Type system of the Royal Navy - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Type system is a classification system used by the British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

to classify surface escorts by function. The system evolved in the early 1950s, when the Royal Navy was experimenting with building single-purpose escort vessels with specific roles in light of experience gained in World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. The following Type numbers are known to have been used, or proposed;

Types 11-40, Anti-Submarine Escorts

Type 11 : Diesel powered anti-submarine frigate
Frigate
A frigate is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built"...

based on hull of Type 41 / 61. Not built.
Type 12 Whitby
Whitby class frigate
The Type 12 frigates of the Whitby class were a six-ship class of anti-submarine warfare frigates of the Royal Navy that entered service late in the 1950s. They were designed as first rate ocean-going convoy escorts in light of experience gained during World War II...

: Steam
Steam turbine
A steam turbine is a mechanical device that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam, and converts it into rotary motion. Its modern manifestation was invented by Sir Charles Parsons in 1884....

powered, high-speed first-rate
First-rate
First rate was the designation used by the Royal Navy for its largest ships of the line. While the size and establishment of guns and men changed over the 250 years that the rating system held sway, from the early years of the eighteenth century the first rates comprised those ships mounting 100...

anti-submarine frigate
Frigate
A frigate is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built"...

.
Type 12M Rothesay
Rothesay class frigate
The Rothesay class, or Type 12M frigates were a class of frigates serving with the Royal Navy, South African Navy and the New Zealand Navy....

: Improved Type 12 design.
Type 12I Leander
Leander class frigate
The Leander class, or Type 12I frigates, comprising twenty-six vessels, was among the most numerous and long-lived classes of frigate in the Royal Navy's modern history. The class was built in three batches between 1959 and 1973...

: Modified Type 12, general purpose frigate.
Type 14 Blackwood
Blackwood class frigate
The Type 14, Blackwood, class were a twelve ship class of "second rate" anti-submarine warfare frigates of the Royal Navy, designed and built during the increasing threat from the Soviet Union's large fleet of submarines that roamed the Atlantic Ocean.-Design:They were designed to be cheaper and...

: Steam powered, high-speed, second rate anti-submarine frigate.
Type 15
Type 15 frigate
The Type 15 frigate was a class of British anti-submarine frigates of the Royal Navy. They were conversions based on the hulls of World War II-era destroyers built to the standard War Emergency Programme "utility" design.-History:...

: High-speed anti submarine frigate, full conversion of wartime destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...

hulls.
Type 16
Type 16 frigate
The Type 16 frigates were a class of British anti-submarine frigates of the Royal Navy. They were based on the hulls of World War II-era destroyers that had been rendered obsolete by rapid advances in technology...

: High-speed anti submarine frigate, limited conversion of wartime destroyer hulls.
Type 17 : Third rate anti-submarine frigate, analogous to wartime corvette
Corvette
A corvette is a small, maneuverable, lightly armed warship, originally smaller than a frigate and larger than a coastal patrol craft or fast attack craft , although many recent designs resemble frigates in size and role...

s. Not built.
Type 18 : High-speed anti submarine frigate, intermediate conversion of wartime destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...

hulls. Not built.
Type 19 : Very high speed (42 knot) gas turbine
Gas turbine
A gas turbine, also called a combustion turbine, is a type of internal combustion engine. It has an upstream rotating compressor coupled to a downstream turbine, and a combustion chamber in-between....

powered anti-submarine frigate. Not built.
Type 21 Amazon
Type 21 frigate
The Type 21 frigate or Amazon-class frigate was a Royal Navy general-purpose escort designed in the late 1960s, built in the 1970s and that served throughout the 1980s into the 1990s.-History:...

: General purpose, gas-turbine powered commercially designed frigate.
Type 22 Broadsword
Type 22 frigate
The Type 22 Broadsword class is a class of frigate built for the British Royal Navy. Fourteen of the class were built in total, with production divided into three batches. With the decommissioning of HMS Cornwall on 30 June 2011, the final Type 22 of the Royal Navy was retired from service...

: Large, gas-turbine powered, anti-submarine frigates.
Type 23 Duke
Type 23 frigate
The Type 23 frigate is a class of frigate built for the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom. All the ships were first named after British Dukes, thus the class is also known as the Duke class. The first Type 23 was commissioned in 1989, and the sixteenth, was launched in May 2000 and commissioned in...

