Type 42 destroyer

Template:Infobox ship imageTemplate:Infobox ship class overviewTemplate:Infobox ship characteristics

The Type 42 or Sheffield class was a class of fourteen guided-missile destroyers that served in the Royal Navy.<ref name=Marriott_1945_RN_DestroyerBook>Marriott, Leo: Royal Navy Destroyers since 1945, Template:ISBN, Ian Allan Ltd, 1989</ref> A further two ships of this class were built for and served with the Argentine Navy.

The first ship of the class was ordered in 1968 and launched in 1971. Two of the class (Sheffield and Coventry) were lost to enemy action during the Falklands War of 1982. The Royal Navy used this class of destroyer for 38 years between 1975 and 2013.

No ships of this class remain active in the Royal Navy and both have also been retired from the Argentine Navy. The Royal Navy has replaced them with Type 45 destroyers.

History

{{ safesubst:#invoke:Unsubst||date=__DATE__ |$B= {{ safesubst:#invoke:Unsubst||date=__DATE__ |$B= Template:Ambox }} }} The class was designed in the late 1960s to provide fleet area air defence. In total fourteen vessels were constructed in three batches. In addition to the Royal Navy ships, two more ships were built to the same specifications as the Batch 1 vessels for the Argentine Navy. Hércules was built in the UK and Santísima Trinidad in the AFNE Rio Santiago shipyard in Buenos Aires.

Template:HMS and Template:HMS were lost in the Falklands War to enemy action. This was the first conflict where surface warships of the same design have been on opposite sides since World War II, when four Template:Sclass2s built for France in 1939 were taken over by the Kriegsmarine in 1940. The final ship of the class (Edinburgh) decommissioned on 6 June 2013. One Argentine Navy ship (Template:Ship) remains in service, the other vessel (Template:Ship) sank whilst alongside in Puerto Belgrano Naval Base in early 2013.

When the Type 82 air-defence destroyers were cancelled along with the proposed CVA-01 carrier by the Labour Government of 1966, the Type 42 was proposed as a lighter and cheaper design with similar capabilities to the Type 82. The class is fitted with the GWS30 Sea Dart surface-to-air missile first deployed on the sole Type 82 destroyer, Template:HMS. The Type 42s were also given a flight deck and hangar to operate an anti-submarine warfare helicopter, greatly increasing their utility compared to the Type 82, which was fitted with a flight deck but no organic aviation facilities.

The design was budgeted with a ceiling of £19 million per hull but soon ran over budget. The original proposed design (£21 million) was similar to the lengthened 'Batch 3' Type 42s. To cut costs, the first two batches had 47 feet removed from the bow sections forward of the bridge, and the beam-to-length ratio was proportionally reduced. These early, batch 1 Type 42s performed poorly during the contractor's sea trials, particularly in heavy seas, and the hull was examined for other problems. Batch 2 vessels (Exeter onwards) embodied better sensor fits and slight layout modifications. The ninth hull, Manchester, was lengthened in build, as part of a design review. This proved a better hull form at sea and later hulls were built to this specification. Strengthening girders were later designed into the weather deck structure in the batch 1 and 2 ships, and the batch 3 ships received an external 'strake' to counter longitudinal cracking.

Design

The first batch had the 965 or 966 surveillance radar, which had a "slow data-rate".<ref name=PrestonFalklands112/> The Type 992Q radar used to designate targets for the gun and missiles lacked Moving Target Indiction (MTI). Though "British radar manufacturers [had] offered to retrofit MTI to these radars... nothing was done."<ref name=PrestonFalklands112/> Without MTI, the Type 992Q had difficulty in tracking aircraft when land was behind the aircraft or when there was snow or rain showers.<ref name=PrestonFalklands112/> The Type 42 also had "insufficient space for an efficient operations room".<ref name=PrestonFalklands112>A Preston. Sea Combat off the Falklands. Willow Collins. (1982)London, pp. 112–113</ref>

The Type 42 was also equipped with a 4.5 inch Mark 8 naval gun and earlier vessels had six Ships Torpedo Weapon System (STWS) torpedo launchers. Two Phalanx Mk 15 close-in weapon systems (CIWS) were fitted to British Type 42s after the loss of Sheffield to an Exocet missile in 1982.

There have been three batches of ships, batch 1 and 2 displacing 4,820 tonnes and batch 3 (sometimes referred to as the Manchester class) displacing 5,200 tonnes. The batch 3 ships were heavily upgraded, though the proposed Sea Wolf systems upgrades were never fitted. Because of their more general warfare role, both Argentine ships were fitted with the MM38 Exocet, and not with a CIWS.

