HMS Blake (C99)

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HMS Blake
HMS Blake after the 1975 remodeling
HMS Blake after the 1975 remodeling
Ship data
flag United KingdomUnited Kingdom (Naval War Flag) United Kingdom
Ship type Light cruiser
class Tiger class
Callsign C99 'Snakey Blakey'
Shipyard Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company , Govan
building-costs £ 13m
Order 1942
Keel laying August 17, 1942
Launch December 20, 1945
Commissioning March 18, 1961
Decommissioning December 1979
Whereabouts scrapped from November 1982
Ship dimensions and crew
length
169.3 m ( Lüa )
164.0 m ( KWL )
width 20.0 m
Draft Max. 6.4 m
displacement 11,560 tn.l.
After the renovation:
9,975 tn.l.
 
crew 716 men
(885 after the renovation)
Machine system
machine 4 boilers
4 Parsons - geared turbines
Machine
performance
80,000 PS (58,840 kW)
Top
speed
31.5 kn (58 km / h)
propeller 4th
Armament

After the renovation:

Armor
Sensors
  • 277Q, 903 (x5), 960, 992Q radars
  • Type 174, 176, and 185 sonars

After the renovation:

  • 278, 903 (x4), 965M, 992Q radars
  • Sonars unchanged

The HMS Blake ( C99 ), named after the British Admiral Robert Blake , was one of the last conventional light cruisers in the British Royal Navy . Like her sister ship - the HMS Tiger - the ship that was laid down during the Second World War, with its conventional design without anti-submarine capabilities and the exclusive tube armament, no longer met the requirements of modern sea warfare. Therefore, after a delay in construction and an extensive redesign of its design, it did not enter service until 1961. In the second half of the 1960s she was converted into a guided missile and helicopter cruiser and remained in this role until 1979. After the subsequent service in the reserve fleet, she was finally retired in 1982.

history

The construction of the Blake began in 1942 at the Fairfield shipyard in Govan as part of the Minotaur class , which should replace the ships of the Crown Colony class with a displacement of approx. 8800 standard tons and armament of 3 × 3 BL 6-inch guns . The original name Blake was temporarily changed to Tiger during the construction period . However, she was baptized on December 20, 1945 by Lady Jean Blake, the wife of Vice Admiral Sir Geoffrey Blake, in the name of HMS Blake . Like all conventional cruisers of the 'Additional Naval Program 1942', which the British government had decided to build at the beginning of the war, the design lacked the ability to deal with the submarines, which became increasingly important in World War II, and the anti-aircraft armament no longer corresponded to the constant growing threat from aircraft. As a result, the construction was given low priority and the ship was only rudimentarily completed at the time of launch . The further expansion was completely stopped at the end of the war and the ship was laid up in Gare Loch ( Argyll and Bute ).

In 1951, the British Government made the decision to complete three unfinished Minotaur-class cruisers with a modified design. Mainly the main artillery was converted to 2 × 2 more modern, semi-automatic QF 6-inch (152 mm) guns with a caliber length of 50 and 3 × 2 fast-firing 76 mm automatic cannons of caliber length 70 with 90-120 rounds per minute were installed for air defense. In addition, each individual tower received an MRS3 fire control radar, the torpedo armament was omitted and air conditioning was retrofitted. In this configuration, the ships were referred to as the Tiger class . For the Blake this meant further construction from 1954. In March 1961 the Navy took over and the ship was officially put into service on March 18, 1961.

modification

From 1965 to 1969, after controversial political discussions, the ship was converted. The background was that, despite the modernized design of the Tiger class, conventional warships with only barrel armament no longer met the increasingly complex requirements of naval warfare by the end of World War II. The technical advancement in air force and missile technology made the ships vulnerable and the comparatively large crew caused costs that were out of proportion to the limited range of operations.

The Blake became a "helicopter and command cruiser" , similar to its sister ship Tiger . In addition, the aft turret was omitted in favor of a landing deck with hangars for four helicopters (initially Westland Wessex , later Westland Sea King ). The chimneys were redesigned and made significantly narrower, supplemented by new covers and the radar equipment was modernized. Extensive command and control facilities have also been installed so that the ship can be used as a flagship for "task groups" in the future. In order to keep up with the times with regard to air defense, 2 starters with 4 rockets of the type GWS 22 Seacat were installed.

Overall, the expansion increased the crew to 885 men (85 officers and 800 crew levels). Originally estimated at £ 5 million and 18 months for the renovation, the work ended up taking four years and costing over £ 7 million.

Calls

With the completion of the conversion, the Blake moved together with other Royal Navy units to Gibraltar in 1969 and became part of the British Mediterranean fleet . Since there was increasing tension between Great Britain and Spain under General Franco and the temporary closure of the border between British Gibraltar and Spain, the units should show their presence on site. Also in 1969 there was an experimental landing of a vertical take-off aircraft of the Harrier type on the flight deck of the Blake .