: Gas-turbine and diesel powered, anti-submarine frigates. Smaller and less expensive than the Type 22, with similar capabilities.
Type 24 : Cheap frigate design intended for export. In RN service would have served as a towed array ASW ship. Not built.
Type 25 : Design intended to have almost the capability of a Type 22 but at only three-quarters of the cost. Much of the thinking, including the diesel-electric machinery, went into the Type 23. Not built.
Type 26 : Future Surface Combatant
Future Surface Combatant
The Global Combat Ship is a ship design and construction programme currently underway by the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence to replace the Royal Navy's 13 Type 23 frigates. The programme has been in development since 1998, initially under the designation "Future Surface Combatant "...

(C1 variant) - referred to by First Sea Lord
First Sea Lord
The First Sea Lord is the professional head of the Royal Navy and the whole Naval Service; it was formerly known as First Naval Lord. He also holds the title of Chief of Naval Staff, and is known by the abbreviations 1SL/CNS...

Sir Mark Stanhope
Mark Stanhope
Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope, GCB, OBE is the First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff of the United Kingdom, thus the professional head of the Royal Navy.-Early life:...

in his speech to the International Institute for Strategic Studies
International Institute for Strategic Studies
The International Institute for Strategic Studies is a British research institute in the area of international affairs. It describes itself as "the world’s leading authority on political-military conflict"...

in March 2010.

Types 41-60, Anti-Aircraft Escorts

Type 41 Leopard
Leopard class frigate
The Type 41 or Leopard class were a class of anti-aircraft defence frigates built for the Royal Navy and Indian Navy in the 1950s. These ships were designed to provide anti-aircraft escorts to convoys, as a result they were not built for fleet speeds and made only...

: Diesel powered anti-aircraft frigate built on common hull with Type 61.
Type 42(i) East coast frigate : High speed coastal escort. Not built
Type 42(ii) Sheffield
Type 42 destroyer
The Type 42 or Sheffield class, are guided missile destroyers used by the British Royal Navy and the Argentine Navy. The first ship of the class was ordered in 1968 and launched in 1971, and today three ships remain active in the Royal Navy and one in the Argentinian Navy...

: Gas-turbine powered, fleet area-defence anti-aircraft destroyer.
Type 43 : Large gas-turbine powered, "double-ended", fleet area-defence anti-aircraft destroyer. Not built.
Type 44: A smaller "single-ended" version of the Type 43 intended as a cheaper alternative. Not built.
Type 45 Daring
Type 45 destroyer
The United Kingdom's Type 45 destroyer is an air defence destroyer programme of the Royal Navy which will replace its Type 42 destroyers. The first ship in the class, HMS Daring, was launched on 1 February 2006 and commissioned on 23 July 2009. The ships are now built by BAE Systems Surface Ships...

: Advanced fleet area-defence anti-aircraft destroyer to replace Type 44 project.

Types 61-80, Aircraft Direction Escorts

Type 61 Salisbury
Salisbury class frigate
The Type 61 Salisbury class were a class of British aircraft direction frigates built for the Royal Navy. They were related to the Type 41 Leopard class frigates, but with reduced armament to make way for more aircraft direction equipment.-Construction Programme:Three further ships of the class...

: Diesel powered aircraft-direction frigate built on common hull with Type 41.
Type 62 M class
L and M class destroyer
The L and M class was a class of sixteen destroyers which served in the British Royal Navy during World War II. The ships of the class were launched between 1939 and 1942.-Design details:...

: High-speed aircraft-direction frigate, full conversion of wartime destroyer hulls. Not built.

Types 81-99, General Purpose Escorts

Type 81 Tribal
Tribal class frigate
The Type 81, or Tribal class, was a class of seven general-purpose frigates for the Royal Navy designed during the 1950s that served throughout the 1960s and 1970s with limited service during the 1980s.-History:...

: Single-shaft steam / gas-turbine powered general purpose "colonial" frigates.
Type 82 Bristol
Type 82 destroyer
The Type 82 or Bristol-class destroyer was to be a class of four Royal Navy warships intended as area air-defence destroyers to replace the County-class destroyers, and to serve as escorts to the planned CVA-01 aircraft carriers...

: Large steam / gas-turbine powered fleet anti-aircraft and anti-submarine destroyer. 1 built of 4 initially planned

Types 11-40, Anti-Submarine Escorts

Types 41-60, Anti-Aircraft Escorts

Types 61-80, Aircraft Direction Escorts

Types 81-99, General Purpose Escorts

See also