County class destroyer

The British destroyer HMS London (D16) underway in 1981

The County-class was a class of guided missile destroyer, the first such vessels built by the Royal Navy. Designed specifically around the Sea Slug anti-aircraft missile system, the primary role of these ships was area air-defense around the aircraft carrier task force in the nuclear-war environment.

In December 1963, Saudi Arabia cancelled their contract for four County-class destroyers and instead purchased a quartet of Soviet M57-class destroyers.

In the 1970s, the County-class destroyers all underwent a massive overhaul to use the newest version of the Sea Dart anti-aircraft missiles.

In the 1980s, the four ships of the third batch of County-class destroyers were transferred to the Chilean Navy.

Specifications

Original Configuration

• Type: Guided Missile Destroyer
• Service Period: 1952-1975
• Characteristics:
  • Length: 521 feet 6 inches (158.95 meters)
  • Beam: 54 feet (16.46 meters)
  • Draught: 21 feet (6.4 meters)
  • Displacement: 5,400 tons (Standard); 7,074 tons (Full Load)
• Crew: 471
• Propulsion: 2 × Babcock & Wilcox boilers, geared steam turbines, 36,000 shp, 4 × Metrovick G6 gas turbines, 36,000 shp
• Range: 4,500 nautical miles (8,334 kilometers) at 15 knots (27.78 km/h)
• Speed: 33 knots
• Sensor Suite:
  • AWADS-1 Information Processing System
  • Type 277/278 Air Search RDF
  • Type 901 Fire Control RDF
  • Type 903/904 Gun Fire Control RDF
  • Type 965 Air Search RDF
  • Type 992Q/993 Surface Search RDF
  • Type 174/177/184 Search ASDIC
  • Type 170 Attack ASDIC
• Armament:
  • 2 x QF 4.5"/55-caliber Mk.V dual purpose naval guns (2x2)
  • 1 x Sea Slug AAM Launcher (fires Sea Slug AAMs)
  • 2 x 4-cell Sea Cat AAM Launchers (fires Sea Cat AAMs)
  • 2 x Oerlikon 20mm anti-aircraft cannons
  • 6 x 12.75" torpedo tubes (2x3)
• Aircraft Carried: 1 x Westland Wessex maritime helicopter
• Aviation Facilities: Helicopter pad

1970s Rebuild

• Type: Guided Missile Destroyer
• Service Period: 1978-1986
• Characteristics:
• Characteristics:
  • Length: 521 feet 6 inches (158.95 meters)
  • Beam: 54 feet (16.46 meters)
  • Draught: 21 feet (6.4 meters)
  • Displacement: 5,400 tons (Standard); 7,074 tons (Full Load)
• Crew: 330
• Propulsion: 4 x Rolls Royce Olympus TM3 gas turbines, 2 x shafts, 112,000 shp
• Range: 6,300 nautical miles (11,668 kilometers) at 15 knots (27.78 km/h)
• Speed: 33 knots (61.12 km/h)
• Sensor Suite:
  • Type 996 E/F-Band Air Search RDF
  • Type 1022 D-Band Long Range Air/Surface Search RDF
  • Type 1007 Navigation RDF
  • Type 909 I/J-Band Fire Control RDF
  • Type 2016 ASDIC
  • Type 162 ASDIC
• Countermeasures:
  • Type 1032 Electronic Warfare Suite
• Armament:
  • 1 x 4.5"/55-caliber Mk.8 naval gun
  • 2 x Twin Arm Missile Launchers (fires GWS.30 Sea Dart AAMs)
  • 2 x 4-cannister Broadsword AShM Launchers
  • 2 x 12.75" triple torpedo tubes
  • 2 x 30mm Goalkeeper CIWS
• Aircraft Carried: 1 x Westland Lynx ASW helicopter
• Aviation Facilities: Helicopter Pad and Hangar

Unit Run

British Empire

Batch I

• HMS Rutland (DM 01)
• HMS Devonshire (DM 02)
• HMS Merseyside (DM 03)
• HMS Cheshire (DM 04)
• HMS Warwickshire (DM 05)
• HMS Hampshire (DM 06)
• HMS Cumbria (DM 07)
• HMS Lincolnshire (DM 08)
• HMS Sutherland (DM 09)
• HMS Caithness (DM 10)
• HMS Tweeddale (DM 11)

Batch II

• HMS Kent (DM 12) - Sold to Greece as Themistocles (D-221), scrapped later
• HMS Suffolk (DM 13) - Sold to Greece as Formion (D-220), scrapped later
• HMS York (DM 14) - Sold to Greece as Kimon (D-218), scrapped later
• HMS Northumberland (DM 15) - Sold to Greece as a parts hulk, scrapped later
• HMS London (DM 16) - Sold to Greece for parts, sunk as target later
• HMS Surrey (DM 17) - Sold to Greece as Nearchos (D-219), sunk as target later

Batch III

• HMS Antrim (DM 18) - sold to Chile, renamed BAC Almirante Cochrane (D-12) (1984-2008)
• HMS Glamorgan (DM 19) - sold to Chile, renamed BAC Almirante Latorre (D-13) (1986-2010)
• HMS Fife (DM 20) - sold to Chile, renamed BAC Blanco Encalada (D-14) (1987-2011)
• HMS Norfolk (DM 21) - sold to Chile, renamed BAC Capitán Prat (D-11) (1982-2006)

Saudi Arabia

• Unnamed - cancelled and reordered as Soviet M57-class destroyer
• Unnamed - cancelled and reordered as Soviet M57-class destroyer
• Unnamed - cancelled and reordered as Soviet M57-class destroyer
• Unnamed - cancelled and reordered as Soviet M57-class destroyer