View source for Whitby-class frigate

{{Short description|Class of frigate of the Royal Navy}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}}

{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=Brits vlootbezoek aan Amsterdam twee van de drie fregatten op het IJ, Bestanddeelnr 922-4544.jpg
|Ship caption=HMS ''Tenby'', a ''Whitby''-class frigate, in Amsterdam, 1969
}}
{{Infobox ship class overview
|Name=''Whitby'' class
|Builders=*[[Vickers Armstrongs]], [[Barrow-in-Furness|Barrow]]
*[[Cammell Laird]], [[Birkenhead]]
*[[Harland & Wolff]], [[Belfast]]
|Operators=*{{navy|United Kingdom}}
*{{navy|India}}
*{{navy|New Zealand}}
|Class before=[[Type system of the Royal Navy#Types 11-40, Anti-Submarine Escorts|Type 11]] (never built)
|Class after={{sclass|Rothesay|frigate|4}}
|Subclasses=
|Cost=
|Built range=
|In service range=
|In commission range= 10 May 1956 (RN) – 31 August 1992 (IN)<ref name="eminence"/>
|Total ships building=
|Total ships planned=
|Total ships completed=6 + 2 Indian
|Total ships cancelled=
|Total ships active=
|Total ships laid up=
|Total ships lost=
|Total ships retired=
|Total ships preserved=
}}{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship type=[[Frigate]]
|Ship displacement=*2,150 [[long ton|tons]] (2,185 [[tonne]]s)
*2,560 tons full load (2,600 tonnes)
|Ship length=*{{convert|360|ft|m|abbr=on}} [[Length at the waterline|w/l]]
*{{convert|370|ft|m|abbr=on}} [[Length overall|o/a]]
|Ship beam={{convert|41|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship draught={{convert|17|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship power=
|Ship propulsion=Y-100 plant; 2 [[Babcock & Wilcox]] boilers, 2 [[English Electric]] steam turbines, 2 shafts, {{convert|30000|shp|kW|abbr=on}}
|Ship speed={{convert|30|kn|km/h|0|abbr=on}}
|Ship range=370 tons oil fuel, {{convert|4200|nmi|km|-1|abbr=on}} at {{convert|12|kn|km/h|0}}
|Ship endurance=
|Ship complement=152, later 225
|Ship time to activate=
|Ship sensors=
* Radar Type 293Q target indication, later;
** Radar Type 993
* Radar Type 277Q height finding (later removed)
* Radar Type 275 fire control on director Mark 6M
* Radar Type 262 fire control on STAAG
* Radar Type 974 navigation
* Type 1010 Cossor Mark 10 IFF
* Sonar Type 174 search
* Sonar Type 162 target classification
* Sonar Type 170 attack
|Ship EW=
|Ship armament=
* 1 × [[QF 4.5 inch naval gun|twin 4.5&nbsp;in (113&nbsp;mm) gun Mark 6]]
* 1 × twin [[Bofors 40 mm Automatic Gun L/60|40&nbsp;mm Bofors gun]] Mark 2 STAAG, later;
** 1 × single 40&nbsp;mm Bofors gun Mark 7
* 2 × [[Limbo (weapon)|Limbo anti-submarine mortar]] Mark 10
* 12 × {{convert|21|in|mm|adj=on|0}} anti-submarine [[torpedo tube]]s (removed or never shipped)
|Ship armour=
|Ship aircraft=
|Ship aircraft facilities=
|Ship notes=
}}
|}

The '''Type 12''' or '''''Whitby''-class frigates''' were a six-ship [[ship class|class]] of [[anti-submarine warfare|anti-submarine]] frigates of the [[Royal Navy]], which entered service late in the 1950s.<ref name=1974RINApaper>Purvis, 1974</ref>{{page needed|date=June 2022}}<ref name=Marriott>Marriott 1990</ref>{{page needed|date=June 2022}} They were designed in the early 1950s as first-rate ocean-going convoy escorts, in the light of experience gained during [[World War II]]. At this time, the Royal Navy were designing single-role escorts and the ''Whitby''s were designed as fast convoy escorts capable of tackling high-speed submarines. However, this made the ''Whitby''s more expensive and sophisticated to produce in large numbers in the event of a major war, and so the [[Blackwood class frigate|Type 14]] "utility" or "second-rate" anti-submarine frigate was developed to complement the Type 12. Although themselves rapidly outdated, the Type 12 proved to be an excellent basis for a series of frigate designs used by the British and Commonwealth navies for the next 20 years.

