Type 42 destroyer

HMS Birmingham (D86)
HMS Birmingham
Class overview
NameType 42
BuildersVickers, Cammell-Laird, Swan Hunter, Vosper Thorneycroft, CFNE Argentina
Operators
Preceded by
Succeeded by
SubclassesBatches 1, 2 and 3
In service1975–2013
Completed16
LostUK: 2 (Falklands War)
Retired14
General characteristics
TypeGuided-missile destroyer
Displacement
  • Batch 1 & 2:
    • 3,500 long tons (3,600 t) standard,[1]
    • 4,100 long tons (4,200 t)[1] or 4,350 tons[2] full load
  • Batch 3:
    • 3,500 long tons (3,600 t) standard,[1]
    • 4,775 long tons (4,852 t)[1] or 5,350 tons[2] full load
Length
  • Batch 1 & 2:
    • 119.5 m (392 ft) waterline,[1]
    • 125 m (410 ft)[1] or 125.6 m (412 ft)[2] overall
  • Batch 3:
    • 132.3 m (434 ft) waterline,[1]
    • 141.1 m (463 ft)[1][2] overall
Beam
  • Batch 1 & 2: 14.3 m (47 ft)[1][2]
  • Batch 3: 14.9 m (49 ft)[1][2]
Draught
  • Batch 1, 2 & 3:
    • 4.2 m (14 ft) keel,[1]
    • 5.8 m (19 ft) screws[1][2]
Decks8
Installed power50,000 shp (37 MW)
Propulsion
Speed
  • 30 kn (56 km/h; 35 mph) (2 × Olympus)
  • 24 kn (44 km/h; 28 mph) (1 × Olympus and 1 × Tyne per shaft)
  • 20 kn (37 km/h; 23 mph) (1 × Olympus)
  • 18 kn (33 km/h; 21 mph) (2 × Tyne)
  • 13.8 kn (25.6 km/h; 15.9 mph) (1 × Tyne)
Range4,200 nmi (7,800 km; 4,800 mi) single Tyne RM1C/other shaft trailing at 13.8 kn (25.6 km/h; 15.9 mph)
Boats & landing
craft carried		2
Complement
  • Batch 1 & 2: 253 (incl. 24 officers)[1] or 274,[citation needed] accommodation for 312[1]
  • Batch 3: 269 (2013);[3] 301 (incl. 26 officers)[1](1993)
  • Batch 1, 2 & 3: 24 officers and 229 ratings[2]
Sensors and
processing systems
  • Radar Type 1022/965P air surveillance,
  • Radar Type 996/992Q 3-D surveillance,
  • 2 × radar Type 909 GWS-30 fire-control,
  • Radar Type 1007 & 1008 navigation,
  • IFF 1016/1017,
  • Sonar Type 2050 / 2016 search,
  • Sonar Type 162 bottom profiling,
Electronic warfare
& decoys
  • UAA2/UAF
  • DLH decoy system
Armament
  • 1 × twin launcher for GWS-30 Sea Dart missiles (22 missiles, space was reserved for an additional 15 in Batch 3)
  • 1 × 4.5 inch Mark 8 naval gun
  • 2 × 20 mm Phalanx CIWS (after 1982, not on Argentine ships)
  • 2 × Oerlikon / BMARC 20 mm L/70 KBA guns in GAM-B01 single mounts
  • 4 × MM38 Exocet anti-ship missile launchers (only on Argentine ships)
  • 2 × STWS II triple anti-submarine torpedo tubes (not on Argentine ships)
Aircraft carried
  • 1 × Westland Lynx HAS / HMA armed with
    • 4 × anti-ship missiles
    • 2 × anti-submarine torpedoes
Aviation facilitiesFlight deck and enclosed hangar for embarking one helicopter

The Type 42 or Sheffield class, was a class of fourteen guided-missile destroyers that served in the Royal Navy.[4] A further two ships of this class were built for and served with the Argentine Navy.

The first ship of the class was ordered in 1968 and launched in 1971. Two of the class (Sheffield and Coventry) were lost to enemy action during the Falklands War of 1982. The Royal Navy used this class of destroyer for 38 years between 1975 and 2013.

No ships of this class remain active in the Royal Navy and both have also been retired from the Argentine Navy. The Royal Navy has replaced them with Type 45 destroyers.

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Sharpe, Richard, Jane's Fighting Ships 1992–93, pub Janes Information Group, 1992, ISBN 0-7106-0983-3, pp. 696–7
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Heyman, Charles The Armed Forces of the United Kingdom 1999–2000, pub Pen and Sword, 1998, ISBN 978-0-85052-621-9, pp. 40–41
  3. ^ Royal Navy (11 July 2013). A Global Force 2012/13 (PDF). Newsdesk Media. ISBN 978-1-906940-75-1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 September 2018. Complement as of 24 April 2013
  4. ^ Marriott, Leo: Royal Navy Destroyers since 1945, ISBN 0-7110-1817-0, Ian Allan Ltd, 1989