Taking the suggestion of a all gas turbine County Class destroyer here is my little take on the possible history of the class from 1960 through to 1982. How plausible it is and how may holes you could drive a truck through there are I leave for the forum to find.
Revised county class destroyer program
Four ships ordered 1959/60 as batch 1, commissioned 1962/63.
These four ships were the world’s first warships with COGAG propulsion system and were armed with the type one sea slug missile system. Ships names, Devonshire, Hampshire, Kent, Dorsetshire.
Two ships ordered 1962 as batch 2, commissioned 1966
These two ships w with COGAG propulsion system and were armed with the type two sea slug missile system. Ships names, Fife and Glamorgan
Two modified Command Counties ordered 1964. commissioned 67/68
The sale of the Three Tiger Class cruisers to a South American nation in 1964, left the RN short of Escort group leaders. The DNC proposed a modified County class destroyer to fill this role. By deleting the entire Seaslug system space was made for a full width hanger capable of handling three Wessex Helicopters for anti submarine warfare. With the flight deck extended the whole way out to the stern to provide two landing spots. The internal space formally allocated to the missile system was used for an enlarged Command Control and Communication suite with extra accommodation for the additional personnel embarked and were named London and Edinburgh.
Two ships ordered 1965 as batch 3, commissioned 1969/70
These two ships with COGAG propulsion system and were armed with the type two sea slug missile system controlled by an up graded radar and guidance system, which Fife and Glamorgan were to receive at their first major refit. Ships names, Antrim and Northfolk.
One modified County/type 82 ordered 1967 commissioned 1972
The original type 82 program ran into financial and political rough waters and in an attempt to at least get some of the technology afloat as soon as possible the Admiralty proposed a single compromise vessel. This was basically to rebuild an existing County Class hull and superstructure. Modified to take the electronic, radar and weapons systems of the Type 82 as being proposed for the Type 42. Further this vessel would also be the worlds first RN warship to deploy Seawolf SAM missile system, being trialed for the proposed Type 22 frigate. The vessel selected for this was HMS Dorsetshire.
So starting from forward this ship would have a 4.5 inch Mark 8 naval gun in A position with a 6 cell Seawolf mount in B position forward. The forward radar being located as in the proposed Type 42 directly above the bridge. The two sea cats abaft the after funnel as shipped on the County class were deleted, Immediately aft of the funnel was a deckhouse with the aft type 902 Guidance radar. Aft of that was the twin arm Seadart launcher and then aft of that a hanger recessed one deck lower and a flight desk for a single Lynx size helicopter. Until the Lynx entered service the ship was to embark a Wasp helicopter to deliver anti submarine torpedoes at distance from the ship. A proposal to fit an Ikara missile system was vetoed in favor of getting the Seawolf VLMS to sea early to get all the wrinkles out of the system in an operational vessel prior the type 22 entering service. Getting two new missile system to sea in a single vessel was a big task but by utilizing a known and proven ship design as a host vessel eased the load considerable on the work load of the Naval constructors design team. Fitting all this new weaponry, radar and the ADAW-2 computer system into an existing hull required some shifting around of the internal spaces and stringent efforts to save top weight. This was one reason for the dropping down one deck of the hanger and flight deck, it also served to give a clearer arc of fire for the twin Seadart missile launcher.
Due to the extensive trials and proving period this ship would require to get all it’s new systems working in Harmony the DNC suggested slightly tongue in cheek that she be re-named either HMS Experiment or HMS Hercules. The First Sealord had vetoed the name HMS Experiment, as he quipped “if she proves to be a crock of shit the sailors will nickname her HMS Excrement and that I will not have!!” so HMS Hercules she became and like the god her trials were many and hard. Her launch would be postponed and fitting out would be prolonged due to delays in the Computer system and both the missile systems but when she finally commissioned in mid 1972 she was the most advance ship in the RN with state of the art C3 and Missiles. Also she served her purpose of easing the way for the new technology that was to be used on the Type 42 and 22 frigates thereby keeping cost escalation down and minimizing delays.
However she was never a ‘happy ship’ in naval terms and this was blamed by some on the changing of the name brining here bad luck. Sailors as from time immemorial being a superstitious lot.