==Design==
Critical to the design of the Type 12<ref name="1974RINApaper" />{{page needed|date=June 2022}}<ref name="Marriott" />{{page needed|date=June 2022}} was the capability to steam for long periods of time in heavy seas, economically and at high speed. For this reason a novel [[Hull (watercraft)|hull]] form was devised, which, despite its appearance, was totally unrelated to that of the earlier [[Type 41 frigate|Type 41]] / [[Type 61 frigate|Type 61]] design. The hull showed the fine lines more typical of a destroyer, but had a raised forecastle with considerable flare. The forecastle deck was level to maintain maximum [[Freeboard (nautical)|freeboard]] aft of the stem where it is most likely that waves will break across the deck. These two features meant that the hull not only cut through the water, but that spray was thrown upwards and outwards, away from the [[Bridge (ship)|bridge]] and gun turret. This was especially important in high latitudes where war experience had shown that spray could cause rapid and undesirable ice build-up on the forecastle. The deck edges and hull also met at a curve rather than an angle, the anchors were recessed, and protrusions were kept to a minimum to limit the potential sources of ice build-up and spray generation. The [[Mark 6 gunhouse]] was large and heavy, so had to be carried low to maintain stability and give a good view over it from the bridge. The forecastle therefore had a very distinctive kink, allowing the position of the guns to be lowered. This had the added benefit of moving the bridge aft, where there was considerably less motion, improving the lot of the watchkeeper. The hull form, coupled with a twin-shaft double-reduction geared steam turbine plant (the Y-100) that operated at high temperature and pressure (for efficiency) and low revolutions, with new five-bladed [[cavitation|low-cavitation]] propellers (for efficiency and quietness) lent themselves to the perfect hull for a high-speed, all-weather anti-submarine vessel.

Experience with the [[Type 15 frigate]] program, rebuilding wartime destroyers into fast anti-submarine frigates, had led to the adoption of a [[Bridge (ship)|bridge]] design characteristic of [[Royal Navy]] escorts up to the {{sclass|Leander|frigate|4}} of 1969. The covered bridge, where the ship was conned, was located above the operations room where the ship was fought, and there was a small pilot's position located to the front of the bridge, giving the indicative "T" shape when viewed from above. ''Whitby'' was unique in that her bridge face was vertical, her sisters having the windows mounted at an angle to the face, to cut down on internal reflections inside the bridge in low-light. There was also an open navigation bridge located above and behind the enclosed one.

The original funnel was a straight, cylindrical affair that was designed to resist a nuclear blast, but this was prone to down-draughting and did not clear the hot exhaust gasses particularly well. It was replaced by a heightened, raked, streamlined version with a characteristic domed top. This was incorporated in later build vessels, and in all of the subsequent {{sclass|Rothesay|frigate|4}}. Only ''Scarborough'' retained the stubby vertical funnel throughout her career.

==Armament==
The armament<ref name="1974RINApaper" />{{page needed|date=June 2022}}<ref name="Marriott" />{{page needed|date=June 2022}} was based around two [[Limbo (weapon)|Limbo Mark 10]] anti-submarine mortars. This allowed a three-bomb salvo to be placed both above and below the target, creating a convergent pressure wave more likely to assure a kill. The Limbos were mounted in a well on the quarterdeck, with a 360° [[arc of fire]]. Again, wartime experience had shown that the quarterdeck, perhaps not an obvious location for an ahead throwing weapon, was indeed the best location for such weapons where they were out of the spray towards the front of the vessel. The Limbo mortars were controlled by three sonars, the Type 174 search set, Type 162 target classification set and the Type 170 'pencil beam' targeting set. The lattice foremast carried the [[Type 293 radar|Type 293Q]] target indication set and the Type 974 navigation set, and a [[Type 277 radar|Type 277Q]] height finder was carried on a stump mast between the bridge and the mainmast. These sets were all derived from units of Second World War vintage.{{citation needed|date=June 2022}}

