GreyFunnel

Type 45 Destroyer

2011-09-20T09:51:00.000-07:00

"Daring" Class Type 45 Destroyer

The Type 45 Destroyer, also known as "Daring" Class Destroyers, is the Royal Navy's newest class of Air Defence Warships.

HMS Daring during Sea Trials

They are the largest destroyers ever built for the Royal Navy and are currently replacing the aging Type 42 fleet.
14 Type 42 Destroyers were built originally, with 2 being sunk in the Falkland War and several being decommissioned since.

HMS Cardiff - Type 42 Destroyer

Originally it was expected the MoD would replace Type-42 destroyers with 12 T45's (almost a like-for-like trade for the previous T42's). This was cut down to 8 in 2008, and again down to 6 causing controversy that the Royal Navy will be left with an insufficient number of ships to protect the fleet.

Each Type 45 can simultaneously track, engage and destroy more targets than 5 Type 42 Destroyers working together. Some justification can be seen in the above fact that a reduced fleet of 45s will be more capable than the previous full fleet of 42s.

"Daring" Class Destroyer. Britain's most advanced destroyer ever.

Specification:

Displacement:	7,500 tonnes (up to 8,100 Fully Loaded)
Length:	152.4m (500 ft)
Beam:	21.2m (69 ft 7 in)
Draught:	7.4m (24 ft 3 in)
Speed:	Excess of 29kn (33 mph)
Range:	7,000nm (13,000km @ 18kn)
Complement:	190 (accommodation for an extra 45)

Names

The Type 45's will be called the following:

HMS Daring D32
HMS Dauntless D33
HMS Diamond D34
HMS Dragon D35
HMS Defender D36
HMS Duncan D37

Propulsion System

The T45 use an integrated electric propulsion system.

2x Rolls-Royce WR-21 gas turbine alternators
2x Wärtsilä 12V 200 diesel generators
2x Converteam advanced induction motors (with outputs of 20 MW (27,000 hp))

Aircraft

The flight deck of the T45 is big enough to accomodate aircraft up to the size of a Chinook.

Each destroyer will be able to operate:

2x Lynx HMA 8 Helicopters

Sea Skua anti-ship missiles
Sting Ray torpedoes

Lynx HMA.8 - Type 45 can carry 2 of these at one time

1x Merlin HM1 Helicopter

Sting Ray torpedoes
Dipping Sonar
Sonobuoys

Merlin HM1 - Can be used for Anti Submarinne Warfare

Armament

Anti Air:

Sea Viper missile system

SAMPSON multi-function air tracking radar
S1850M 3D air surveillance radar
48× MBDA Aster missiles (mix of Aster 15 and Aster 30) in six 8-cell SYLVER A50 vertical launchers.

Sea Viper missile being launched from HMS Daring

Guns

1× BAE Systems 4.5 inch Mk 8 mod 1 gun. (The Darings are designed to accommodate a 155 mm gun upgrade currently being studied by the RN)
2× Oerlikon 30 mm KCB guns on single DS-30B mounts
2× Miniguns and up to 6× General Purpose Machine Guns
2× Phalanx 20 mm close-in weapons systems

Anti-ship

Fitted 'for but not with' 2× quadruple RGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship missile launchers.
The embarked Lynx HMA 8 helicopter is capable of carrying Sea Skua anti-ship missiles.
The 4.5 inch Mark 8 naval gun has an anti-ship role.

Anti-submarine

MFS 7000 sonar
Helicopter Support (read Aircraft)

HMS Daring alongside at HMNB Portsmout

EMALS selected as Royal Navy's choice of Catapult.

2011-09-13T02:34:00.000-07:00

Dr Fox has confirmed that the new carriers being built for the Royal Navy will use the American designed "EMALS" system for catapult launch. EMALS stands for Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System and is currently being designed by General Atomics for the United States Navy. It is due to be fitted on to the future Ford class carriers, and it now looks like the Queen Elizabeth class will eventually have it too.