The electronics suite included one Type 1022 D band long-range radar with Outfit LFB track extractor or one Type 965P long-range air surveillance radar, one Type 996 E band/F band 3D radar for target indication with Outfit LFA track extractor or type 992Q surface search, two Type 909 I/J-band fire-control radars and an Outfit LFD radar track combiner.

All ships were propelled by Rolls-Royce TM3B Olympus and Rolls-Royce RM1C Tyne marinised gas turbines, arranged in a COGOG (combined gas or gas) arrangement, driving through synchronous self-shifting clutches into a double-reduction, dual tandem, articulated, locked-train gear system and out through two five-bladed controllable pitch propellers. All have four Paxman Ventura 16YJCAZ diesel generators, each generating 1 megawatt of three-phase electric power (440 V 60 Hz).

File:HMS Sheffield (D80).jpg

Sheffield with the prominent exhaust deflectors on her funnel

The first of class, Sheffield, was initially fitted with exhaust deflectors on her funnel tops to guide the high-temperature exhaust efflux sidewards and minimise damage to overhead aerials. As this provided a prominent target for then-new infrared homing missiles, only Sheffield and both the Argentinian Hércules and Santísima Trinidad had these. All subsequent engine uptakes were fitted with 'cheese graters' that mixed machinery space vent air with the engine exhaust to reduce infrared signatures.

Availability and use of the Type 42

{{ safesubst:#invoke:Unsubst||date=__DATE__ |$B= {{ safesubst:#invoke:Unsubst||date=__DATE__ |$B= Template:Ambox }} }} This class was originally conceived to be a stopper for long-range strategic bombers from the former Soviet Long Range Aviation/A-VMF and as area defence for carrier battle groups. Seven of the class took part in the Falklands War (Operation Corporate) and the immediate aftermath. The Type 42 provided a capable long-range defence against Argentine air force assets, scoring three confirmed kills. However, Sheffield was hit and disabled by a long-range first-generation air-to-surface missile (Exocet) and sank six days later, Coventry was sunk by conventional iron bombs, and Glasgow was disabled by a single bomb that passed straight through her aft engine room without exploding; an extensive rethink was conducted and future iterations were adopted. Later uses included The Gulf War, when Gloucester shot down a land-based surface-to-surface missile. Type 42s were called upon to carry out fleet contingency ship duties such as West Indies counter drugs operations and Falkland Islands patrol, NATO Mediterranean and Atlantic task group operations, and Persian Gulf patrols. The deployment of Type 23s in lieu of Type 42s to high-intensity mission areas became more prevalent as serviceability and reliability issues dogged Type 42s availability, as did obsolescence of their combat and machinery system equipment.