Carrying the Limbos aft allowed the forecastle to be left clear for the [[QF 4.5-inch Mk I – V naval gun|twin 4.5in Mark 6 gun]] for anti-surface and limited anti-aircraft fire, controlled by a Mark 6M director with [[Type 285 radar]] mounted behind the bridge. Further anti-submarine capability was to be afforded by twelve [[British 21-inch torpedo#Mark 20 Bidder|21-inch Mark 20E "Bidder"]] anti-submarine homing torpedoes, carried in fixed tubes; Four pairs were fixed firing forward on either beam, with a trainable pair behind these on each side. Ultimately the E (for "Escort" vessels) version of the Mark 20 torpedo was a failure as it was not nearly fast enough to catch its intended target, and the tubes were removed (in those cases where they had been fitted at all) and the torpedoes never deployed.

Self-defence against aircraft was provided by the elaborate STAAG weapon, a complex and ultimately failed exercise in engineering.{{citation needed|date=June 2022}} The STAAG (Stabilised Tachymetric Anti-Aircraft Gun), consisted of two [[Bofors 40 mm Automatic Gun L/60|Bofors 40 mm L/60 guns]], the radar Type 262 fire control set and a tachymetric computer. All this was carried on a common, stabilised, powered-operated gun mounting. Intended to function much as the modern [[close-in weapon system]] does, this weapon was ahead of the limits of technology at the time; it was overweight and overly complex and its sensitive [[thermionic valve|valve electronics]] were a maintenance nightmare. Ultimately STAAG would be replaced by a simple and ubiquitous Bofors 40&nbsp;mm gun on the single Mark 7 mounting.

==Service==
The ''Whitby''s served up until the 1970s,<ref name="1974RINApaper" />{{page needed|date=June 2022}}<ref name="Marriott" />{{page needed|date=June 2022}} when increasing age and defence economies led to their gradual withdrawal or reassignment. In 1966, ''Blackpool'' was loaned to the [[Royal New Zealand Navy]], while they waited for the delivery of {{HMNZS|Canterbury|F421|6}}, a ''Leander''-class frigate. It would remain in New Zealand service until 1971 when it returned to the Royal Navy, and decommissioned that same year. All other ships, except ''Eastbourne'' and {{HMS|Torquay|F43|2}}, were decommissioned in the 1970s. The latter two ships were decommissioned in 1984 and 1985 respectively. ''Scarborough'' and ''Tenby'' were intended to have been sold to [[Pakistan]], but the country could not afford the refits required for the two ships, and thus the sale was cancelled. ''Blackpool'' was decommissioned for use as a target vessel in the [[Firth of Forth]]. After HMS ''Eastbourne'' was rammed in the [[Third Cod War]] in 1976, structural damage prevented further sea service, although the frigate and its steam turbines were still in good condition and  ''Eastbourne'' became an engine room training ship alongside at {{HMS|Caledonia|1946 shore establishment|6}} at [[Rosyth]]. ''Torquay'' was modified and fitted with Computer Assisted Action Information System (CAAIS) for use as a trials and training ship.

