Ship Fact-Files No.1: The Tyne Class OPV

[Bernard Woolley]

Ship Fact-Files No.1

This is the first of an ocasional series of ship Fact-Files covering ship classes, or types of ship. The first two will cover Royal Navy vessels, with future fact-files planned to cover other navies. The RN MCMV fact-file had been restrospectivley numbered as the second in this series.

[Bernard Woolley]

The Tyne Class OPV – a history

Introduction.
Originally envisioned as a simple replacement for the Island and Castle Class Offshore Patrol Vessels, the Tyne Class evolved into a much more powerful, flexible and useful class of ship. The Tyne Class will now replace all remaining OPV in RN service (Island, Castle and Peacock Classes). The decision to expand the remit of what was initially going to be only a Falkland Island guardship and a fishery protection vessel was taken on cost grounds. In the long term, it would be cheaper for the RN to reduce the number of classes it operates, particularly with regards to older platforms which had little commonality with their contemporaries, let alone ships built several decades later. This desire to standardise has been manifest in several procurement decisions, where a slightly more expensive platform may have been bought, but it allows for a more effective support system.

Pre-history: From OPV3 to OPV4.
The gestation of what would become the Tyne Class can be traced back to the 1980s when the RN was planning to procure an enhanced patrol vessel designated as OPV3 (the Islands were OPV1 and the Castles OPV2). Described by the then VCNS as a “huntin' shootin', fishin' warship” designed to conduct low-level patrol duties worldwide. It would have a medium gun, CIWS, anti-ship missiles, countermeasures, a Lynx helicopter and a top speed of 21 knots. It was hoped that the ships would cost no more than £50 million each at 1983 prices. Three designs were proposed to meet the OPV3 requirement, Hall Russell submitted an enhanced version of the Castle Class, while Yarrows put forward an austere Type 23 and Vosper Thornycroft proposed of their export corvette. [1] Perhaps, unfortunately, no space could be found within the navy's budget to procure the planned ten OPV3. In retrospect, the OPV3 was a missed opportunity, as it would have carried out a lot of General Purpose duties that the frigate force had to carry out before the arrival of the Type 24. At least some of the work for OPV3 was not wasted, with the Type 25 corvette being based on Hall Russell's proposal.
By the early 1990s it was clear that the Island Class were no longer fit for purpose and that the Castle Class would need replacement within the next decade. That led to the requirement for what would be called OPV4. The requirement was for a vessel of around 1,700 tons, about 80m long. Armament wise a 20 to 30mm gun, plus machine guns was specified, with a speed of at least 20 knots. The class would also have a small flight-deck aft, capable of landing on a Lynx, or being used as a working area. The flight-deck was also intended to be capable of carrying a variety of equipment, such as fire-fighting, disaster relief, pollution control, or to carry light tracked, or wheeled vehicles, or an LCVP. The OPV4 design would have been larger than the preceding Island and Castle Classes, and be more capable. Although, they would not have had as capable aviation facilities as the Castle Class. The OPV4 design would have been more than capable for the Offshore Patrol and Fisheries Protection role. But, then the Royal Navy decided that it needed more than a simple OPV.

From OPV4 to Tyne Class Batch 1.
As it became clear that any potential war with the Warsaw Pact would be an extended conventional conflict, MoD planners realised that meant that there would be more supply and reinforcement convoys travelling between the UK and the Continent. There would also be more coastal convoys running between UK ports. They would also need at least a basic escort. The existing OPV fleet would be ineffective in countering the potential threats and destroyers and frigates were needed in deeper waters. Some of the planned Type 24 and Type 25 corvettes and some older frigates from the Standby Squadron, could partially fulfil the requirement, but a small, fast vessel was needed. The RN's eyes fell on the proposed OPV4 as a potential solution. Luckily, Vosper Thornycroft had already designed a more capable vessel based on the OPV4. It would be just over 1,850 tons, 85 meters long, with a designed speed of at least 28 to 30 knots. The proposed vessel had a modular armament, in peacetime it would have a 30mm gun, but had a war-time fit of a OTO Melara 76mm gun, Harpoon SSM, and triple torpedo tubes for Stingray LWT torpedoes. The beauty of the modular options were that ships could have their armament tailored for the perceived threat the faced and changing the armament only required a shoreside crane. The downside of the Harpoon fit was that it would reduce the area available on the aft deck, meaning that they could no longer land on helicopters. The RN was willing to live with that restriction and the fact that the class would need other ships to direct the use of ASW torpedoes (the Batch 1s would have no sonar to save money). In service, the Batch 1s would have a top speed of 28 knots.
Three Batch 1 of what was now called the Tyne Class were ordered. The RN needed the new ships in commission as soon as possible, so was willing to order vessels that were not as quite as capable as they might have been. The three ships were:

HMS Tyne (P286)
HMS Severn (P287)
HMS Mersey (P288)

Once in service, the Batch 1 vessels proved themselves to be highly capable ships. Their greater speed meant that they surprised quite a few trawlers fishing illegally. The trawlers being used to OPV capable of no more than 20 knots. The Batch 1 were also occasionally deployed to the Caribbean during Hurricane Season to supplement the escort assigned to APT(N). After a couple of years of service, the navy would be very satisfied with the vessels, but felt it needed more of them and that they had additional potential.