Construction programme

Pennant	Name	Hull builder<ref name=MCS3p26>Marriott, Leo Modern Combat Ships 3, Type 42, pub Ian Allan, 1985, Template:ISBN-page 28.</ref>	Ordered<ref name=MCS3p26/>	Laid down<ref name=MCS3p26/>	Launched<ref name=MCS3p26/>	Accepted into service<ref name=MCS3p26/><ref name=Hansard23Oct89pt1>Hansard: HC Deb 23 October 1989 vol 158 cc357-8W 357W Template:Webarchive Question to the Secretary of State for Defence regarding warship costs, 23 October 1989. This section is the first part of the table that is continued on Hansard: HC Deb 23 October 1989 vol 158 c360W Template:Webarchive.</ref><ref group=Note>The term used in Navy Estimates and Defence Estimates is "accepted into service". Hansard has used the term acceptance date. Leo Marriott in his various books uses the term "completed", as does Jane's Fighting Ships. These terms all mean the same thing: the date the Navy accepts the vessel from the builder. This date is important because maintenance cycles, etc. are generally calculated from the acceptance date.</ref>	Commissioned	Estimated building cost<ref group=Note>"Unit cost, i.e. excluding the cost of certain items (e.g. aircraft, First Outfits)." – Text from Defences Estimates "They do not include other costs, such as those for Government Furnished Equipment (GFE)—as they are not held centrally for each ship and could be provided only at disproportionate cost." Bob Ainsworth, Minister of State for the Armed Forces, 16 July 2008.</ref>
Royal Navy – batch 1
D80	Template:HMS	Vickers Shipbuilders Ltd, Barrow-in-Furness.	14 November 1968	15 January 1970	10 June 1971	16 February 1975	16 February 1975<ref name=Comm>16 July 2008 : Column 452W Template:Webarchive Questions to Secretary of the State for Defence, 16 July 2008. Marriott, Leo Modern Combat Ships 3, Type 42, pub Ian Allan, 1985, Template:ISBN-page 28.</ref><ref group=Note>These two sources are in agreement about the dates vessels were commissioned, with the following exceptions: Sheffield: Marriott 28 February 1975. Hansard 16 February 1975. Glasgow: Marriott 25 May 1979. Hansard 24 May 1979. Cardiff: Marriott 19 October 1979. Hansard 24 September 1979. Nottingham: Marriott 8 April 1983. Hansard 14 April 1983. Liverpool: Marriott 9 July 1982. Hansard 1 July 1982.</ref>	£23,200,000<ref>Hansard: HC Deb 23 October 1989 vol 158 cc357-8W 357W Template:Webarchive Question to the Secretary of State for Defence regarding warship costs, 23 October 1989. Marriott, Leo Modern Combat Ships 3, Type 42, pub Ian Allan, 1985, Template:ISBN-page 15. Moore, John Jane's Fighting Ships, 1982–83, pub Jane's Publishing Co Ltd, 1982, Template:ISBN-page 553.</ref>
D86	Template:HMS	Cammell Laird & Co, Birkenhead.	21 May 1971	28 March 1972	30 July 1973	26 November 1976<ref>Hansard: HC Deb 23 October 1989 vol 158 cc357-8W 357W Template:Webarchive Question to the Secretary of State for Defence regarding warship costs, 23 October 1989 says 26 November 1976. Marriott, Leo Modern Combat Ships 3, Type 42, pub Ian Allan, 1985, Template:ISBN-page 28 says October 1976.</ref>	3 December 1976<ref name=Comm/>	£31,000,000<ref>Hansard: HC Deb 23 October 1989 vol 158 cc357-8W 357W Template:Webarchive Question to the Secretary of State for Defence regarding warship costs, 23 October 1989 says £31.0 million. Moore, John Jane's Fighting Ships, 1982–83, pub Jane's Publishing Co Ltd, 1982, Template:ISBN-page 553 says £30.9 million.</ref>
D87	Template:HMS	Swan Hunter Ltd, Wallsend-on-Tyne.	11 November 1971	21 February 1973	24 April 1975	25 February 1978	23 March 1978<ref name=Comm/>	£34,600,000<ref name=Hansard23Oct89pt1/>
D118	Template:HMS	Cammell Laird & Co, Birkenhead.	21 May 1971	29 January 1973	21 June 1974	20 October 1978	10 November 1978<ref name=Comm/>	£37,900,000<ref name=Hansard23Oct89pt1/><ref name=Janes1982>Moore, John Jane's Fighting Ships, 1982–83, pub Jane's Publishing Co Ltd, 1982, Template:ISBN-page 553.</ref>
