Type 22 frigate

A group of Type 22's, with HMS Coventry in the foreground

HMS Chatham, the last of the Batch 3 Type 22s, at the International Fleet Review, 2005

The Type 22 Broadsword class frigates are a class of warships built for the Royal Navy. Fourteen of the class have been built, however only four, all Batch 3 ships, remain in service with the Royal Navy.

The Type 22 was designed to be a specialist anti-submarine warfare vessel as part of the Royal Navy's contribution to NATO. Since then they have evolved into a general purpose frigate with weapons for use against other surface ships, aircraft and submarines. They were built in three batches giving rise to three sub-classes, the first Broadsword of four ships, the second Boxer of six ships and the third and final, Cornwall of four ships.

The four Broadswords (which included two Falklands War veterans) were sold to Brazil in the mid 1990s. Romania has acquired and modernized two of the Batch 2 ships, while a third was purchased by Chile.

General characteristics

(As built, unless stated.)
* Displacement (full load)
**Batch 1: 4,400 tons
**Batch 2: 4,800 tons
**Batch 3: 4,900 tons
* Length
**Batch 1: 131.2 m (430 feet)
**Batch 2: 146.5 m (480 feet)
**Batch 3: 148.1 m (486 feet)
* Beam
** 14.8 m (48 feet)
* Draught
** Batch 1: 6.1 m (20 feet)
** Batch 2 & 3: 6.4 m (21 feet)
* Machinery
** Batch 1 & 2: 2-shaft Combined gas or gas (COGOG)
2 Rolls-Royce Olympus TM3B high-speed gas turbines (54,000 shp)
2 Rolls-Royce Tyne RM1C cruise gas turbines (9,700 shp)
** Batch 3 & Brave: 2-shaft Combined gas and gas (COGAG)
2 Rolls-Royce Spey SM1A boost gas turbines (37,540 shp)
2 Rolls-Royce Tyne RM3C cruise gas turbines (9,700 shp)
* Speed
**Full: 30 knots
**Cruise:18 knots
* Range: 4500 at knots
* Complement
** Batch 1: 222
**Batch 2: 273
**Batch 3: 250
* Armament
** Batch 1 & 2
*** 2 × sextuple launchers for Sea Wolf GWS-25 mod 0/3 anti-aircraft missiles
*** 4 x launchers for MM38 Exocet anti-ship missiles
*** 2 x 40 mm L/60 Mark 7 Bofors guns (Batch 1)
*** 2 x twin 30 mm L/75 BMARC GCM-A03 guns
*** 2 x triple STWS-1 launchers for 324 mm (12.75") Mk.44/46 or Stingray anti-submarine torpedoes
** Batch 3
*** 2 x sextuple launchers for Sea Wolf GWS-25 mod 3 anti-aircraft missiles
*** 8 x launchers for Harpoon anti-ship missiles
*** 1 x 114 mm (4.5 inch) L/45 Mark 8 gun
*** 1 x 30 mm Goalkeeper CIWS
*** 2 x 30 mm L/75 DES DS-30B guns
*** 2 x triple STWS-2 launchers for 324 mm (12.75") torpedoes
* Aircraft
** 2 x Westland Lynx HAS / HMA or;
** 1 x Westland Sea King HAS / EH-101 Merlin HM (Brave onwards)
* Electronics
** Batch 1 & 2
*** Marconi radar Type 967/968 search (967M in Brave)
*** 2 x Marconi radar Type 910 GWS-25 fire control (911 from Brave onwards)
*** Kelvin Hughes radar Type 1006 navigation
*** Plessey sonar Type 2016 search, later;
*** Ferranti / Thompson-Sintrra Type 2050 search
*** Dowty sonar Type 2031 towed array (Batch 2)
** Batch 3
*** Marconi radar Type 967/968 search
*** 2 x Marconi radar Type 911 GWS-25 fire control
*** Kelvin Hughes radar Type 1007 navigation
*** Ferranti / Thompson-Sintrra Type 2050 search
*** Dowty sonar Type 2031 towed array (not all)
*Electronic Warfare
** 2 x 8-tube Knebworth Corvus launchers (Batch 1, originally)
** 2 x 12-tube Wallop Barricade launchers (Batch 1 & 2)
** 2 x 6-tube Loral-Hycor SRBOC launchers (Batch 1 & 2)
** 4 x 6-tube Marconi Sea Gnat DLB launchers (Batch 3)
** UAA-1 interception ESM (later, UAA-2)
** AN/SSQ-108 OUTBOARD interception / direction finding ESM
** Type 670 electronic jammer (later, Type 675[2])
** 2 x Graseby Type 182 towed torpedo decoy

Ships

Name	Pennant	Builder	Launched	Commissioned	Home port!Status
Batch 1
HMS Broadsword	F88	Yarrow Shipbuilders Ltd (YSL), Glasgow	May 12, 1976	May 3, 1979	Sold to Brazilian Navy
HMS Battleaxe	F89	YSL	May 18, 1977	March 28, 1980	Sold to Brazilian Navy
HMS Brilliant	F90	YSL	December 15, 1978	May 15, 1981	Sold to Brazilian Navy
HMS Brazen	F91	YSL	March 4, 1980	July 2, 1982	Sold to Brazilian Navy
Batch 2
HMS Boxer	F92	YSL	June 17, 1981	January 14, 1984	Sunk as Target
HMS Beaver	F93	YSL	May 8, 1982	December 18, 1984	Sold for Scrap
HMS Brave	F94	YSL	November 19, 1983	July 4, 1986	Sunk as Target
HMS London	F95	YSL	October 27, 1984	June 5, 1987	Sold to Romanian Navy
HMS Sheffield	F96	Swan Hunter, Wallsend	March 26, 1986	July 26, 1988	Sold to Chilean Navy
HMS Coventry	F98	Swan Hunter	April 8, 1986	October 14, 1988	Sold to Romanian Navy
Batch 3
HMS Cornwall	F99	YSL	October 14, 1985	April 23, 1988	Devonport	Active
HMS Cumberland	F85	YSL	June 21, 1986	June 10, 1989	Devonport	Active
HMS Campbeltown	F86	Cammell Laird, Birkenhead	October 7, 1987	May 27, 1989	Devonport	Active
HMS Chatham	F87	Swan Hunter	January 20, 1988	May 4, 1990	Devonport	Active

HMS Campbeltown docked in Campbeltown Loch, by Malcolm McFadyen