Australian light destroyer project
An artist's impression of the light destroyer design as approved by the Government in August 1972
|
|
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Builders: | Williamstown Naval Dockyard (planned) |
| Operators: |
 Royal Australian Navy (planned) |
| Preceded by: | Daring-class destroyer and early River-class destroyer escort |
| Succeeded by: | Adelaide-class frigate |
| Built: | 1975–1984 (planned) |
| In commission: | 1980 (planned) |
| Planned: | 10 originally, later 3 |
| Completed: | 0 |
| Cancelled: | 3 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Light destroyer |
| Displacement: | 4,200 tons |
| Length: | 425 ft (129.5 m) |
| Beam: | 48 ft (14.6 m) |
| Propulsion: | Two shafts each with one Rolls-Royce Olympus and one Rolls-Royce Tyne gas turbine |
| Speed: | 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph) |
| Range: | Up to 6,000 mi (9,700 km) |
| Complement: | 210 |
| Sensors and processing systems: |
Automated combat data system |
| Armament: |
|
| Aircraft carried: | Two helicopters |
| Aviation facilities: | Hangar and stern flight deck |
| Notes: | Ship characteristics from Gillett (1988), p. 68 |
The Australian light destroyer project aimed to build a class of small destroyers for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). The project began in 1966 with the goal of developing simple light destroyers (DDL) to support patrol boat operations. The project was rescoped in 1969 when the Navy decided to use the ships to replace other destroyers as they retired, leading to an increase in the design's size and complexity. Concerns over the ships' cost and technological risk led the government to cancel the DDL project in 1973 on the RAN's advice, and a variant of the United States' Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate was procured instead.
From 1963 to 1966, RAN warships took part in the Indonesian Confrontation. During this period, Australian minesweepers and frigates patrolled Malaysia's coastline to counter Indonesian infiltration parties travelling in small craft. These ships also bombarded Indonesian positions in East Kalimantan near the border with Malaysia on several occasions. The RAN's experiences during this conflict led it to perceive a need for light destroyers and patrol boats tailored to Confrontation-type tasks.
When the DDL project began in 1966, the ships' role was to support patrol boats during anti-infiltration operations and complement the Navy's existing destroyer force. The intention was that the DDLs would be fast, simply armed and smaller than conventional destroyers. It was also hoped that a common DDL hull design could be used to produce variants optimised for different roles. The RAN and British Royal Navy (RN) held discussions in 1967 on jointly developing DDLs, but the RN withdrew from the project when the Australians insisted on arming the ships with United States-designed weapons.
...
Wikipedia