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List Of Classes Of British Ships Of The Cold War
This is a list of ship classes used by the Royal Navy during The Cold War. Aircraft Carriers Fleet carriers * Illustrious-class aircraft carrier-WWII era HMS Victorious (R38) modernised in 1950s and in commission till 1968. * Implacable-class aircraft carrier-WWII era decommissioned in mid 1950s. * Audacious-class aircraft carrier- Served from 1951 till 1979. Light Carriers * 1942 Design Light Fleet Carrier- WWII era served till early 1960s. * Centaur-class aircraft carrier- In service 1953 to 1984. * Invincible-class aircraft carrier- In service from 1980 till 2014. Battleships * HMS Vanguard (23)-Last British battleship ever built. Served from 1946 to 1960. Cruisers * Tiger-class cruiser-Last British Cruiser class. Served from 1959 to 1979. Destroyers * Daring-class destroyer (1949)-Last RN primarily gun armed destroyers * County-class destroyer-First RN Guided-missile destroyers * Type 42 destroyer-In service 1975 to 2013 * HMS Bristol (D23)- Served fro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against France. The modern Royal Navy traces its origins to the early 16th century; the oldest of the UK's armed services, it is consequently known as the Senior Service. From the middle decades of the 17th century, and through the 18th century, the Royal Navy vied with the Dutch Navy and later with the French Navy for maritime supremacy. From the mid 18th century, it was the world's most powerful navy until the Second World War. The Royal Navy played a key part in establishing and defending the British Empire, and four Imperial fortress colonies and a string of imperial bases and coaling stations secured the Royal Navy's ability to assert naval superiority globally. Owing to this historical prominence, it is common, even among non-Britons, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rothesay-class Frigate
The ''Rothesay'' class, or Type 12M frigates were a class of frigates serving with the Royal Navy, South African Navy (where they were called President-class frigates) and the Royal New Zealand Navy.Purvis,M.K., 'Post War RN Frigate and Guided Missile Destroyer Design 1944–1969', Transactions, Royal Institution of Naval Architects (RINA), 1974Marriott,Leo, 'Royal Navy Frigates Since 1945', Second Edition, , Published by Ian Allan Ltd (Surrey, UK), 1990 The original Type 12 frigates, the , were designed as first-rate ocean-going convoy escorts in the light of experience gained during World War II. However, such were the capabilities and potential of the design that it was deemed suitable for use as a fast fleet anti-submarine warfare escort. As such, a repeat and improved Type 12 design was prepared, known as the Type 12M (M for "modified") and called the ''Rothesay'' class after the lead ship. A total of twelve vessels were constructed, with the lead ship being laid down in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Swiftsure-class Submarine
The ''Swiftsure'' class was a class of nuclear-powered fleet submarines in service with the Royal Navy from the early 1970s until 2010. Six boats were built and commissioned. ''Swiftsure'' was decommissioned in 1992 due to damage suffered to her pressure hull during trials. followed in 2004 after defence cuts caused a reduction in the size of the Royal Navy submarine fleet. was decommissioned in January 2006, with following on 12 September 2006. was decommissioned on 26 September 2008. The remaining boat in the class, , was decommissioned in December 2010. The six boats of the class were not replaced, although the seven boats of the successor ''Trafalgar''-class submarines are in the process of being replaced by seven boats of the ''Astute''-class submarines. A few were upgraded with the capability to launch Tomahawk cruise missiles in addition to their original armaments of torpedoes, mines and anti-ship missiles. They were also the first class of Royal Navy submarines ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Churchill-class Submarine
