THE LAST ARTILLERY

Destroyers of the 56th of the project is clearly not enough room for the extensive upgrades planned in the 60-ies. However, due to the rapid obsolescence and the ships themselves were commissioned only 27 — is more than a hundred according to the original plan.

 

 

 

It is difficult to evaluate recent Soviet artillery and torpedo destroyers. On the one hand, for the first time managed to build a truly ocean-going ships with high seaworthiness. At the trials in heavy seas and wind at eight points one of the “56-s” developed a full stroke, while the accompanying “top bis” could not squeeze and 15 knots. “Fearless” and “Quiet” is strikingly different from its predecessors in quality of anti-aircraft weapons, the level of energy, ship automation. But, on the other hand, the American “Sherman F.” was much more modern both in concept and in technical parameters of the weapons, tools and, especially, electronic equipment.

 

Partially the gap was overcome in the course of numerous upgrades, which began in 1958. The twelve destroyers of the type “Quiet” removed one of her torpedo tubes and installed a pair of jet anti-submarine mortars RBU-2500. The remaining apparatus could now be charged as usual, and anti-submarine torpedoes. Even more significant trouble were the nine destroyers in the years 1964-1970: they removed all of the aft group of weapons, installing anti-aircraft missile system “volna” and two of the latest coaxial 30-mm machine gun, as well as a few multi-barreled rocket mortars (project 56K and 56A). So the last “gunners” our fleet became the first missile.

 

The leaders of the postwar world-the United States and the Soviet Union — tried to be and a minor naval power. Often they were moving the Soviet rather than the American way. In the late 40-ies of Holland, just to get rid of their already burden of colonial possessions, joined NATO and has completely revised its sea policy. One of the most important elements of the program of construction of the new Navy began construction of a large series of destroyers. Their feature was the complete absence of torpedo tubes for the first time in Europe. Hypothetical task of protecting convoys in the North sea from as hypothetical raids of Soviet ships prompted the Dutch to install a very strong artillery. Fully automated 120-mm gun of the Swedish company “Bofors” could produce 45 rounds per gun per minute as a Maritime and air targets and had excellent fire control system, constructed the famous “Philips”. For protection from submarines was tested with various types of weapons the British and American production, but in the end preference was given to the Swedish four-barrelled rocket mortars.

 

But with a manual installation almost came bobble. At the beginning of design work in 1948 due to the straitened financial conditions it seemed a good idea to use turbines and boilers, prepared before the war for destroyers of the “Isaac svirs”. However, as development was coming to an embodiment and a displacement of beginners all grew and grew, there was a threat that the speed may be limited to only 30 nodes. The engineers did the impossible, and, thanks to the excellent hull shape and relatively small for such large ships turbine allowed to develop on the tests of 40 knots — an excellent result for its time. However, it is worth noting that the Dutch revived the dubious tradition of the early century, when destroyer felt relieved — without weapons, and parts of other equipment.

 

In any case, mechanisms warehouse only lasted for four ships. So for the next eight destroyers of the type “Friesland” has developed a new turbine on the model of American “Gearing”. The result was achieved on the test almost 43 knots, came close for the French Champions 30-ies of the leaders of the “Le Fantask”. The rest of the second series has retained all the features of its predecessors; grown on a light anti-aircraft armament.

 

In General, new units of the Dutch Navy was very successful. They not only served more than a quarter of a century, but at the end of his career in his homeland amounted to a significant part of the Navy of a distant Latin American country of Peru. And in the 80-ies of their powerful guns attracted the attention of the density of fire, especially against obviously nedovarennye artillery ships of the new generation. These guns are still in the home fleet: taken from “Gelderland”, they were put as the main fire-missile frigates of the “Tromp”.

 

 

 

 

 

Over the years the Dutch destroyers has undergone only minor alterations. So, in 1960, “Utrecht” received eight anti-submarine torpedo tubes caliber 533 mm in the stationary blocks on the sides. However, it was the only real torpedo among its 12 sisterships, besides long. Admirals somehow felt that good with a reliable and tested torpedoes will be enough, and they were removed two years later. Almost at the same time were plans for the replacement of artillery missile weapons, but the main battery still survived.

 

A good 120 mm guns “Bofors” was in Sweden. Almost simultaneously with the Netherlands, the government ordered two destroyers, which left a noticeable trace in the history of shipbuilding. The Swedes first took a chance to develop and install on your ship weapons, in subsequent years, completely changed perceptions of the war at sea — controlled anti-ship missile. “Halland” is generally distinguished by its set of weapons. In addition to numerous fully automated artillery he carried and the “classics” — two four torpedo tubes (one of them and installed the launcher). Anti-submarine weapons include the powerful “borsovska” mortars, and the destroyer could take mines, and towers at the sides were two guides for flares.

 

The next series of destroyers entered the system without the shock rockets. Four ships of the type “Ostergotland”, built in 1958-1959, has demonstrated opportunities to further optimize the design of their successful predecessors. The displacement decreased to 2150 so managed to keep most of the combat power, removing only the 57-mm guns and mortars replacing the “Bofors” on the more conservative British “Squid”. Interestingly, in 1963, these ships still have the missile they were armed with anti-aircraft missile complex “sea cat” of English manufacture.

 

However, not all small fleets post-war Europe the business was as successful as the Dutch and the Swedes. Very instructive example of Spain, which immediately after the Second world war decided to build nine modern destroyers, each armed with eight 105-mm universal guns in paired launchers and seven torpedo tubes. However, the ships have not had time to lay, as the project has been fully processed in accordance with the global “anti” fashion. The torpedo tubes vanished, their place was taken by the release gear and a pair of “Hedgehogs”, and the caliber of the guns was increased to 120 mm, reducing the number of artillery units to three. Thus was born the “Oquendo”— the head ship of the series suffering the latest in the world of the “classic” destroyers. Not only that, the evil Spanish tradition it was built nearly ten years at the first testing it was found that the stability of “Oquendo” literally teetering on the verge of permissible. The ship was sent back to the yard, where loaded the ballast and cut off part of the add-ons. The result: displacement increased by more than 500 tons, and the period of construction has reached 12 years. Moreover, had much to weaken the weapons, removing a couple of 120-millimetrovogo and all 20-mm guns. Not surprisingly, the other two are already launched destroyer was subjected to complete restructuring by increasing the length to 3 and width 2 m. “Roher de Lauria and marqués de La Ensenada” can safely lay claim to the unenviable role of Champions protracted. Only 16 years later after laying the first of them was launched, and after another two years he finally came into operation. In the final version its armament consisted of six already hopelessly outdated American 127-mm guns of the Second world war and the same number of 320-mm anti-submarine torpedo tubes, with the pair of 533-mm tubes for antisubmarine torpedoes. In General, it’s a slightly upgraded “A. Sumner” reduced to 28 knots speed (due to complications with equally ancient boilers). It is not surprising that the “Lauria” served only 12 years in one and a half times less than it was built.

 

In General, the latest high-speed ships with mainly artillery weapons, according to the tradition, still called the destroyers (although some of them did not carry torpedo armament from the beginning, and others have lost it during upgrades), showed a dramatically increased ability of the post-war shipbuilding. Armed with a powerful automatic artillery, seaworthy, high level of reliability and survivability, they represented a truly multi-purpose ships, though, and was quickly outmatched by their successors of the next generation. But a common opinion that they could not in 60-e and 70-e years to be in a battle competition to their missile counterparts, this is only an assumption, not a proven fact.

 

V. KOFMAN