Type 22 Broadsword frigate Development and Evolution
The final design of the Type 22 Broadsword class was a vessel the size of a wartime cruiser, though armed with only four Exocet anti ship missiles, two sets of torpedo tubes, two 40mm guns in the bridge wings and two Lynx helicopters. Crucially, they were also armed with two sextuple launchers for the new Seawolf anti-missile missile system. The absence of main gun armament proved to be a thorny issue. Internally, the electronics fit was a quantum leap beyond that of previous ships, and gave the Royal Navy an edge. The first ship of the class, HMS Broadsword entered service in 1979 followed by Battleaxe, Brilliant and and Brazen. Two of the Batch 1 frigates (HMS BROADSWORD and HMS BRILLIANT) served with distinction in the Falkland's war and HMS BRILLIANT was the subject of a BBC documentary shortly before she was decommissioned.
The Type 22 frigate was introduced in three Batches. When first commissioned the complement of crew carried by a Batch 1 Type 22 frigate was 229. The current complement has increased slightly to 243 on the latest Batch. As of 1998 there were no plans to specifically refit Type 22 frigates with less manpower-intensive equipment.
Lessons learned in the Falklands War saw changes in subsequent ships of the class, adding extra length to the ship and giving them a much more rakish bow. The Batch 2 and Batch 3 Type 22 frigates were 500 tons heavier than the Batch 1, and were also extended by some 15 meters. The Batch II vessels had a full-load tonnage of 4,600 [about 600 t greater] and an overall length of 471 ft as compared with 430 feet. This increased the stability of the ships along with improving the command facilities. These ships became known as Batch 2 Type 22 and comprised HMS's Boxer, Beaver, Brave, London, Sheffield and Coventry. Most of the changes to these ships were internal, with the armament remaining the same at Batch 1 ships. While batch 2 Type 22 frigates are dedicated ASW frigates, they were also capable of fulfilling other roles.
The Batch 3 Type 22 frigates are general-purpose frigates. The four ships that made up Batch 3 of the Type 22 were so different from the ships given names starting with the letter B, that it was decided to start them with the letter 'C' instead. HMSs Cornwall, Cumberland, Chatham and Campbeltown were armed to the teeth with a 4.5inch gun, 2 Seawolf missile systems, 8 Harpoon anti ship missiles, a Goalkeeper Close in Weapon system, 2 torpedo tubes and a Lynx or Merlin helicopter armed with anti ship and anti submarine weapons.
The Batch 3 has a 114mm gun, added in consequence of experience in the Falklands War, where the Batch 1 Type 22s which served there were at a disadvantage in the absence of the gun. As of 2002 the 4.5 inch (114mm) Mark VIII Mod 1 gun had already been fitted to the Type 22 Batch 3 Frigate, HMS Cumberland and to the Type 23 Frigates, HMS Norfolk and HMS Iron Duke. HMS Marlborough and HMS Monmouth, both Type 23 Frigates, would be fitted with the updated gun during their upkeep periods. It was planned that the remaining Type 22 Batch 3 and Type 23 Frigates will be fitted with the gun at a rate of two to three per year, during programmed maintenance and repair periods. The 114mm gun is the same as that found on the Type 23, and is capable of firing at a rate of 25rpm at a range of up to 22km.
The second significant difference is that the Batch 3 is equipped with the Harpoon SSM system rather than the Exocet. The Exocet missile launcher was removed from the batch 2 Type 22 Frigate HMS Sheffield because the variant of the missile used by the RN was now obsolete and no longer in Naval service. There were no plans to replace the launcher. HMS Sheffield remained armed with a potent mixture of weapons and sensors including Seawolf Anti-Air Missiles, Stingray Anti-Submarine Torpedoes and a helicopter able to carry the Sea Skua Anti-ship missile. There were no plans to remove the launchers from the remaining batch 2 vessels in this class as, given their relatively short remaining life, it would not be economic to do so.
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