- Yes
- No
Hello! and welcome to a continuation of my Suggestions for the Type 61 Salisbury class Frigate! This time I will cover a rather lesser known sub-variant, HMS Chichester during her time as a Guard ship for Hong Kong, I feel this could come to game to provide a unique Frigate for the British Coastal tree and to give life to an often forgotten ship.
History
Spoiler
HMS Chichester started life similarly to her 3 Sister ships, being laid down on the 26th of June 1953, the second of the Type 61s to be laid down, and being completed to the same standard as all her sisters (as described here) with the standard armament of a single 2 x 4.5 inch gun turret, a Twin 40mm Bofors Mk.2 STAAG turret and a Squid anti Submarine Mortar. She was completed on the 15th of May 1958, being Named Chichester after the City of Chichester in England.
Her Service was not too Atypical for a Ship of her class, serving with the 4th Frigate Flotilla Operating both around Home waters and in the far east. She saw her first bit of excitement quite early on, when she rescued the crew from the Coaster Concha Following an explosion and subsequent severe fire, this was followed by a series of other minor operations, in 1968 she was deployed for fishery protection operations when she was accused of spying on Soviet Naval exercises, and the following year she deployed as part of the Beira patrol, attempting to stop the flow of oil to Rhodesia through Mozambique.
In 1968 she was upgraded similarly to her Sister Ship, HMS Llandaff, Being refitted with a Twin Bofors STAAG Mk.5 and the improved type 965 & 993 radar sets. This differed from her other sister ships HMS Salisbury (F32) and Lincoln (F99) who were refitted around the same time with a Seacat Missile System instead (as described here).
Chichester Served in this configuration until 1971, which is when she was again refitted to replace a Type 12 frigate due for decommissioning, here she was refitted with her STAAG Being replaced by a single 40mm Bofors Mk.VII mount, Her squid removed, her radar downgraded to the Mk.978, 993M and the 275 sets, and most importantly she received two or three 20mm Oerlikon Cannons as a more suitable armament for patrolling Hong Kong waters, the reason I am unsure of exactly how many is due to the fact that It appears to have 3 cannons but due to the low quality of image, and most sources listing 2 cannons I am unable to confirm.
She Served as the Hong Kong Guard ship for 5 years, in which she received the nickname the Hong Kong Gin Ship, before further defence cuts from the united kingdom removed the need for a ship to guard Hong Kong, returning to the UK in 1976 via the Falkland islands after the Research Ship RSS Shackleton was fired upon by an Argentine Destroyer in a precursor to the Falklands war. After finally returning to the UK, she was finally sold for scrap in 1981.
Images
Spoiler
One of the Highest quality images on HMS chichester in her Hong Kong Refit, clearly shows a 20mm and 40mm Cannon at her Stern at at least one more 20mm Amidships
HMS Chichester leading 3 Ton Class Minesweepers through Hong Kong’s Famous Lyemun Gap
HMS Chichester (Middle) and several other Frigates berthed at Hong Kong, 1973
The Naval Dockyard at Hong Kong in 1972, HMS Chichester clearly visible in its basin
HMS Chichester and Several Ton Class Minesweepers of the Hong Kong fleet in 1974
HMS Chichester alongside at Chatham Dockyard in 1978, it would appear she was in the early stages of being stripped for scrapping
HMS Chichester During her rescue of Concha’s Crew in 1958
Specs/Armament
Spoiler
General Characteristics
- Displacement:
- 2,170 tons standard
- 2,400 tons full load
- Length: 340 ft (100 m) o/a
- Beam: 40 ft (12 m)
- Draught: 15 ft 6 in (4.72 m)
- Propulsion: 8 × ASR1 diesels, 12,400 shp (9,200 kW), 2 shafts
- Speed: 24 kn (44 km/h)
- Range: 7,500 nmi (13,900 km) at 16 kn (30 km/h)
- Complement: 235
Armament
- 1 x Twin 4.5 Inch Gun Mk.6 (on bow)
- 1 x 40mm Bofors Mk.VII (on Stern)
- 2-3 x 20mm Oerlikon Cannons (1 x Stern, 1-2 x Amidships)
Place in game
Spoiler
In game I feel this would most likely sit as an Event or Premium Ship due to its uniqueness, offering a modification of a Type 61 not offered by any other ship of its class, and offering a slightly superior (in terms of the game) secondary armament compared to her sister ships.
In terms of BR I would expect this to sit around 3.7 in the Coastal Tree, Given her likeness to several other ships such as the Whitby or Rothesay Classes already in game, although this variant offers a slightly different armament compared to her alternatives.
Sources