D88	Template:HMS	Swan Hunter Ltd, Wallsend-on-Tyne.	11 November 1971	16 April 1974	14 April 1976	9 March 1979	24 May 1979<ref name=Comm/>	£36,900,000<ref name=Hansard23Oct89pt1/><ref name=Janes1982/>
D108	Template:HMS	Vickers Shipbuilders Ltd, Barrow-in-Furness (to launching stage) Swan Hunter Ltd, Hebburn (for completion).<ref name=Janes1982/>	10 June 1971	6 November 1972	22 February 1974	22 September 1979	24 September 1979<ref name=Comm/>	£40,500,000<ref>Hansard: HC Deb 23 October 1989 vol 158 cc357-8W 357W Template:Webarchive Question to the Secretary of State for Defence regarding warship costs, 23 October 1989 says £40.5 million.</ref><ref group=Note>Moore, John Jane's Fighting Ships, 1982–83, pub Jane's Publishing Co Ltd, 1982, Template:ISBN-page 553 said £40.4 million. Marriott, Leo Modern Combat Ships 3, Type 42, pub Ian Allan, 1985, Template:ISBN-page 15 said £40.4 million. Aldrich, Richard James Intelligence, Defence, and Diplomacy: British Policy in the Post-War World. Taylor & Francis, pub 1994, Template:ISBN page 119 says: "One example of how delay in procurement programmes can raise costs is the construction of the Type-42 destroyer HMS Cardiff. Vickers Shipbuilders had originally intended to deliver the vessel in 1975 for a total cost of £15 million. Owing to difficulties in recruiting labourer to work on construction the ship was only completed in 1978 and cost double the original price (over £30 million)." On page 129 it gives the source of this cost data as: "Fourth Report from the Committee on Public Accounts, 1976–77 (H.C. 304), April 1977, pp xii–xiii and Q. 92." The cost quoted in Aldrich is from a source written before the completion of the vessel, and so is less complete than the cost quoted in Jane's and Marriott, which were written after completion of the vessel, and are nearly the same as the Hansard figure.</ref>
Royal Navy – batch 2
D89	Template:HMS	Swan Hunter Ltd, Wallsend-on-Tyne.	22 January 1976	22 July 1976	25 April 1978	30 August 1980	19 September 1980<ref name=Comm/>	£60,100,000<ref name=Hansard23Oct89pt1/><ref name=Janes1982/>
D90	Template:HMS	Vosper Thornycroft Ltd, Woolston.	17 March 1976	21 October 1976	29 January 1979	17 August 1981	31 October 1981<ref name=Comm/>	£67,500,000<ref name=Hansard23Oct89pt1/>
D92	Template:HMS	Cammell Laird & Co, Birkenhead.	27 May 1977	5 July 1978	25 September 1980	12 May 1982	1 July 1982<ref name=Comm/>	£92,800,000<ref name=Hansard23Oct89pt1/>
D91	Template:HMS	Vosper Thornycroft Ltd, Woolston.	1 March 1977	6 February 1978	18 February 1980	22 December 1982	14 April 1983<ref name=Comm/>	£82,100,000<ref name=Hansard23Oct89pt1/>
Royal Navy – batch 3
D95	Template:HMS	Vickers Shipbuilders Ltd, Barrow-in-Furness.	10 November 1978	19 May 1978	24 November 1980	19 November 1982	16 December 1982<ref name=Comm/>	£110,000,000<ref name=Hansard23Oct89pt1/>
D98	Template:HMS	Swan Hunter Ltd, Wallsend-on-Tyne.	25 April 1979	18 January 1980	21 June 1982	25 March 1985<ref name=Hansard23Oct89>Hansard HC Deb 23 October 1989 vol 158 cc358-61W Template:Webarchive Questions to the Secretary of State for Defence, 23 October 1989.</ref>	9 August 1985	£118,700,000<ref name=Hansard23Oct89/>
D96	Template:HMS	Vosper Thornycroft Ltd, Woolston.	27 March 1979	29 October 1979	2 November 1982	16 May 1985<ref name=Hansard23Oct89/>	11 September 1985	£120,800,000<ref name=Hansard23Oct89/>
D97	Template:HMS	Cammell Laird & Co, Birkenhead.	25 April 1979	8 September 1980	13 April 1983	25 July 1985<ref name=Hansard23Oct89/>	17 December 1985	£130,600,000<ref name=Hansard23Oct89/>
Argentine Republic Navy– batch 1
D1	Template:Ship	Vickers Shipbuilders Ltd, Barrow-in-Furness.	18 May 1970	16 June 1971	24 October 1972	10 May 1976<ref name=MCS3p26/>	12 July 1976<ref name=MCS3p26/>
D2	Template:Ship	AFNE, Rio Santiago, Argentina.	18 May 1970	11 October 1971	9 November 1974		1 July 1981