Whilst HMS Hercules was being built and the designs of the type 42 and type 22 were being finalized the Admiralty were doing battle with the treasury and attempting to maintain a fleet that could fulfill all the tasks asked of it by the Politicians whilst not reaching a completed financial impasse. To that end it was noted that the rest of the batch one Counties were already technologically obsolescent at best but there was plenty of life and use left in the hulls and machinery. So proposals were put forward to convert HMS Hampshire and HMS Devonshire into Commando Counties. Using the design of the Command County class as a template the ships had there Seaslug missile system removed and the hanger and deck layout of the Command counties built in its place. The internal space available was then configured as Barracks for an embarked force of Commandoes and their stores. The hanger would initially accommodate three Wessex class helicopters until a ‘commando’ version of the Sea King could be developed of which two could be embarked. Stowed under the deckhead of after flight deck were a dozen Rigid raiding craft and a further dozen Gemini inflatable raiding boats were stored in lockers. These ships were intended to able to ptovide fire support to an amphibious force and to be able to land their own Marine contingent where and when required whilst on detached service. The two ships names seemed appropriate as both counties hosted major Marine barracks. The Marine messes on warships were traditionally known as ‘the barracks and on HMS Hampshire the Marines mess deck was known as ‘Eastney’ after the famous barracks near Portsmouth and on HMS Devonshire they were known as ‘Stone house’ after the barracks in Plymouth .
There had been arguments within the Admiralty and the DNC about whether the Counties were capable of handling Sea King Helicopters the argument was finally settled with the help of the Canadian navy who made their data for the redesign of the Iroquois class destroyers available to the DNC. With the Iroquois class being one hundred feet shorter and five feet narrower on the beam with a thousand tons less displacement being redesigned so as to operate two seas kings, the opinion quickly became, anything the Canadians could do could surely be done by the RN! These two ships recommissioned just in time for the Queens Silver Jubilee review in 1977.
This still left one batch one County Class destroyer with the now obsolete type one Sea Slug. Consideration was given to selling her in the late seventies to a friendly nations navy but an alternative plan was hatched by elements of the Admiralty and the British defense industry. The CC/2 conversion had proved very expensive and the layout of the ship not that successful. The joint proposal was for HMS Kent to receive a simpler rebuild, where the two forward turrets were left in place. Aft a Hanger for two Lynx size helicopters would fitted abaft the after funnel. The Sea Slug launcher would be modified into an eight cell box launcher capable of taking Sea dart or Sea Eagle missiles with an additional eight boxes for Sea wolf missiles mounted, four a side outboard of the launcher trunnions. Even fully loaded this system was no heavier than the original. The existing Sea Slug magazines were reconfigured to hold reloads for all the missile system reloading from the front of the boxes. The radar fit was basically a clone of that fitted to the type forty two. The Sea Eagle was being adopted by the RN as a domestically produced air and ship born anti ship missile. For short range anti ship operations but further than the 4.5 inch guns could reach the Lynx could carry sea skua missiles. For anti submarine operations the Lynx would carry homing torpedoes. With the sea cat systems short range defense roll taken by the Seawolf missile the two Sea Cat launchers were removed and two Junk buster 40mm Bofors mounts substituted.
HMS Kent completed her post refit trials be mid 198 and the results were very encouraging. She could if required fire of eight sea slugs in two salvos of four, and then reload to repeat the process quickly enough to still have time to engage with Seawolf any air threats that remained. Where there was a surface vessel threat some of the cells would be loaded with Sea Eagle in place of Seadart.
So successful was this rebuild that the decision was taken to rebuild all the four remaining Counties to this new configuration as escorts for the new carriers that the RN was due to commission in the mid 1980’s. There was much discussion as to whether the two twin 4.5” turrets forty were of any real use or not. Retaining these mounts on the Commando Counties was integral to their role. For the others there was less certainty. On the Command Counties B mount was removed and four individually boxed Sea Eagle mounted there instead.
When the Americans started development of the Phalanx close in weapons system the RN had been working on their own gun based close in gun defense system. This was based on using four belt fed 30mm Aiden guns on a an independent self contained mount. One criteria was that not only did it have to weigh no more than the Seacat launcher it was designed to replace. A second was that it had to have visual tracking like the Rapier Missile system (in fact in some circles Rapier it selve was touted for this role) and finally it had to have its own independent power supply capable of keeping it on line and in action for at least half an hour if all other systems are knocked out by battle damage. In 1981 the first of the ‘Full Back’ CIWS was sent to sea on HMS Norfolk.