==Construction programme==
{|class="wikitable" style="font-size:97%;"
|-valign=top
!  | [[Pennant number|Pennant]]
!  | Name
! width="20%"|(a) Hull builder<br />(b) Main machinery manufacturers
!  | Ordered
!  | Laid down
!  | Launched
!  | Accepted into service
!  | Commissioned
!  | Estimated building cost{{efn|"Unit cost, i.e. excluding cost of certain items (e.g. aircraft, First Outfits)."<ref>''Defences Estimates''</ref> }}
! width="20%"|Fate
|-valign=top
! colspan=9 align="center" | {{navy|United Kingdom}}
|-valign=top
|  | F43
|  | [[HMS Torquay (F43)|''Torquay'']]
|  | (a) & (b) [[Harland & Wolff|Harland & Wolff Ltd]], [[Belfast]]<ref name=NE1957/>
|  | 6 March 1951<ref name=Warship2004p134/>
|  | 11 March 1953<ref name=Warship2004p134/>
|  | 1 July 1954<ref name=Warship2004p134/>
|  | 10 May 1956<ref name=NE1957/>
|  | 10 May 1956<ref name=Warship2004p134/>
|  | £2,769,000<ref name=NE1957/>
|  | [[Ship commissioning#Ship decommissioning|Paid off]] 1985, sold for scrapping 1987
|-valign=top
|  | F36
|  | [[HMS Whitby (F36)|''Whitby'']]
|  | (a) & (b) [[Cammell Laird|Cammell Laird and Co Ltd]], [[Birkenhead]]<ref name=NE1957>''Navy Estimates, 1957–58'', pages 234–5, "List and particulars of new ships which have been accepted or are expected to be accepted into HM service during the Financial Year ended 31 March 1957"</ref>
|  | 2 February 1951<ref name=Warship2004p134>Moore 2004, page 134.</ref>
|  | 30 September 1952<ref name=Warship2004p134/>
|  | 2 July 1954<ref name=Warship2004p134/>
|  | 19 July 1956<ref name=NE1957/>
|  | 10 July 1956
|  | £3,081,000<ref name=NE1957/>
|  | Paid off 1974, sold for scrapping 1979
|-valign=top
|  | F63
|  | [[HMS Scarborough (F63)|''Scarborough'']]
|  | (a) Vickers Armstrongs (Shipbuilders) Ltd, Newcastle upon Tyne <br /> (b) Vickers Armstrongs (Engineers) Ltd, Barrow-in-Furness<ref name=NE1958/>
|  | 6 March 1951<ref name=Warship2004p134/>
|  | 11 September 1953<ref name=Warship2004p134/>
|  | 4 April 1955<ref name=Warship2004p134/>
|  | May 1957<ref name=NE1958/>
|  | 10 May 1957<ref name=Warship2004p134/>
|  | £2,737,000<ref name=NE1958/>
|  | Paid off 1972, sold for scrapping 1977
|-valign=top
|  | F65
|  | [[HMS Tenby (F65)|''Tenby'']]
|  | (a) & (b) Cammell Laird and Co Ltd, Birkenhead<ref name=NE1958>''Navy Estimates, 1958–59'', pages 234–5, "List and particulars of new ships which have been accepted or are expected to be accepted into HM service during the Financial Year ended 31 March 1958"</ref>
|  | 6 March 1951<ref name=Warship2004p134/>
|  | 23 June 1953<ref name=Warship2004p134/>
|  | 4 October 1955<ref name=Warship2004p134/>
|  | December 1957<ref name=NE1958/>
|  | 18 December 1957<ref name=Warship2004p134/>
|  | £2,822,000<ref name=NE1958/>
|  | Paid off 1972, sold for scrapping 1979
|-valign=top
|  | F73
|  | [[HMS Eastbourne (F73)|''Eastbourne'']]
|  | (a) Vickers Armstrongs (Shipbuilders) Ltd, High Walker, Newcastle upon Tyne (to launching stage) <br /> (a) Vickers Armstrongs (Shipbuilders) Ltd, Barrow-in-Furness (for completion) <br /> (b) Vickers Armstrongs (Engineers) Ltd, Barrow-in-Furness<ref name=NE1958/>
|  | 6 March 1951<ref name=Warship2004p134/>
|  | 13 January 1954<ref name=Warship2004p134/>
|  | 29 December 1955<ref name=Warship2004p134/>
|  | January 1958<ref name=NE1958/>
|  | 9 January 1958<ref name=Warship2004p134/>
|  | £2,774,000<ref name=NE1958/>
|  | Paid off 1984, sold for scrapping 1985
|-valign=top
|  | F77
|  | [[HMS Blackpool (F77)|''Blackpool'']]
|  | (a) & (b) Harland & Wolff Ltd, Belfast<ref name=NE1959>''Navy Estimates, 1959–60'', pages 230–1, "List and particulars of new ships which have been accepted or are expected to be accepted into HM service during the Financial Year ended 31 March 1959"</ref>
|  | 6 March 1951<ref name=Warship2004p134/>
|  | 20 December 1954<ref name=Warship2004p134/>
|  | 14 February 1957<ref name=Warship2004p134/>
|  | August 1958<ref name=NE1959/>
|  | 14 August 1958
|  | £3,269,000<ref name=NE1959/>
|  | Loaned to New Zealand 1966 – 1971,<br />paid off 1971, sold for scrapping 1980
|-valign=top
! colspan=9 align="center" | {{navy|India}}
|-valign=top
|  | F140<ref name="b2b"/>
|  | [[INS Talwar (F140)|''Talwar'']]
|  | (a) Cammell Laird
|  |
|  | 7 June 1957
|  | 18 July 1958
|  |
|  | 26 April 1959
|  |
|  | Paid off 30 October 1985,<ref name="eminence"/> broken up 1992.
|-valign=top
|  | F143<ref name="b2b">{{cite book |last= Singh|first= Satyindra |date=1992 |title= Blueprint to Bluewater, the Indian Navy, 1951–65|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8PLeQ8sM06kC&q=INS+Mysore+cruiser+pennant+number&pg=PA72 |publisher=Lancer Publishers & Distributors |page=89 |isbn=9788170621485}}</ref>
|  | [[INS Trishul (F143)|''Trishul'']]
|  | (a) Harland & Wolff
|  |
|  | 19 February 1957
|  | 18 June 1958
|  |
|  | 13 January 1960
|  |
|  | Paid off 31 August 1992,<ref name="eminence">{{cite book |last=Hiranandani |first=Gulab Mohanlal |date=2005 |title=Transition to Eminence: History of the Indian Navy, 1976-1990 |publisher=Lancer Publishers |pages=375–376 |isbn=81-7062-266-2}}</ref> broken up 1996?
|-
|}
In 1959 [[Lines Bros|Triang Minic Ships]] produced a series of 1:1200 (one inch to 100 feet) metal models of Type 12 frigates, carrying the names Whitby, Tenby, Torquay and Blackpool. These toys were mass-produced in large numbers between 1959 and 1965, and remain sought after by collectors today. At the same time the [[Frog (models)]] company produced an accurate plastic model kit of a Type 12 frigate to a scale of 1:500. The moulds for this were sold to Russia in 1976, and it has been re-issued under the "Novo" trademark on several occasions.

