HMS Leopard (F14)
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| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | HMS Leopard (F14) |
| Namesake | Leopard |
| Ordered | 21 August 1951 |
| Builder | HM Dockyard, Portsmouth |
| Laid down | 25 March 1953 |
| Launched | 23 May 1955 |
| Commissioned | 30 September 1958 |
| Decommissioned | 12 December 1975 |
| Fate | Scrapped 1977 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Leopard-class frigate |
| Length | 101 metres (331 ft) |
| Beam | 10.6 metres (35 ft) |
| Draught | 3 metres (9.8 ft) |
| Propulsion | 8 × Admiralty Standard Range ASR1 diesels, 14,400 shp (10,738 kW), 2 shafts |
| Speed | 22 knots (41 km/h; 25 mph) |
| Range | 7,400 miles (11,900 km) at 18 kn |
| Complement | 200 (22 officers) |
| Sensors & processing systems |
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| Armament |
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HMS Leopard (F14), was a Leopard-class Type 41 anti aircraft frigate of the British Royal Navy, named after the leopard.
The Leopard-class, or Type 41, frigates were designed for a main role of providing anti-aircraft protection for convoys. As such they were provided with a heavy gun armament but did not require high speed. They shared a common hull and machinery with the Salisbury-class (or Type 61) aircraft direction frigates.[1][2]
Leopard was 339 ft 10+1⁄2 in (103.59 m) long overall, 330 ft 0 in (100.58 m) at the waterline[3] and 320 ft 0 in (97.54 m),[4] with a beam of 40 ft 0 in (12.19 m) and a draught of 11 ft 10 in (3.61 m).[3][5] Displacement was 2,300 long tons (2,300 t) standard and 2,520 long tons (2,560 t) deep load.[4][5] She was powered by eight Admiralty Standard Range 1 (ASR1) diesel engines, with a total power of 14,400 brake horsepower (10,700 kW), driving two propeller shafts giving a speed of 25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph).[5] Four more of these engines were used to generate electricity, driving 500 kW alternators.[6][7] The ship had a range of 2,300 nmi (2,600 mi; 4,300 km) at full power and 7,500 nmi (8,600 mi; 13,900 km) at 16 kn (18 mph; 30 km/h).[5][4]
The ship's main gun armament consisted of two twin 4.5 inch (113 mm) Mark 6 dual-purpose gun turrets, mounted one forward and one aft, with a STAAG twin stabilised 40mm Bofors mount providing close-in anti-aircraft defence, although this mounting was unreliable and later replaced by a single Bofors gun. A single Squid anti submarine mortar was fitted.[5] As built, Leopard was fitted with a Type 960 long-range radar on the ship's mainmast and Type 293Q surface/air search radar on the foremast. A Mark 6M fire control system (including a Type 275 radar) for the 4.5 inch guns was mounted above the ship's bridge, with a secondary CRBF (Close-Range Blind Fire) director aft, fitted with Type 262 Radar, while the STAAG mount was fitted with its own Type 262 fire control radar. while a Type 974 navigation radar was also fitted.[5][8] Type 965 long-range air search radar replaced Type 960 during a refit in 1964 and 1966, with Type 993 surface/air search and target indication radar replaced the Type 293Q.[9] The ship's sonar fit consisted of Type 174 search, Type 170 fire control sonar for Squid and a Type 162 sonar for classifying targets on the sea floor.[5][8]
Leopard was laid down at Portsmouth dockyard on 25 March 1953, was launched on 23 May 1955 and commissioned on 30 September 1958.[5] Cost was £3,545,000.[10]