Instead of using the conventional steam pistons to launch an aircraft, EMALS uses a linear motor drive which can be accurately adjusted to different amounts of energy. EMALS generates magnetic fields using the electric currents produced by the linear motor to propel the undercarriage of the aircraft down a track.

EMALS Rail Launcher

The linear induction motor consists of a row of stator coils that have the function of a conventional motor’s rotor. When energized, the motor accelerates the carriage down the track. Only the section of the coils surrounding the carriage is energized at any given time, minimizing reactive losses. The EMALS' 300-foot (91 m) LIM will accelerate a 100,000-pound (45,000 kg) aircraft to 130 knots (240 km/h).

HMS Queen Elizabeth, which is already underway in the building process, will be fitted for but not with EMALS. It is likely that the system will be installed during her first major refit (some time after HMS Prince of Wales comes in to service)

HMS Prince of Wales is due to enter service with EMALS already fitted, something which has been controversial from the start.

General Atomics team work on EMALS

There are many design advantages to having an electromagnetic system in place over the conventional steam version. EMALS is more efficient, requires less power, weighs a lot less and does not need the same manpower to maintain the system. It is thought that EMALS will be able to provide ~30% more energy output (122MJoules of energy) and this will be able to be accurately adjusted to the dependence of the aircraft. This is likely to see the use of heavy fighters and UAVs on the same flight deck.

F/A-18E is launched for the first time using EMALS

There was speculation that the Royal Navy would purchase EMCAT (Electromagnetic Catapult), a similar design from company Converteam UK. The UK Government had given Converteam a fund for researching, with an official decision not to be made until 2012.

It is likely that EMALS was selected over EMCAT due to the position it is in development. Several flights have been successfully launched using EMALS, whereas EMCAT is still in prototype production.

Welcome!

2011-09-12T06:39:00.000-07:00

This blog is set up to inform people who are interested in the current fleet of the Royal Navy, as well as the future of the RN.

There is no official connection between myself and the Royal Navy concerning this website, and all opinions made are purely mine and do not represent the Royal Navy.

This blog is fairly new, it is my first and I am learning as I go so please be aware that I may be doing things wrong without knowing it!

I encourage all comments and articles, photos or opinions you may have - please leave a comment as it would be helpful to see what I am doing right/wrong.

Royal Navy's Commissioned Ships

2011-09-05T05:58:00.000-07:00

The Royal Navy has seen its fleet shrink to the smallest number of ships since the 1500's. This doesn't mean it is weak however, with advanced technology taking over the need for masses of metal floating in the water.

Recently the nation lost 2 Invincible-Class carriers, HMS Ark Royal and HMS Invincible, but one remains and has been through refit to turn it into a Helicopter Landing Platform (similar to HMS Ocean)

Plan is to write posts for each class of ship to link from here. Maybe even one day do a biography-style post for every ship? Who knows..

The ships are as follows:

Invincible-Class Carrier
HMS Illustrious

Amphibious Assault Ship
HMS Ocean

Albion-Class Landing Platform Docks
HMS Albion
HMS Bulwark

Type-45 Destroyers
HMS Daring
HMS Dauntless
HMS Diamond
HMS Dragon

Type-42 Destroyers
HMS Liverpool
HMS Edinburgh
HMS York

Type-23 Frigates
HMS Argyll
HMS Lancaster
HMS Iron Duke
HMS Monmouth
HMS Montrose
HMS Westminster
HMS Northumberland
HMS Richmond
HMS Somerset
HMS Kent
HMS Portland
HMS St Albans

Astute-Class Submarines
HMS Astute

Vanguard-Class Submarines
HMS Vanguard
HMS Victorious
HMS Vigilant
HMS Vengeance

Trafalgar-Class Submarines
HMS Turbulent
HMS Tireless
HMS Torbay
HMS Trenchant
HMS Talent
HMS Triumph

