Royal Navy's new Destroyer Class - background and news
(Revised July 2008)

Background
The Type 45s, at around 7350 tonnes, will be the biggest and most powerful air defence destroyers ever built for the Royal Navy. They will provide a quantum leap in capability from the outset. They will carry the world leading PAAMS system and the Sampson multi-function radar (world beating British technology). This system will set new standards in air defence, as it will defend the T45 and ships in its company from multiple attacks by even the most sophisticated anti-ship missiles. The initial procurement plans are for six Type 45 Destroyers, the first three of which have already been launched and named HMS Daring, HMS Dauntless and HMS Diamond. The currently-estimated in-service date of HMS Daring is December 2009.

Current progress
HMS Daring began construction in August 2003, she was launched in 2006 and she is now in the final stages of build in Glasgow and undertaking a series of sea trials periods off the West of Scotland; meanwhile her 5 sister ships are in various stages of build by BVT in Glasgow. HMS Dauntless and HMS Diamond have been launched already. The next to launch is HMS Dragon in November 2008 followed by HMS Defender in mid 2009 and HMS Duncan in 2010.

News
Captain Paul Bennett took command of HMS Daring in early 2008 and was able to take time away from a busy first-of-class ship's trials programme to join the Daring's Cory Cup regatta at Cowes on Saturday 5th July. Paul and his wife Kay are enthusiastic sailors and welcomed meeting a number of Association members ashore before and after racing whilst Paul claimed to enjoy his introduction to Daring racing onboard Dauntless crewing for Giles & Jane Peckham. We look forward to seeing Paul and his fellow Type 45 Commanding Officers and sailing crew members joining us at Cowes in the coming seasons.

Daring Association attend the launch of HMS Dauntless and visit HMS Daring
Class Captain, Brian Hardy, led a small group of association members to witness the impressive launch of HMS Dauntless on Clyde-side on Tuesday 23rd January 2007. Brian and Catherine Hardy were joined at BAE Systems Govan shipyard on Glasgow's south bank, by Jane Peckham, Meryel Boyd, David Gower, Doug Harckham, Justin Reynolds and Calum Sillars. Andrew Taylor, Giles and Jane's occasional Dauntless' crew who lives near Glasgow, also came.

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The launch went precisely to plan; the ship's sponsor, Lady Burnell-Nugent, the wife of the Commander in Chief Fleet, Admiral Sir James Burnell-Nugent broke the traditional bottle of champagne against the bow and wished the ship well at exactly 15:23 whilst the Royal Marines' band played. Refreshment vans did a roaring trade as the freezing wind whipped off the Clyde. Red, white and blue balloons, a blizzard of confetti and the roar of onlookers filled the air, as a crowd of 5,000 Clyde-side workers and their families, fellow school children, and others from further a-field, watched their latest pride and joy slide down the ramp. "I've been to launches on and off since the 1980s and they're all fantastic occasions, a party atmosphere," said Admiral Sir James Burnell-Nugent, the commander-in-chief of the UK fleet. "It's something like a wedding, almost, or a christening party. It's like a new member of the family arriving. It's always a great occasion for a celebration." Another commentator: "It's worrying that these launches are becoming less frequent. To me, these things represent what Britain used to be," said Bryan Dunbar, who had served as an able seaman aboard the previous HMS Dauntless and who wanted to see its successor take to the water. (Craig Brown, Scotsman, 24 Jan '07)

Association members who made the trek north to Glasgow were rewarded with a memorable spectacle, even if the weather was not quite what they had left behind at Heathrow. One or two members of the party had also visited Vospers' yard in Portsmouth in June 2005 when HMS Daring's bow had been completed and was about to leave Portsmouth on a barge for the Clyde and HMS Dauntless' bow and mast sections were still being constructed. As we stood on the Govan quay-side awaiting the mid-January launch, it was easy to understand why it was the case when we were told 2 years ago that the ships' sections built on the south coast were made marginally larger than those constructed on the Clyde to allow for metal-shrinkage as the steel contracted on the journey north!

A 3 minute video of the launch can be viewed or downloaded on the BAE Systems web site.

The next destroyer, HMS Dragon, is expected to be launched on the Clyde in November 2008. If any Association members are interested in attending the launch, they should contact Calum. As Commander David Shutts, when senior naval officer of HMS Daring, commented: "either way I know that you'll enjoy the launch of one of these ships - they're big girls in a sexy frock and they look good sliding backwards into the sea".

Lesser known facts about HMS Daring

• The power plant on Daring could supply enough electricity to light a town of 80,000 people (ie Leicester).
• Its fuel tanks have a volume equivalent to about half an Olympic-sized swimming pool.
• The vessel contains 110 bunk beds, 26 sofa beds, 22 single beds and has its own hospital facilities.
• The hull is made of 2,800 tonnes of steel weighing more than the Blackpool Tower.
• Approximately 40 tonnes of paint will have to be applied to cover an area of 100,000sq m of steel.

The following day, Brian & Catherine Hardy and Meryel Boyd were invited on a tour of HMS Daring, currently fitting out at the BAe Systems yard at Scotstoun, across the Clyde from Govan. Brian reported: "We were met at the gate and taken to the offices where the CPOs, POs, and leading hands were hard at work on multi screened computers - all a bit different from my day. Commander David Shutts met us there and introduced us to our guide for the morning - the Buffer. First a safety lecture - Don't touch anything - it carries 40,000 volts and might kill you - Keep your hard hats and safety glasses on at all times. I handed over a presentation photo of Daring 1 and Doublet to David Shutts having a tussle during Cowes Week.

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"The ship itself was fascinating - a warren of activity - men, unattached cables and pipes everywhere. Noted was the fact that the crew could be in a submarine - no windows or scuttles anywhere, except one 6" scuttle in the Captains day cabin, on his insistence. All openings had to be kept closed at all time to keep the radar signature to the absolute minimum - normally the same as a fishing boat! Also fascinating was the fact that senior non-commissioned officers now stand watches as they are generally more experienced than young commissioned officers straight out of college.

"We were shown over the two top decks and then the bridge - Quite enough as it took the best part of three hours and was very cold." Meryel Boyd added: "The outing on HMS Daring was excellently organised, we all met Commander Shutts, and were shown round by someone called Stuart. he knew the ship inside out (literally!) and was absolutely great..the whole tour was fascinating - what a great ship she will be." If you would like to offer a crewing slot to a member of the IPT or ships' companies of either HMS Daring or Dauntless, many of whom live on the south coast, contact Calum Sillars.