The three Repeat ''Valiant''-class submarines, sometimes known as the ''Churchill'' class,Hool, Jack, and Nutter, Keith, ''Damned Un-English Machines, a history of Barrow-built submarines'', pub Tempus, 2003, page 177. were nuclear-powered fleet submarines which served with the Royal Navy from the 1970s until the early 1990s. The ''Churchill'' class was based on the older , but featured many internal improvements. The lead vessel was named after the former Prime Minister and First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill. was the most famous of the class, sinking the Argentinian cruiser during the 1982 Falklands War. , this is the only instance of a nuclear-powered submarine of any nation sinking an enemy ship by torpedo. Design The ''Churchill''s carried a crew of 103 and had a full load displacement of 4,900 tons whilst dived. They were long, had a beam of and a draught of . Their single pressurized water-cooled reactor supplied steam to two English Electric gea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Valiant-class Submarine
The ''Valiant'' class were a class of nuclear-powered fleet submarines in service with the Royal Navy from the mid-1960s until 1994. They were the first fully British nuclear fleet submarine; the earlier used an American nuclear reactor. There were only two boats in the class, the first, ''Valiant'' (the nameship) commissioned in 1966 three years after ''Dreadnought'', and ''Warspite'' the following year. Both were built by Vickers at Barrow-in-Furness. Design The class were based on ''Dreadnought'', but were enlarged by 20 feet (6 m) and had a dived displacement of 4,900 tons compared to 4,000 tons. Improvements made since the original ''Dreadnought'' meant that they ran significantly quieter under main power, and also had a Paxman diesel-electric generator that could be used for silent running. In most other respects (outside the power plant), the ''Valiant''s were identical to ''Dreadnought''. According to former head of the Royal Corps of Naval Constructors R.J. Daniel, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
HMS Dreadnought (S101)
The seventh HMS ''Dreadnought'' was the United Kingdom's first nuclear-powered submarine, built by Vickers Armstrongs at Barrow-in-Furness. Launched by Queen Elizabeth II on Trafalgar Day 1960 and commissioned into service with the Royal Navy in April 1963, she continued in service until 1980. The submarine was powered by a S5W reactor, a design made available as a direct result of the 1958 US–UK Mutual Defence Agreement. Design and construction The Royal Navy had been researching designs for nuclear propulsion plants since 1946, but this work was suspended indefinitely in October 1952.''Vanguard to Trident; British Naval Policy since World War II'', Eric J. Grove, The Bodley Head, 1987, In 1955, the United States Navy completed , the world's first nuclear-powered submarine. During subsequent exercises with the Royal Navy, ''Nautilus'' demonstrated the advantages of the nuclear submarine against British anti-submarine forces, which had developed extensive anti-submarine war ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Resolution-class Submarine
The ''Resolution'' class was a class of four nuclear ballistic missile submarines ( SSBN) built for the Royal Navy as part of the UK Polaris programme. Each submarine was armed with up to 16 UGM-27 Polaris A-3 nuclear missiles. The class comprised , , and . They were built by Vickers Armstrong in Barrow-in-Furness and Cammell Laird in Birkenhead between 1964 and 1968. All four boats were based at HM Naval Base Clyde (HMS ''Neptune''), west of Glasgow, Scotland. The ''Resolution'' class was the launch platform for the United Kingdom's strategic nuclear deterrent from the late 1960s until 1996, when it was replaced by the carrying the Trident II. Background During the 1950s and early 1960s, the United Kingdom's nuclear deterrent was based on the RAF's V-bombers. But in the early 1960s developments in radar and surface-to-air missiles made it clear that bombers were becoming vulnerable, and would be unlikely to penetrate Soviet airspace. Free-fall nuclear weapons would ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peacock-class Corvette
The ''Peacock'' class is a class of patrol corvette built for the Royal Navy. Five were constructed, and by 1997 all had been sold to the Irish Naval Service or the Philippine Navy. Original use The five ships of this class were originally part of the Hong Kong Squadron of the Royal Navy. The ships were built by Hall, Russell & Company of Aberdeen in the United Kingdom and were commissioned into Royal Navy service between 1983 and 1985. They were specifically built for service in Hong Kong with the 6th Patrol Craft Squadron; for work in tropical climates they were fully air conditioned and were capable of remaining at sea during typhoons. As well as ‘flying the flag’ and providing a constant naval presence in region, they could undertake a number of different roles including Seamanship, Navigation and Gunnery training and Search-and-Rescue duties for which they had facilities to carry divers (including a decompression chamber) and equipment to recover vessels and aircr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Type 22 Frigate
