INS Betwa (F139)
History | |
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India | |
Name | Betwa |
Namesake | Betwa River |
Owner | Government of India |
Ordered | 1954 |
Builder | Vickers-Armstrongs Shipbuilders Limited, Newcastle upon Tyne |
Laid down | 29 May 1957 |
Launched | 15 September 1959 |
Commissioned | 8 December 1960 |
Decommissioned | 31 December 1991 |
Identification | F139, F39 |
Fate | Broken up, 1998 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Leopard-class frigate |
Length | 101 metres (331 ft) |
Beam | 10.6 metres (35 ft) |
Draught | 3 metres (9.8 ft) |
Propulsion | 8 × Admiralty Standard Range ASR1 diesels, 14,400 shp (10,738 kW), 2 shafts |
Speed | 22 knots (41 km/h; 25 mph) |
Range | 7,400 miles (11,900 km) at 18 kn |
Complement | 200 (22 officers) |
Sensors and processing systems |
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Armament |
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INS Betwa (F139) was a
.Development and design
These ships were designed to provide anti-aircraft escorts to convoys and light fleet
Through their diesel-electric propulsion the Type 41s achieved long range through their low fuel use. The Leopard class was also fitted with an early type of hydraulic stabiliser system consisting of two fins that could be extended outside the main hull, to port and starboard, from a compartment between the two engine rooms. Gyro controlled with a relatively simple control system, they proved very effective in use. During testing every three months at sea, the ship could be easily driven into a 20°+ roll from the manual control on the bridge. Prior warning had to be given over the ship's tannoy system before testing was carried out, to allow stowage of loose items. Slight reduction in top speed was also noticed when in use.
However, by 1955 success had been achieved, with difficulty and limitations, in developing new steam turbines giving 30-knot speed and the range to take convoys across the Atlantic, embodied in the Whitby-class Type 12 frigates. As a result, the orders for the new diesel-electric frigates were cancelled, changed to orders for Type 12, or sold to India.
Within a few years of the Type 41's introduction in the late 1950s they were regarded as obsolete for their intended function as anti-aircraft convoy escorts. This was emphasized when the planned replacement of the 4.5" guns with 3"/70 AA guns was abandoned (in January 1955) due to cost and the view that AA guns were obsolete against jets and missiles.
Construction and career
Betwa was
She carried pennant number F139,[4] in 1980s changed to F39.[5]
She was broken up in 1998.
References
- ^ D.K. Brown & G. Moore. Rebuidling the Royal Navy. Naval Design since 1945. Seaforth. Barnssley (2013) p 74
- ^ Brown & Moore. Rebilding the RN (2012) p 73-74 & N, Friedman. British Destroyers and Frigates after WW2. Seaforth. Barnsley (2012) p 208-211
- ISBN 0-85177-605-1page 174.
- ISBN 0-531-03251-5.
- ISBN 0-7106-0828-4.