In May 1982, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Jerry Wiggin) stated that the current replacement cost of a Type 42 destroyer of the Sheffield class was "about £120 million."<ref>Hansard HC Deb 27 May 1982 vol 24 c397W Template:Webarchive Question to the Secretary of State for Defence about the current replacement cost of a Type 42 destroyer of the Sheffield class., 27 May 1982</ref> In July 1984, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (John Lee) stated: "the average cost of the three Type 42 destroyers currently under construction is £117 million at 1983–84 price levels."<ref>Hansard HC Deb 23 July 1984 vol 64 c534W Template:Webarchive Question to the Secretary of State for Defence about the latest cost estimate of aTtype 42 destroyer, 23 July 1984.</ref>

Running costs

Not including major refits and upgrades

Date	Running cost	What is included	Citation
1981–82	£10.0 million	Average annual running cost of Type 42s at average 1981–82 prices and including associated aircraft costs but excluding the costs of major refits.	<ref>Hansard HC Deb 16 July 1982 vol 27 cc485-6W Template:Webarchive Question to the Secretary of State for Defence about operating costs of naval vessels, 16 July 1982.</ref>
1985–86	£15 million	The average cost of running and maintaining a type 42 destroyer for one year.	<ref>Hansard HC Deb 22 January 1987 vol 108 c730W Template:Webarchive Question to the Secretary of State for Defence about operating costs of naval vessels, 22 January 1987.</ref>
1987–88	£7 million	The average annual operating costs, at financial year 1987–88 prices of a type 42 destroyer. These costs include personnel, fuel, spares, and so on, and administrative support services, but exclude new construction, capital equipment, and refit-repair costs.	<ref>Hansard HC Deb 10 March 1989 vol 148 c44W Template:Webarchive Question to the Secretary of State for Defence about operating costs of naval vessels, 10 March 1989.</ref>
2001–02	£13.0 million	Type 42 destroyer, average annual operating costs, based on historic costs over each full financial year. The figures include manpower, maintenance, fuel, stores, and other costs (such as harbour dues), but exclude depreciation and cost of capital.	<ref name=Hansard09Sep03>Hansard HC Deb 09 September 2003 vol 410 cc346-7W Template:Webarchive Question to the Secretary of State for Defence 9 September 2003.</ref>
2002–03	£13.5 million

Including refits and upgrades

Date	Running cost	What is included	Citation
2007–08	£31.35 million	"The annual operating cost of the Type 42 Class of Destroyers, covering a total of eight vessels in the 07/08 period, is £250.8M." "This is based on information primarily from Financial Year 07/08 the last year for which this information is available, and includes typical day-to-day costs such as fuel and manpower and general support costs covering maintenance, repair and equipment spares. Costs for equipment spares are also included, although these are based on Financial Year 08/09 information as this is the most recent information available. Costs for weapon system support are not included as they could only be provided at disproportionate cost."	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2009–10	£26.7 million	"The average running cost per class... Type 42 is £160.1 million. These figures, based on the expenditure incurred by the Ministry of Defence in 2009–10, include maintenance, safety certification, military upgrades, manpower, inventory, satellite communication, fuel costs, and depreciation.".	<ref>24 November 2010 Written Answers</ref>

In May 2000, the Minister of State for the Armed Forces (John Spellar) stated: "The running costs of each of the Royal Navy's Type 42 destroyers for each of the past five years are contained in the following table. This includes repair and maintenance, manpower, fuel, and other costs such as port and harbour dues. Year-on-year variations are largely attributable to refit periods."<ref name=Hansard22May00>Template:Citation</ref>

Running costs<ref name=Hansard22May00/>

Ship	1995–96	1996–97	1997–98	1998–99	1999–2000
Birmingham	£32.28 million	£16.92 million	£17.38 million	£13.38 million	£10.39 million
Newcastle	£32.60 million	£31.60 million	£18.57 million	£13.90 million	£13.73 million
Glasgow	£14.70 million	£29.47 million	£26.36 million	£13.61 million	£12.65 million
Cardiff	£19.86 million	£41.2 million	£28.86 million	£13.20 million	£17.87 million
Exeter	£19.46 million	£15.72 million	£40.83 million	£12.76 million	£14.48 million
Southampton	£16.53 million	£20.37 million	£17.91 million	£39.09 million	£18.79 million
Nottingham	£18.70 million	£17.24 million	£19.08 million	£13.08 million	£32.74 million
Liverpool	£16.92 million	£20.75 million	£14.59 million	£14.79 million	£14.63 million
Manchester	£17.99 million	£19.40 million	£14.58 million	£12.22 million	£12.69 million
Gloucester	£19.33 million	£19.40 million	£13.89 million	£21.49 million	£15.77 million
York	£20.48 million	£19.79 million	£17.50 million	£11.78 million	£21.88 million
Edinburgh	£35.27 million	£19.29 million	£22.50 million	£13.00 million	£12.28 million

Availability

In February 1998, the Minister of State for Defence, Dr Reid said: "Type 42 destroyers achieved approximately 84 to 86 per cent average availability for operational service in each of the last five years. This discounts time spent in planned maintenance."<ref>Hansard 5 Feb 1998 : Column: 762 Template:Webarchive Answer by Secretary of State for Defence, Dr Reid, 5 February 1998.</ref>

