The Type 14 ''Blackwood'' class were a

ship class A ship class is a group of ships of a similar design. This is distinct from a ship type, which might reflect a similarity of tonnage or intended use. For example, is a nuclear aircraft carrier (ship type) of the (ship class). In the course ...

of minimal "second-rate"

anti-submarine warfare Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations are t ...

frigates. Built for the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

during the 1950s at a time of increasing threat from the

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'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.Marriott,Leo, 'Royal Navy Frigates Since 1945', Second Edition, , Published by Ian Allan Ltd (Surrey, UK), 1990Purvis,M.K., 'Post War RN Frigate and Guided Missile Destroyer Design 1944–1969', Transactions, Royal Institution of Naval Architects (RINA), 1974

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 Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

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 sea boats 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 Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong *Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Traf ...

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 A gas turbine, also called a combustion turbine, is a type of continuous flow internal combustion engine. The main parts common to all gas turbine engines form the power-producing part (known as the gas generator or core) and are, in the directio ...

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 (non-cylindrical, streamlined) 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 (Type 21 & 22 Frigates, Type 42 destroyers, 'Invincible' class carriers).

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 The Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II marked the 25th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II on 6 February 1952. It was celebrated with large-scale parties and parades throughout the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth throughout 1977, ...

in 1977 and deployed again from the standby squadron in 1978.

In film

The 1960

Norman Wisdom Sir Norman Joseph Wisdom, (4 February 1915 – 4 October 2010) was an English actor, comedian, musician and singer best known for a series of comedy films produced between 1953 and 1966 featuring a hapless onscreen character often called Norman ...

film ''

The Bulldog Breed ''The Bulldog Breed'' is a 1960 British comedy film starring Norman Wisdom and directed by Robert Asher. Plot Norman Puckle (Norman Wisdom), a well-meaning but clumsy grocer's assistant, cannot seem to do anything right. After being rejected b ...

'' was made in Portland harbour with co-operation from the

, 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 (F62) appeared in 1961 British monster movie "Gorgo". HMS ''Dundas'' appeared in the

Ava Gardner Ava Lavinia Gardner (December 24, 1922 – January 25, 1990) was an American actress. She first signed a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1941 and appeared mainly in small roles until she drew critics' attention in 1946 with her perform ...

film ''

The Little Hut ''The Little Hut'' is a 1957 British romantic comedy film made by MGM starring Ava Gardner, Stewart Granger and David Niven. It was directed by Mark Robson, produced by Robson and F. Hugh Herbert, from a screenplay by Herbert, adapted by Nancy ...

'' 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 The Battle of Trafalgar (21 October 1805) was a naval engagement between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French and Spanish Navies during the War of the Third Coalition (August–December 1805) of the Napoleonic Wars (180 ...

. * –

Henry Blackwood Vice-Admiral Sir Henry Blackwood, 1st Baronet, GCH, KCB (28 December 1770 – 17 December 1832), whose memorial is in Killyleagh Parish Church, was a British sailor. Early life Blackwood was the fourth son of Sir John Blackwood, 2nd Baronet, ...

* – Adam Duncan * –

James Whitley Deans Dundas Admiral Sir James Whitley Deans Dundas GCB (4 December 1785 – 3 October 1862) was a Royal Navy officer. He took part in the Napoleonic Wars, first as a junior officer when he took part in the Anglo-Russian invasion of Holland in Autumn 1799 and ...

* –

Edward Pellew, 1st Viscount Exmouth Admiral Edward Pellew, 1st Viscount Exmouth, GCB (19 April 1757 – 23 January 1833) was a British naval officer. He fought during the American War of Independence, the French Revolutionary Wars, and the Napoleonic Wars. His younger brother I ...

* – Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Grafton * – Thomas Hardy * – Augustus Keppel * – Pulteney Malcolm * – George Murray * –

Hugh Palliser Admiral Sir Hugh Palliser, 1st Baronet (26 February 1723 – 19 March 1796) was a Royal Navy officer. As captain of the 58-gun HMS ''Eagle'' he engaged and defeated the French 50-gun ''Duc d'Aquitain'' off Ushant in May 1757 during the Seven Y ...

* –

Israel Pellew Admiral Sir Israel Pellew, KCB, RN (25 August 1758 – 19 July 1832), was an English naval officer who spent his career under the shadow of his more successful older brother Edward Pellew. Early naval service Pellew first went to sea aboard ...

* –

Thomas McNamara Russell Thomas McNamara Russell (died 22 July 1824) was an Admiral (Royal Navy), admiral in the Royal Navy. Russell's naval career spanned the American Revolutionary War, French Revolutionary War and Napoleonic War. Admiral Russell is best remembered fo ...

Indian Navy

Three ships were built for the

Indian Navy The Indian Navy is the maritime branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of Naval Staff, a four-star admiral, commands the navy. As a blue-water navy, it operates si ...

in the late 1950s * , sunk by the Pakistani submarine PNS ''Hangor'' on 8 December 1971 during the

Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 The Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 was a military confrontation between India and Pakistan that occurred during the Bangladesh Liberation War in East Pakistan from 3 December 1971 until the Pakistani capitulation in Dhaka on 16 Decem ...

* *

Construction programme

Footnotes

Publications

* Purvis, M.K., 'Post War RN Frigate and Guided Missile Destroyer Design 1944–1969', Transactions, Royal Institution of Naval Architects (RINA), 1974 * Marriott, Leo, 'Royal Navy Frigates Since 1945', Second Edition, , Published by Ian Allan Ltd (Surrey, UK), 1990 * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Blackwood Class Frigate Frigate classes Ship classes of the Royal Navy