Blackwood-class frigate


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.

Design

The Type 14 frigates were designed to be cheaper and smaller than the expensive Type 12 frigates. Although they lacked gun armament, their anti-submarine armament of two Limbo mortars, Mk 20 torpedoes and sonar fit equalled the larger Type 12, and as the crews of the Type 14 concentrated almost entirely on practising anti-submarine warfare, they were often the most effective frigates in anti-submarine exercises until the mid 1960s. The class were entirely specialised for the anti-submarine role and hence had little capability in any other, though they did perform fishery protection duties during the confrontations with Iceland over fishing rights.
In the late 1950s, during their time on patrols around Iceland to ensure that Iceland did not interfere with British fishermen's attempts to fish, problems were found with the hulls of the Type 14s in such heavy waters, so that their hulls had to be strengthened to cope with these patrols. However, they proved to be good seaboats throughout the dispute, which continued into the mid-1970s. The low profile of the superstructure was a deliberate design feature to confuse enemy attackers. The Type 14 design was flawed by the lack of a gun, and also by general lack of space. After experience with these frigates, the Admiralty decided that quality was the top priority of all ships, even though it meant having a smaller fleet.
One of the ships, Exmouth, was later converted 1966–1968 to act as experimental trials vessel for gas turbine propulsion, becoming the first major warship of the Royal Navy to be entirely powered by gas turbines. In this configuration she was easily distinguishable from other members of the class due to her larger funnel and large air intakes sited immediately fore and aft of the funnel. The success of these trials led to the adoption of all-gas turbine propulsion as standard on subsequent Royal Navy warship designs.

Service

The Type 14s' limited size, at just, restricted them from operating past the 1970s as anti-submarine ships. Their small hull limited the extent of modifications and upgrades possible, preventing the Type 14s from being armed with more effective weapons, effectively rendering them obsolete. All were decommissioned in the 1970s. The last operational were the gas powered Exmouth in 1977 and Hardy which attended the Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II in 1977 and deployed again from the standby squadron in 1978.

In film

The 1960 Norman Wisdom film The Bulldog Breed was made in Portland harbour with co-operation from the Royal Navy, and features several of the Blackwood-class frigates. An early scene shows a flotilla of Type 14s led by.
The 1958 British comedy "Further Up The Creek" features the fictional HMS Aristotle, a type 14 frigate.
HMS Pellew appeared in 1961 British monster movie "Gorgo". HMS Dundas appeared in the Ava Gardner film The Little Hut in 1957.

Ships

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy ships were all named after British captains. Many had been in the Napoleonic wars and some were present at the Battle of Trafalgar.
Three ships were built for the Indian Navy in the late 1950s
NavyPennantName Hull builder
Main machinery manufacturers		Laid downLaunchedAccepted into serviceCommissionedEstimated building costFate
Royal NavyF54 & Yarrow and Co Ltd, Scotstoun, Glasgow4 February 195325 November 19538 December 195515 December 1955£1,449,000Operational to 1977,final active deployment from standby squadron in 1978, sunk as target 1983.
Royal NavyF48 & JS White and Co Ltd, Cowes, Isle of Wight17 October 195225 September 1953March 195616 March 1956£1,434,000Broken up 1983.
Royal NavyF91 & Alexander Stephen and Sons Ltd, Glasgow30 November 195322 February 19555 June 19565 June 1956£1,625,000Broken up 1970.
Royal NavyF85 & Yarrow and Co Ltd, Scotstoun, Glasgow27 March 195331 August 19546 July 19566 July 1956£1,506,000Broken up 1979.
Royal NavyF62 Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson Ltd, Wallsend-on-Tyne
The Wallsend Slipway & Engineering Co Ltd, Wallsend-on-Tyne		5 November 195329 September 195426 July 195626 July 1956£1,548,000Broken up 1971.
Royal NavyF51 & JS White and Co Ltd, Cowes, Isle of Wight25 February 195313 February 19548 January 19578 January 1957£1,411,000Broken up 1971.
Royal NavyF97 Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson Ltd, Wallsend-on-Tyne
The Wallsend Slipway & Engineering Co Ltd, Wallsend-on-Tyne		11 November 195310 December 19547 February 19577 February 1957£1,581,000Broken up 1985.
Royal NavyF78 & JI Thornycroft and Co Ltd, Woolston, Southampton14 September 19534 October 1955August 195722 August 1957£1,769,000Broken up 1976.
Royal NavyF88 Yarrow and Co Ltd, Scotstoun, Glasgow
Parsons Marine Steam Turbine Co, Wallsend-on-Tyne		1 February 195418 October 1955December 195712 December 1957£1,582,000Broken up 1978.
Royal NavyF94 & Alexander Stephen and Sons Ltd, Glasgow15 March 195510 May 1956December 195713 December 1957£1,620,000Broken up 1983.
Royal NavyF84 & JS White and Co Ltd, Cowes, Isle of Wight24 March 195416 November 1955December 195720 December 1957£1,422,000Broken up 1979.
Royal NavyF80 & JI Thornycroft and Co Ltd, Woolston, Southampton17 December 195330 May 1957October 195821 October 1958£1,960,000Broken up 1985.
Indian NavyF149 & JS White and Co Ltd, Cowes, Isle of Wight29 December 195520 November 195616 July 1958Torpedoed and sunk by the Pakistan submarine Hangor 9 December 1971.
Indian NavyF144 & Alexander Stephen and Sons Ltd, Glasgow5 November 195619 August 1958July 1959Transferred to Coast Guard Service 1978. Decommissioned 1987.
Indian NavyF146 & JS White and Co Ltd, Cowes, Isle of Wight19 September 195714 October 1958November 1959Transferred to Coast Guard Service 1978. Decommissioned September 1988.

Footnotes

Publications

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