The Type 22 frigate also known as the ''Broadsword'' class was a class of frigates built for the British Royal Navy. Fourteen were built in total, with production divided into three batches. Initially intended to be anti-submarine warfare frigates as part of NATO contribution, the ships became general purpose warships. HMS ''Cornwall'' was the last Royal Navy Type 22 frigate, retired from service on 30 June 2011. Five Type 22s were scrapped and two more were sunk as targets. The seven other vessels were sold to the Brazilian, Romanian and Chilean navies; five of these remain in service, one was sunk as a target and one sold for scrap. Ship naming ''Broadsword'', ''Boxer'' It was originally envisaged that all Type 22s would have names beginning with 'B' (''Broadsword'', etc.), following the 'A' names used for Type 21 frigates (''Amazon'', etc.). This changed after the Falklands War when two replacement ships were ordered for the destroyers sunk ( ''Sheffield'' and ''Cov ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Type 21 Frigate
The Type 21 frigate, or ''Amazon''-class frigate, was a British Royal Navy general-purpose escort that was designed in the late 1960s, built in the 1970s and served throughout the 1980s into the 1990s. Development In the mid-1960s, the Royal Navy (RN) had a requirement for a replacement for the diesel-powered (Type 41) anti-aircraft frigates and (Type 61) air direction frigates. While the Royal Navy's warships were traditionally designed by the Ministry of Defence's Ship Department based at Bath, private shipyards (in particular Vosper Thorneycroft) campaigned for the right to design and build a ship to meet this requirement. Vospers claimed that, by ignoring what they claimed to be the conservative design practices followed by the MoD team at Bath, they could deliver the new frigate at a significantly lower price (£3.5 million compared with the £5 million price of the contemporary ), while being attractive to export customers.Gardiner and Chumbley 1995, p. 522.Preston 2002 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tribal-class Frigate
The Type 81, or Tribal class, frigates were ordered and built as sloops to carry out similar duties to the immediate post war improved s and s in the Persian Gulf. In the mid 1960s the seven Tribals were reclassified as second class general-purpose frigates to maintain frigate numbers. After the British withdrawal from East of Suez in 1971 the Tribals operated in the NATO North Atlantic sphere with the only update the fitting of Seacat missiles to all by 1977, limited by their single propeller and low speed of 24 knots. In 1979-80 age and crew and fuel shortages saw them transferred to the stand-by squadrons; three were reactivated in 1982 during the Falklands War for training and guardship duties in the West Indies. History The Tribals were designed during the 1950s as a response to the increasing cost of single-role vessels such as the Type 14s. They were first such 'multi role' vessels for the Royal Navy. They were designed specifically with colonial 'gunboat' duties in mind ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Salisbury-class Frigate
The Type 61 ''Salisbury'' class was a class of the Royal Navy aircraft direction (AD) frigate, built in the 1950s.Purvis, M.K., 'Post War RN Frigate and Guided Missile Destroyer Design 1944–1969', Transactions, Royal Institution of Naval Architects (RINA), 1974Marriott 1990 The purpose of the aircraft direction ships was to provide radar picket duties at some distance from a carrier task force and offer interception guidance to aircraft operating in their area. The class was part of a multi-purpose frigate concept that also included the Type 41 ''Leopard''-class anti-aircraft ships and the cancelled Type 11 anti-submarine variant. Together, they were the first ships in the Royal Navy to use diesel propulsion. Improvements in conventional steam turbine power erased the range advantage of the diesel and led to future purchases of Type 61 and 41 being cancelled or converted to the new Type 12 frigate. Design The ''Salisbury'' class frigates were conceived as part of the 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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