Iroquois class destroyer

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

HMCS Algonquin

HMCS Algonquin (DDH 283)
Class overview
Builders: MIL Davie Shipbuilding, Lauzon, Quebec
Operators: Naval flag of Canada Canadian Forces Maritime Command
Preceded by: Annapolis-class
Succeeded by: Province-class
In commission: 29 July 1972
Completed: 4
Active: HMCS Iroquois
HMCS Athabaskan
HMCS Algonquin
Lost: HMCS Huron
General characteristics
Displacement: 5,100 tonnes
Length: 129.8 m
Beam: 15.2 m
Draught: 4.7 m
Propulsion: COGOG - 2 shaft
2 x Allison 570-KF cruise gas turbines (5.6 MW)
2 x Pratt & Whitney FT4A-2 boost gas turbines (37 MW)
Speed: 29+ knots
Range: 4,500 miles
Complement: 280
Sensors and
processing systems:		 Signaal AN/SPQ 501 DA-08 radar
Signaal LW-08 AN/SPQ 502 radar
SQS-510 hull sonar
SQS-510 VDS sonar
Armament: 32 x VLS, Standard SM-2MR Block IIIA SAMs
1 x 76 mm/62 OTO Melara
6 x 12.75 in tubes firing Mark-46 Mod 5 torpedoes
1 x Phalanx CIWS (Block 1)
2 x M2 Browning machine guns
Aircraft carried: 2 x CH-124 Sea King helicopters

Iroquois-class destroyers are a class of four helicopter-carrying, guided missile destroyers of the Canadian Forces.

Launched in the 1970s, the Iroquois-class was the first military ship design to employ gas turbines exclusively, using two turbines for cruise power, and another two fast starting "boost" turbines for speeds of up to 29 knots (such an arrangement is known as COGOG). They were originally fitted out for anti-submarine warfare, but a major upgrade program in the 1990s overhauled them for area-wide anti-aircraft.

Contents

[edit] Original design

When they entered service the ships were primarily intended for long-range anti-submarine warfare. Their primary weapon for this role was their complement of two CH-124 Sea King helicopters, which could be launched in even high sea states due to their "bear trap" winch system. The ship included a hangar that provided an enclosed working space for both helicopters at the same time. The helicopters were backed up by two triple-mount torpedo launchers firing Mk.44 and Mk.46 Mod 5 torpedoes and a Limbo Mark 10 depth charge mortar.

For other duties the ships also mounted a 5" OTO Melara multi-purpose gun and two four-round Sea Sparrow launchers for point anti-aircraft defense. The missile batteries were located on the interior of the ship on either side of the superstructure, requiring some time for them to unlimber for firing.

The ships were powered primarily by two Pratt & Whitney FT4-A2's gas turbines of 50,000 shp each, backed up by two more FT12-AH3 of 7,400 shp each for boost. The power from these turbines was used to run the twin shafts through a series of helical gears. One unique feature was the distinctive Y-shaped "Playboy Bunny" funnels, which were designed to exit the exhaust gasses to either side of the helicopter deck.

The ships were 425 × 50 × 14 feet (129.8 × 15.2 × 4.4 meters) and 4,700 tons displacement. The normal crew complement was 285.

[edit] Gulf War modification

During the Gulf War of 1990/91, HMCS Athabaskan was sent to the Persian Gulf along with two other ships. She was quickly upgraded with a new mine-avoidance sonar, along with a Phalanx 20mm CIWS (mounted over the Limbo mortar well) and shoulder launched Blowpipe and Javelin missiles. The Limbo mortar was inoperative.

[edit] TRUMP modifications

The entire class underwent major retrofits as a part of the Tribal Class Update and Modernization Program, or TRUMP, in the 1990s. These refits had the effect of re-purposing the ships for area air defence, and the ships now referred to as air defence destroyers. Their former anti-submarine role has since been taken over, to a large degree at least, by the newer Halifax-class frigates.

The main weapon of the new design is the Mk.41 VLS, firing 29 SM-2 Block III long-range anti-aircraft missiles. In order to provide room for the VLS, the original 5" gun was replaced with the smaller but much faster firing Oto Melara 76 mm gun, relocated from the deck to the bridgework above it. A Phalanx CIWS was also added for self-defense. The torpedo tubes were retained, but the Sea Sparrow system was removed.

The modernization also replaced the original Pratt & Whitney FT-12 cruise turbines with newer 12,788 shp 570-KF engines from Allison. The speed remained the same, however, as the weight had increased to 5,100 tons full load. The original split funnel was replaced by a simpler single one, as the exhaust proved not to be a problem.

The TRUMP ships were intended to be a stop-gap measure only, their radar systems in particular being rather outdated. The TRUMP Iroquois are intended to serve until 2010, after some forty years of service. However, shortly after the upgrades a budget downsizing led to the Huron being left without a crew. Huron was paid off in 2005, and sunk in a live-fire exercise in 2007 by her sister ship, the Algonquin.

There was some work on a replacement design, known to Navy-watchers as the Province-class destroyers, but this was confined largely to studies of a much-improved phased array radar system being developed for the Dutch and Germans, known as APAR. Current speculation is that the ships themselves would be similar to a "stretched" Halifax-class. Such a design would have similar capability to the Iroquois but with only one helicopter. There appear to be no current plans to actually build such a class, however.

[edit] General characteristics

[edit] Ships in class


Iroquois heads into the Atlantic passing Gibraltar
Iroquois heads into the Atlantic passing Gibraltar

[edit] HMCS Iroquois (DDH 280)


[edit] HMCS Huron (DDH 281)


[edit] HMCS Athabaskan (DDH 282)


Algonquin at Rim of the Pacific Exercise (RIMPAC) 2004
Algonquin at Rim of the Pacific Exercise (RIMPAC) 2004

[edit] HMCS Algonquin (DDH 283)

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Iroquois-class destroyer
List of ships of the Canadian Navy
Languages