HMS Torquay (F43)

HMS Torquay (F43)
Career
Name:	HMS Torquay
Ordered:	6 March 1951
Builder:	Harland and Wolff
Laid down:	11 March 1953
Launched:	1 July 1954
Commissioned:	10 May 1956
Decommissioned:	23 March 1985
Identification:	Pennant number: F43
Fate:	Scrapped 1987
General characteristics
Class & type:	Whitby-class frigate
Displacement:	2,150 long ton (2,185 tonnes) 2,560 tons full load (2,600 tonnes)
Length:	360 ft (109.7 m) w/l 370 ft (112.8 m) o/a
Beam:	41 ft (12.5 m)
Draught:	17 ft (5.18 m)
Propulsion:	Y-100 plant; 2 Babcock and Wilcox boilers, 2 English Electric steam turbines, 2 shafts, 30,000 shp (22 MW)
Speed:	30 kn (56 km/h)
Range:	370 tons oil fuel, 4,200 nmi (7,780 km) at 12 knots (22 km/h)
Complement:	152, later 225
Sensors and processing systems:	Radar Type 293Q target indication, later; Radar Type 993 Radar Type 277Q height finding (later removed) Radar Type 275 fire control on director Mark 6M Radar Type 262 fire control on STAAG Radar Type 974 navigation Type 1010 Cossor Mark 10 IFF Sonar Type 174 search Sonar Type 162 target classification Sonar Type 170 attack
Armament:	1 x twin 4.5 in (114 mm) gun Mark 6 1 x twin 40 mm Bofors gun Mark 2 STAAG, later; 1 x single 40 mm Bofors gun Mark 7 2 x Limbo A/S mortar Mark 10 12 x 21 in A/S torpedo tubes (removed or never shipped)

HMS Torquay was a Type 12 Whitby class frigate of the Royal Navy. They were the first frigate to have the "V" form hull. This evolutionary design made it possible to be driven in head sea without the usual slamming which occurs with conventional destroyers of the time. Each frigate cost 3.5 million pounds and the first ship completed was Torquay in May 1956.

Operational Service

Torquay was launched by Lady Monkton on 1 July 1954, and participated in the Suez operation in 1956. In 1958 she was diverted to Tobruk following the assassination of the Iraqi Royal Family.

Between 1967–1973 and 1983–1985 Torquay served as a navigation training ship based in Portsmouth. At an unknown time the ship was refitted with a solid main mast (as opposed to a lattice mast) and a large training navigation room was built where the forward set of triple-barrelled mortars used to be located (leaving one set of mortars). In 1974 she was refitted to undertake trials of CAAIS (Computer Assisted Action Information System). Torquay attended the 1977 Silver Jubilee Fleet Review off Spithead when she was part of the 2nd Frigate Squadron.

Replaced by the Leander-class frigate Juno as the navigation training vessel for the Royal Navy, Torquay paid off on 23 March 1985. At the time she was the longest serving ship of her class and the oldest frigate in the fleet. She was sold for scrap in 1987 and left Portsmouth on 1 July 1987 to be broken up in Barcelona, Spain.

Commanding Officers

From	To	Captain
1957	1959	Captain Edward M Usherwood DSC RN
1959	1959	Commander B H G M Baynham RN
1962	1962	Peter Berger RN
1964		Commander Martineau (John R Simpson Dartmouth training squadron cadet)
1977	1977	Lieutenant Commander M H Rhodes RN
1978	1979	Lieutenant Commander G B Webb RN
?	?	Fabian Malbon
?	?	John McAnally

• Rodney Preece

Publications

• Colledge, J. J.; 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. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8. OCLC 67375475. 
• Marriot, Leo, 1983. Royal Navy Frigates 1945-1983, Ian Allen Ltd. ISBN 07110 1322 5

External images

Older photographs of HMS Torquay

Photograph showing the additional navigation classroom