Sandown-Class Mine Countermeasure Vessels
HMS Penzance
HMS Pembroke
HMS Grimsby
HMS Bangor
HMS Ramsey
HMS Blythe
HMS Shoreham

Hunt-Class Mine Countermeasure Vessels
HMS Ledbuery
HMS Cattsistock
HMS Brocklesby
HMS Middleton
HMS Chiddingfold
HMS Atherstone
HMS Hunworth
HMS Quorn

River-Class Patrol Vessels
HMS Mersey
HMS Severn
HMS Tyne
HMS Clyde

Archer-Class (P2000) Fast Patrol Boat
HMS Archer
HMS Biter
HMS Smiter
HMS Blazer
HMS Puncher
HMS Charger
HMS Ranger
HMS Trumpeter
HMS Express
HMS Example
HMS Explorer
HMS Exploit
HMS Tracker
HMS Raider
HMS Pursuer
HMS Dasher

Scimitar-Class Fast Patrol Boats
HMS Scimitar
HMS Sabre

Survery Vessels
HMS Scott
HMS Gleaner
HMS Echo
HMS Enterprise

Other Ships Commisioned
HMS Bristol - Type 82 Destroyer
HMS Victory - Not active
HMS Endurance - Icebreaker - Not active

Queen Elizabeth Class Carriers

2011-08-30T06:21:00.000-07:00

Concept of a Queen Elizabeth class carrier

The Queen Elizabeth Class Carriers are a class of aircraft carriers currently being built for the Royal Navy.

The plans are for two ships to be built; HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales, the latter potentially not entering service.

These carriers will succeed the previous Invincible class, with many modifications and improvements that will give a wide range of capabilities.

The QE class is being designed to accomodate several types of aircraft. The main complement will be the F-35C Lightning II jet, designed to be a 5th generation fighter jet that will be able to complete various objectives off the giant platform. It will also be able to house several types of rotary wing aircraft, such as Sea Kings, Lynx, Merlins, Chinooks and even Apaches. Due to using CATOBAR (Catapult Assisted Take Off But Arrested Recovery), aircraft from other services such as the RAF, USAF and ALA will be able to operate from the carriers.

Concept - F35C taking off from a US Nimitz Aircraft Carrier

The maximum embarked air group is to be 36 F-35C jets and 4 Early Warning Aircraft - this is twice the capacity of the previous HMS Ark Royal. It can also be used to land foreign aircraft due to the change to CATOBAR.

Two Chinooks on the Flight Deck of HMS Queen Elizabeth (Representation)

Each QE Carrier will be 284m in length, the longest ship to enter service. This is around 75m longer than the previous Invincible Class Carriers, and weighing in at 65,000 tonnes also makes the QE class over 3x larger than the Invincible too.

Although these carriers are bigger than the previous Invincible class, they only require 600 crew compared to the 720 that was used in the previous class of carriers.

A good idea of how big these carriers are in relation to the "competition" can be seen in the following picture:


QE design has slightly changed, but it is still a fairly accurate comparison.

Although not as big as the RU Kuznetsov, the QE class will be more technologically advanced and will have a wider capability than the Russian counterpart ever did. It also sports a larger flight deck which can be (and likely for HMS Queen Elizabeth) used as a Helicopter Landing Dock, either as a replacement or in party with HMS Ocean.

HMS Ocean - The Royal Navy's Helicopter Carrier

Royal Navy's future Joint Combat Aircraft - F-35

2011-08-30T02:18:00.000-07:00

JSF/JCA Winner: F-35 Lightning II

In 2001 the F-35 was declared as the winner of the US Department of Defence JSF (Joint Strike Fighter) competition. The UK name for this aircraft is the JCA (Joint Combat Aircraft)

The objective of the F-35 is to provide a set of 3 different, yet similar, aircraft capable of multi-role combat. To reduce production, research and maintenance costs each of the 3 airframes required 70-90% similar airframes.

