HMS Manchester Cruiser

NEW SHIPS FOR NEW MISSIONS

In the aftermath of the cancellation of the Royal Navys carrier programme in 1966, the problem of air defence for the fleet became a top priority. With severe restrictions on size imposed to keep cost down, the designers had great difficulty in meeting the specification for an effective anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) destroyer, or DDG. The major weapon system was to be the GWS30 Sea Dart area defence missile, with anti-submarine warfare (ASW) as a secondary priority. The resulting Sheffield class were built in two batches, totalling ten ships, but in service their short hulls proved wet, and they were so cramped that little could be done to increase their close-range defence. To remedy this, a further Batch Ill group of four was ordered, with longer and beamier hulls, but otherwise identical in weapons and electronics.

BACKBONE OF THE SURFACE FLEET

HMS Manchester and her sister-ships Edinburgh, Gloucester and York were too late for service in the Falklands, but they have since done sterling service. The Royal Navys Armilla Patrol in the Persian Gulf protects shipping from air and surface attack from Iraqi or Iranian forces, and it always has a Type 42 destroyer on station. HMS Gloucester made history during the Gulf War in 1991 by shooting down a Chinese-made Silkworm anti-ship missile aimed at the Coalition bombardment group. The ships also have the ability to control and direct aircraft, and the Lynx helicopters Sea Skua missiles provide a powerful weapon against ships. As a result of a number of upgrades to weapons and electronics, the ships are now much more effective than when they were built.

TECHNICAL DATA
Type: Guided-missile destroyer Machinery: 2-shaft COGOG: two Olympus TM3B gas turbines, 50,000shp (3Okn); two Tyne RM gas turbines, 8000shp (1 8kn) Dimensions: Length, l4lim (463ft); beam, 14.9m (49ft)
Displacement: 4750t (standard)
Draught: 5.8m (191t)