UK Naval Gun Fire Support

[IronDuke99]

Originally Posted by Imp

76mm!! so its not a warship more patrol escort to shoot at pesky pirates, ships are not cheap sticking a pop gun on it seems very odd.

It is very unlikely the type 31 Frigates will have 76mm guns, The three main designs all feature guns of 4.5 inch - 5inch.

The idea is that the Type 31's will be general purpose Frigates (not covettes) of something like 3,500-5,000 tons and closer to 5,000 tons is most likely, ie, a bit larger than, most British escorts in the Falklands Conflict.

They need to be cheaper than the large and capable, espcially in ASW terms, type 26's and, it is hoped, exportable, but they will still be real Frigates with ASW, gun and AA missiles, etc.

PS
While looking at stuff for this I found RN ships fired 8,000 rounds of 4.5 inch in Naval Gunfire Support in the Falkland's and over 200 rounds off Libya recently...