"There was nothing wrong with Titanic when she left the Shipyard" Tim McGarry Belfast Comedian

The USN went through a similar postwar struggle to come up with a truly worthwhile austere and mass-produceable ASW escort, ultimately just sort of giving up on the problem. As you say, hindsight is indeed 20/20, and we now know that the ASW problem was evolving in a direction that made ships like this of dubious value and, worse, not amenable to upgrade in a useful direction.

I understand Exmouth was actually quite the hotrod of a ship.

Fun fact: she had the same turbines as what pushes the Vulcan through the air...and the Concorde
As you've said, the biggest problem was that the machinery and especially the gearing wasn't necessarily cheaper nor conductible to mass-production no matter how much they try to reduce it. The Garcia, Knox and of course the OHP classes actually turned out to be useful hulls for other than just ASW convoy escort.

Great drawing PB. That is all!

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Jabba's Worklist

With the USN, I'm thinking you're also refering to the Claud Jones, and then the Bronstein, which at least had a decent asw; but the Claud Jones just seemed wrong from the start, with diesel (rejected for the Type 14), and what was WWII asw weapons. I quite like the Dealey's as a reasonable attempt, apart from the Weapon Alpha - they would have been better off with Limbo. With other navies I also admire the Le Corse class, as a more flexible design than the Type 14. But yes, in terms of evolution the road lead to a biiger hull able to carry a helicopter, which with development became a force multiplyer, rather than small cheap frigates.

Claud Jones were, as I recall, intended for a time to ship 21" ASW torpedos, but these weapons came in and out of favor over the years and were ultimately never shipped (although 12.75" torpedos were). The point does stand, though -- when submarines went from submersible torpedo boats to high-speed perpetually-underwater craft, and the electronics needed to detect them (let alone engage them) became truly high-ticket items, the cheap and cheerful ASW frigate ceased to be a reasonable prospect.