So, the first step in addiction is admitting you have a problem. I have a problem. I cannot stop tinkering with ideas for surface combatants for my navy. I do believe this time however that I have done it for the last time, as now I'm going to review the lot of 'em and then pick one set for my re-post of my whole fleet now in the coming weeks. And not a moment too soon, because for every other ship (like my AOR or OPV) that I get done, I've got four or five of these blasted frigates/corvettes kicking about. Maddening I say, maddening
.
That being said, I blame Hood. Because just when I think I'm out, Hood will post a new design for the alternate RN that gives me two ideas, and I run with it. *fist shake*
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HMNFS Avalon, 1965
HMNFS Avalon, 1980
The
Avalon class were Newfoundland's first post-war frigate, designed to replace the WWII vintage destroyers in service. Designed as ASW boats, they were armed with some then-new weapon systems but were specifically intended to be solely ASW escorts and patrol-hunters, with only a passing secondary general-purpose design.
Armed with a 3" main gun, their main armament when launched were their Limbo ASW mortar and two twin Bidder torpedoes, as well as the capability to carrying an embarked helicopter. Secondaries included two triple SeaCat launchers mounted on extended decks over the Bidder tubes, and two single 40mm Bofors AA guns.
By the end of their service life, they had received some small modifications. The Limbo was removed to allow a quad SeaCat launcher to be mounted on the enclosed deck housing. The Bidders were replaced with two triple torpedo launchers. And the original SeaCat mountings were removed to allow four boxed Ikara launchers to be mounted. The first ship entered service in 1965, and the last left in 1992.
HMNFS Avalon
HMNFS Burin
HMNFS Bonavista
HMNFS Humber
HMNFS Beaumont Hamel, 1991
HMNFS Beaumont Hamel, 2011
The replacements for the
Avalon class were the more modern
Beaumont Hamel class GP frigates. Designed to serve as a more well rounded frigate with an ASW focus, and named for WWI battles of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment, these ships shared many design cues from the Type 21 and Type 22 frigates of the RN.
As launched they carried a single-arm Sea Wolf AA missile launcher on the bow, behind a 3" Oto Melara main gun. The four boxed Ikara launchers were repurposed from the
Avalons due to a delay in the development of the Narwhal ASW missile. Additional weapons included two triple torpedo launchers for the Stingray, two 20mm Oerlikon autocannons, and a single Phalanx CIWS. The latter was a last minute design addition due to lessons learned from the RN in the Falklands, and the US and RN fleets in the Persian Gulf War.
They have had a long and hard working career, and are currently in service with the RNFN awaiting their long-delayed replacements to enter service. Upgrades to the ship's weapons include the addition of the Harpoon ASuW and Narwhal ASW missiles, and upgrades to the Phalanx CIWS. Good sea-keeping boats and popular with their crews, they are the pride of the RNFN.
HMNFS Beaumont Hamel
HMNFS Gallipoli
HMNFS Cambrai
I'm going to buckle down and get the remainder of my fleet, as well as some WWII vintage ships, uploaded before my mind wanders back to the cold-war and early-modern vintage. If I try to upload new designs from that time...please smack me