Blackwood-class frigate

HMS Exmouth (1972) – following conversion to gas turbine propulsion
Class overview
NameType 14 or Blackwood class
Builders
Operators
In service1955 (RN) – 1988 (ICG)
Completed15
Lost1 (+1 as target)
General characteristics
TypeAnti-submarine frigate
Displacement1,456 long tons (1,479 t) full load
Length310 ft (94.5 m)
Beam33 ft (10.1 m)
Draught15 ft (4.6 m)
Installed power
Propulsion
Speed27 knots (50 km/h; 31 mph)
Range5,200 nmi (9,600 km; 6,000 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Complement112
Sensors and
processing systems
  • Radar Type 974 navigation
  • Sonar Type 174 search
  • Sonar Type 162 target classification
  • Sonar Type 170 targeting
Armament
  • 3 × 40 mm Bofors gun Mark 7 (quarterdeck mount later removed)
  • 2 × Limbo Mark 10 anti-submarine mortars
  • 2 × twin 21-inch (533 mm) deck-mounted tubes for anti-submarine homing torpedoes (Blackwood, Exmouth, Malcolm and Palliser only, later removed)

The Type 14 Blackwood class were a ship class of minimal "second-rate" anti-submarine warfare frigates. Built for the Royal Navy during the 1950s at a time of increasing threat from the Soviet Union's submarine fleet, they served until the late 1970s. Twelve ships of this class served with the Royal Navy and a further three were built for the Indian Navy.[1][2]

  1. ^ a b Marriott,Leo, 'Royal Navy Frigates Since 1945', Second Edition, ISBN 0-7110-1915-0, Published by Ian Allan Ltd (Surrey, UK), 1990
  2. ^ Purvis,M.K., 'Post War RN Frigate and Guided Missile Destroyer Design 1944–1969', Transactions, Royal Institution of Naval Architects (RINA), 1974