County-class destroyer

HMS Kent at Portsmouth in 1989
Class overview
Builders
Operators
Preceded byDaring class
Succeeded byType 82
Subclasses
  • Batch 1
  • Batch 2
In commission16 November 1962 – 22 September 2006
Completed8
Cancelled2[1]
Laid up2
Lost0
General characteristics
TypeDestroyer
Displacement6,200 tons
Length520 ft (160 m)
Beam54 ft (16 m)
Draught21 ft (6.4 m)
Propulsion
Speed30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph)
Range3,500 nautical miles (6,500 km; 4,000 mi)
Complement471 (33 officers, 438 ratings)
Sensors and
processing systems
Type 903 radar (MRS-3 system)
Armament
Aircraft carriedWessex HAS Mk 3 helicopter
Aviation facilitiesFlight deck and enclosed hangar for embarking one helicopter

The County class was a class of British guided missile destroyers, the first such warships built by the Royal Navy. Designed specifically around the Seaslug anti-aircraft missile system, the primary role of these ships was area air defence around the aircraft carrier task force in the nuclear-war environment.[2][3]

Eight ships were built and entered service. Two served in the British naval task force in the Falklands War in 1982. After leaving British service, four ships were sold to the Chilean Navy and one to the Pakistan Navy.

  1. ^ Brown & Moore (2003).
  2. ^ Purvis,M.K., 'Post War RN Frigate and Guided Missile Destroyer Design 1944–1969', Transactions, Royal Institution of Naval Architects (RINA), 1974
  3. ^ Marriott, Leo: Royal Navy Destroyers since 1945, ISBN 0-7110-1817-0, Ian Allan Ltd, 1989