Fate of ships

Pennant	Name	Home port	Commissioned	Status
Royal Navy
Batch 1
D80	Sheffield	Portsmouth	16 February 1975	Sunk in Falklands War 4 May 1982
D86	Birmingham	Portsmouth	3 December 1976	Decommissioned 31 December 1999	Scrapped October 2000
D88	Glasgow	Portsmouth	25 May 1977	Decommissioned 1 February 2005	Scrapped December 2008
D87	Newcastle	Portsmouth	23 March 1978	Decommissioned 1 February 2005	Scrapped November 2008
D118	Coventry	Portsmouth	20 October 1978	Sunk in Falklands War 25 May 1982
D108	Cardiff	Portsmouth	24 September 1979	Decommissioned 14 July 2005	Scrapped November 2008
Batch 2
D89	Exeter	Portsmouth	18 September 1980	Decommissioned 27 May 2009	Scrapped September 2011
D90	Southampton	Portsmouth	31 October 1981	Decommissioned 12 February 2009<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Scrapped October 2011
D92	Liverpool	Portsmouth	9 July 1982	Decommissioned 30 March 2012	Scrapped October 2014
D91	Nottingham	Portsmouth	8 April 1983	Decommissioned 11 February 2010	Scrapped October 2011
Batch 3
D95	Manchester	Portsmouth	16 December 1982	Decommissioned 24 February 2011	Scrapped November 2014
D98	York	Portsmouth	9 August 1985	Decommissioned 27 September 2012<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>	Scrapped August 2015
D96	Gloucester	Portsmouth	11 September 1985	Decommissioned 30 June 2011	Scrapped September 2015
D97	Edinburgh	Portsmouth	17 December 1985	Decommissioned 6 June 2013	Scrapped August 2015
Navy of the Argentine Republic
B-52 (ex D-1)	Hércules	Puerto Belgrano	12 July 1976	Transformed in a multi-purpose transport ship since 2000.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation		CitationClass=web }}</ref> As of 2020, reported non-operational.<ref name="zona-militar.com">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> Formally retired in 2024.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
D-2	Santísima Trinidad	Puerto Belgrano	1 July 1981	Decommissioned in 2004. Intended to become a naval museum, but sank, as a result of negligence, off Puerto Belgrano on 22 January 2013.<ref name="telegraph.co.uk"/> She was refloated in December 2015 and moved to a drydock to evaluate her restoration as a museum ship.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> But due to serious damage and lack of funds, she was destined to be scrapped in 2018.<ref name=":0">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Undergoing for scrapping since 2018.<ref name=":0"/>

File:Hércules babor.jpg

ARA Hércules following her conversion

The surviving Argentine Type 42, Hércules, was based at Puerto Belgrano Naval Base, Argentina, and converted into an amphibious command ship through the addition of a new aft superstructure and hangar. She was originally fitted with four single Exocet missile launchers, two on either side of the funnel facing forward but these were removed during refit. As of 2020, Hércules was reported to be non-operational.<ref name="zona-militar.com"/> The other Argentine vessel, Santísima Trinidad, capsized and sank alongside her berth at Puerto Belgrano on 22 January 2013, reportedly as a result of poor maintenance and negligence leading to a burst seawater main and catastrophic flooding.<ref name="telegraph.co.uk">Template:Cite news</ref> She was formally taken out of service in 2024.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Prior to her demise, Santísima Trinidad was extensively cannibalised for spare parts for her more active sister ship. In December 2015, she was refloated and placed in drydock to evaluate the cost of restoration as a museum ship. Finally, due to the very high cost required, it was decided to scrap her in 2016.<ref name=":0" />

Replacement

The UK ships are all now decommissioned. By 2007 none of the batch 1 vessels remained in commission. Initially, the UK sought to procure replacements first in collaboration with seven other NATO nations under the NFR-90 project and then with France and Italy through the Horizon CNGF programme. However, both these collaborative ventures failed and the UK decided to go it alone with a national project.<ref name="NAO report">Template:Cite journal</ref>

The UK Type 42s are succeeded by six Type 45 destroyers. Template:HMS, Template:HMS, Template:HMS, Template:HMS, Template:HMS and Template:HMS are all in commission. The Type 42 class suffered from cramped accommodation, a problem for crew safety and comfort, and also when finding space for upgrades. The Type 45s are considerably larger, displacing 7,500 tonnes, compared to the Type 42 displacement of 3,600 tonnes.<ref name="NAO report"/>

See also

• List of naval ship classes in service

External links

• Royal Navy Type 42 destroyers website