The F-35 is a joint program between the US (Lockheed Martin & Northrop Grumman) and UK (BAE Systems). It is the largest defence programme with initial customers having a requirement of around 3,000 aircraft.

The 3 "variants" of the F35:

F-35A - To be used by the USAF (United States Air Force). Designed as a CTOL (Conventional Take Off & Landing) providing mainly air-to-air (with the possibility for air-to-ground) combat.
F-35B - To be used by the USMC (United States Marine Core). This variant is STOVL (Short Take Off & Vertical Landing).
F-35C - To be used by the US Navy and RN (Royal Navy). This variant is CV (Carrier Variant) and uses catapults to launch the aircraft, and arrestor wire to bring the aircraft to a stop during landing.

F-35C taking off via catapult

Originally the F-35B was the choice of aircraft for the MOD (Ministry of Defence) but this was later changed to the F-35C after the October 2010 SDSR (Strategic Defence & Security Review). This is mainly due to the Carrier Variant being able to operate off the planned CVF Aircraft Carriers.

Powerful electromagnetic catapults can propel the jet to take-off speed within seconds giving the aircraft the capability to take increased fuel and weapons on missions

F-35C Variant during testing

The F-35C sports larger wings (~45% larger than the F-35A/B), tough arresting gear and a new catapult system. The large wing area means that more fuel can be held and therefore longer missions are possible. F-35C also has slats, larger horizontal tails and control surfaces to allow for reduced low-speed landings. The wings can be folded when landed to save space on board the carrier.

The F-35C can be loaded with more fuel and ordnance than F-35B due to the launch technique which means the carrier variant will be able to operate to distances up to 3,000km which is around 1,000km further than the STOVL variant.

Brief History of the Royal Navy: Pre-1900

2011-08-30T01:54:00.000-07:00

Pre-1900

The Royal Navy is the Naval Warfare branch of the British Armed Forces. It was founded in the 16th century and has been a prominent example since the 17th century. For over 300 years it was considered the most powerful navy in the world, providing dominant world power through the English Empire. It is still considered today as one of the most powerful Navy's only second to US Navy.

Many important battles were fought and won to maintain British interest, whether that was to stop invasion or to keep her empire safe. Towards the end of the 1700's, the Royal Navy's power came to a peak winning a succession of large battles.

1794 - Third Battle of Ushant
1797 - Battle of Camperdown
1798 - Battle of the Nile
1801 - Battle of Copenhagen
1805 - Battle of Trafalgar

The most memorable battle was in 1805 where a ruling Napoleon had mustered up Spanish and French ships to invade Britain.

21 October 1805 - Battle of Trafalgar

27 ships were led in to battle by Admiral Lord Nelson who defeated 33 Spanish & French ships in the Battle of Trafalgar without a single British ship being lost. This confirmed the naval supremacy that Britain had established over the previous century.

Her Majesty's Royal Navy Establishments

2011-08-18T06:34:00.001-07:00

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy has 12 establishments, nicknamed Stone Frigates, to conduct training or operations from.

Naval Bases

HMS Drake (HMNB Devonport)

HMS Nelson (HMNB Portsmouth)

HMS Neptune (HMNB Clyde)

Air Stations

HMS Seahawk (RNAS Culdrose)

HMS Gannet (RNAS Prestwick)

HMS Heron (RNAS Yeovilton)

Training Establishments

HMS Collingwood

HMS Dartmouth

HMS Excellent

HMS Raleigh

HMS Sultan

HMS Temeraire

Other
HMS Saker

HMS Agrippa

Royal Marines

Although the Royal Marines are part of the Royal Navy, they have their own training establishments across the country.

Commando Training Centre Royal Marines

HQ 3 Commando Brigade

RM Poole

RM Condor

Norton Manor Camp

Bickleigh Barracks

RM Chivenor

RM Instow

HMS Daring	D32
HMS Dauntless	D33
HMS Diamond	D34
HMS Dragon	D35
HMS Defender	D36
HMS Duncan	D37