==See also==
*{{sclass|Rothesay|frigate|2}} – Type 12M ("Modified")  frigate
*{{sclass|Leander|frigate|2}} –   Type 12I ("Improved") frigate
*{{sclass2|River|destroyer escort}} – Australian ships based on the Type 12
*{{sclass|St. Laurent|destroyer|2}} – Canadian ships based on the Type 12
*{{sclass|Van Speijk|frigate|2}} – Dutch ships based on the Type 12I

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==Citations==
{{reflist}}

==Sources==
*Moore, George, "The dawn of the Salisbury, Leopard and Whitby class frigates" in ''Warship, 2004'', Conways, 2004, {{ISBN|0-85177-948-4}} 
* Purvis, M.K.,  "Post War RN Frigate and Guided Missile Destroyer Design 1944–1969", ''Transactions of the Royal Institution of Naval Architects'' (RINA), 1974
* Marriott, Leo, ''Royal Navy Frigates Since 1945'', Second Edition, Ian Allan, Surrey, 1990 {{ISBN|0-7110-1915-0}}, 
* {{Cite Colledge2006}}
*Capt. John E. Moore, ''Warships of the Royal Navy; New Edition'',  Jane's Publishing, 1981  {{ISBN|0-7106-0105-0}}
*D. K. Brown & George Moore, ''Rebuilding the Royal Navy. Warship design since 1945'',  Chatham Publishing, 2003, {{ISBN|1-86176-222-4}}

==External links==
* [http://middle-watch.com/index.html website on the design and history of the Leander class and related (including Whitby class) frigate designs] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090326210259/http://middle-watch.com/index.html |date=26 March 2009 }}
{{Whitby class frigate}}
{{Frigates of the Indian Navy}}
{{Ship classes of the Indian Navy}}

[[Category:Frigate classes]]
[[Category:Ship classes of the Royal Navy]]
[[Category:Whitby]]
[[Category:Whitby-class frigates| ]]

[[it:Classe Type 12 (fregata)#Classe Whitby]]