When Dom Mintoff became Prime Minister of Malta in 1971 and there were upheavals between the former colony and motherland Great Britain, HMS Blake, as part of the carrier group around HMS Bulwark , was also affected by the withdrawal of the Royal Navy and moved back home.

The ship became part of the public eye for the last time in 1977, when she took part in the naval parade in honor of Queen Elizabeth II's 25th anniversary of the throne .

In December 1979 the ship was given the honor of firing the Royal Navy's final salvo from 6-inch guns. It was then decommissioned, together with its sister ship Tiger , as the "Standby Squadron" in Chatham .

Whereabouts

When the Falklands War broke out in April 1982 , both ships were checked immediately and their condition was confirmed. This was followed by docking in preparation for recommissioning.

Contrary to initial speculation that the 6-inch artillery could be useful for bombing coastlines, it was actually the flight decks of the cruisers that made the difference for the speedy commissioning. These were the third largest in the Royal Navy at the time (after the carriers Hermes and Invincible ) and could have been used by vertical take-offs of the Harrier type .

However, after the loss of the destroyer Sheffield and the sinking of the Argentine cruiser General Belgrano , doubts about the ship's self-defense capabilities predominated. This, and the high manpower requirements combined with the fact that the amount of weapons and fuel used by a Harrier that only starts vertically, was reduced, led to the restoration work being stopped.

After a possible sale to Chile did not come on the negotiating stage addition that was Blake eventually sold for £ 210,000 and from October 29, 1982, after Cairnryan for scrapping towed.

The ship's bell of Blake was at St. Mary's Church in 2016 Bridgwater issued. After the church was closed for renovation work, it is now in the local 'Blake Museum'.

Commanders

From To captain
1961 1962 Captain David Clutterbuck RN
1962 1969 In reserve and conversion
1968 1970 Captain Roland F Plugge RN
1970 1972 Captain Ronald D Butt RN
1972 1974 Captain Bruce M Tobey RN
1974 1975 Captain Peter Herbert RN
1975 1976 Captain David Eckersley-Maslin | David M Eckersley-Maslin RN
1976 1979 Captain Herbert B Parker RN
1979 1979 Captain David J Mackenzie RN

Sister ships

  • HMS Tiger (C20) , formerly Bellerophon , keel laid 1941, commissioning 1959, decommissioning 1978, conversion analogous to the HMS 'Blake'
  • HMS Lion (C34) , formerly Defense , keel laid in 1942, commissioning 1960, decommissioning 1972, no conversion, spare parts store for Blake and Tiger

literature

  • Colledge, JJ; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing.
  • Robert Gardiner, ed., Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922-1946 (Conway Maritime Press, London, 1980)
  • Robert Gardiner, ed., Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1947-1982 (Conway Maritime Press, London, 1983)
  • Jane's Fighting Ships 1950–51 (Janes Publishing, London, 1950)
  • Alan Raven and John Roberts, British Cruisers of World War II , (Arms and Armor Press, London, 1980)
  • MJ Whitley, Cruisers of World War Two: An Illustrated Encyclopedia (Arms and Armor Press, London, 1995)

Web links

Commons : HMS Blake (C99)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Footnotes

  1. Navy Estimates, 1959-60, column 1018. Handsard, accessed March 16, 2020 .
  2. ADM 53/184708 - Logs. National Archives catalog, accessed March 16, 2020 .
  3. ^ A b c Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1947-1995 , page 505, Robert Gardiner, Conway Maritime Press, 1995, ISBN 0-85177-605-1
  4. ^ JJ Colledge, Ben Warlow: Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). (2006) [1969] . London: Chatham Publishing, ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8 .
  5. ^ Navy Estimates, 1959-60, column 891. Handsard, accessed March 16, 2020 .
  6. ^ A b John E. Moore: Jane's Fighting Ships 1975-76, p . 349ff . Macdonald and Jane's & Co, 1975, ISBN 0-354-00519-7 .
  7. ^ A b House of Commons debates, Public Accounts Committee (Reports), volume 847 para. 1735-1737. Hansard, accessed March 10, 2020 .
  8. British Announce Pullout In Dispute on Malta Bases, Dec. 30, 1971. Retrieved March 16, 2020 .
  9. ^ Official Souvenir Program, 1977. Silver Jubilee Fleet Review , HMSO
  10. NavWeaps, UK / Britain 6 "/ 50 (15.2 cm) QF Mark N5. Retrieved March 16, 2020 .
  11. ^ House of Commons Debates, HMS Tiger, November 12, 1997, volume 300 para. 581-2W. Hansard, accessed March 10, 2020 .
  12. ^ British Armed Forces (1860-), Royal Navy - Captains Commanding Warships. Retrieved March 16, 2020 .
  13. ^ A b Robert Conway: All the World's Fighting Ships 1947-1995, p . 504 . Conway Maritime Press, 1995, ISBN 0-85177-605-1 .