Protecting the Falkland Island: Modified Batch 1.
Since the mid-1980s the two Castle Class OPV have rotated duty as the Falkland Islands Guardship. If those vessels were going to be replaced, then a modified Tyne Class vessel would be needed, it being felt that the basic design was not capable. The Batch 1 design was lengthened to 90m long and had a strengthened flight-deck, capable of taking a Merlin helicopter. Displacement wise, the ship rose to around 2,000 tons. She was also designed so that 110 troops could be temporarily embarked, along with their equipment, so that they could be inserted anywhere in the islands. Armament wise, the Modified Batch 1 would have a single 30mm gun, plus machine-guns. It was felt that sending a fully armed combatant would unnecessarily antagonise Argentina (though there were some in the RN who argued that was not a bad thing!). However, a 76mm cannon, Harpoon canisters and triple torpedo tubes would be stored ashore at Mare Harbour. So that the vessel could be up-armed if necessary. One Modified Batch 1 vessel would be procured:

HMS Clyde (P257)

Clyde was due to deploy to the Falkland Islands in 2006, relieving HMS Leeds Castle (P258). Those plans were overtaken by the outbreak of the Third World War. Clyde would instead join the North Sea Escort Force. The RN found that Clyde was a better sea boat than her sisters, having been designed to operate in far worse weather than even the North Sea could throw at her. The additional fuel capacity that the lengthened hull allowed for was also much appreciated.

Improving the Breed: Batch 2.
The navy had always planned to procure a second batch of four Tyne Class vessels. Originally they would have been slightly improved versions of the Batch 1. However, as the world situation deteriorated and additional funds became available, the navy took the opportunity to procure significantly a significantly improved design. The most obvious difference in the Batch 2 was that the superstructure above main deck level was new. Including a new bridge, mast and funnel design. Opinion was that the new ships were more aesthetically pleasing than their half-sisters. Their hulls were further stretched to 90.5m, which meant that they retained their ability to land on helicopters when fitted with Harpoon canisters. Slightly more powerful machinery, allowed the Batch 2 to have a top speed of 32 knots. Weapons wise, the Batch 2 were identical to the Batch 1: in peacetime, they would have a single 30mm gun, and when on sea-trials they were generally seen with that armament. The Batch 2 also had a more advanced command system, using the same BAE CMS-1 as the Type 45 destroyer. Indeed, the bridge of the Batch 2 vessels was favourably compared to that of the Type 45 and Type 23. In wartime they would have the larger gun, Harpoon and torpedo tubes. During the design process, the RN was influenced by the modifications that the Royal New Zealand Navy had incorporated in its Tyne Class vessels, by having the Batch 2s 'Fitted For, But Not With' a bow sonar and a thinline towed sonar array. The later would require a Variable Depth Sonar System to get it to depth, which, as with the RNZN vessels, would mean no helicopter. Five Batch 2 vessels were either in commission, or being fitted out in 2005:

HMS Forth (P222)
HMS Medway (P223)
HMS Trent (P224)
HMS Tay (P225)
HMS Tamar (P226) (fitting out)

Tamar would be the first of the batch to have the bow sonar and TAS, being modified during fit out. Her sisters would not be modified for some time, as they were needed for escort duty.

Additional vessels: Batch 3.
While eight Tyne Class vessels would be enough to replace the Island and Castle Classes, there was also a requirement to replace the ageing Peacock Class. That class had originally been procured for service in Hong Kong, but now formed part of the Gibraltar Squadron. There was also a requirement to replace HMS Sentinel (P246) at Faslane and provide a more powerful centrepiece for the Cyprus Squadron. That meant more ships. The Batch 3 would be essentially similar to the preceding Batch 2, with some lessons learned from operating the first two batches incorporated in the design. There was some consideration of further lengthening the design so that they could incorporate a CIWS, but that was dropped on the grounds that the 76mm gun had anti-missile capability and it was best to avoid the temptation to turn a good design into a more expensive corvette, or light frigate. Moreover, and significant changes to the design would delay delivery, and the RN was keen on the Batch 3 being available as soon as possible. After the outbreak of war, it was decided that the ships would be completed with the full sonar outfit In 2005, four Batch 3 vessels were either under construction, or had been ordered:

HMS Spey (P227) (Under construction)
HMS Thames (P228) (Under construction)
HMS Tees (P229) (Under construction)
HMS Foyle (P230) (Ordered)

In an interesting development, a Batch 3 vessel would be lent to the Irish Naval Service when completed, to give them a ship with some ASW capability. That led to a reshuffling of names, with Tees and Foyle swapping names. A river than ran both through the UK and Republic of Ireland being thought a perfect name for a vessel supplied by the RN to the INS. Foyle would be returned to British service after a couple of years with the Irish Naval Service.

The Future: Modified Tyne Class & worldwide deployment?
The RN in early 2005 was keeping its eye on the future use and deployments of the Tyne Class. Deployment of the Batch 1 and early Batch 2 to the Caribbean in Hurricane Season had shown just how capable they were. There was a good argument for permanently deploying a Tyne Class to Bermuda. It was also felt that they were a good fit to supplement the higher-end warships of the Armilla Patrol. Perhaps further deployment to Singapore and the Pacific would also be possible? Using them for those roles would leave gaps in OPV coverage in home waters. If an improved design was procured, then perhaps the Tyne Class could be deployed more widely and cover its home waters jobs. The obvious solution would be to use the Batch 1 and Modified Batch 1 at home and deploy more capable batches and a Modified variant abroad. By 2005, VT Group (as Vosper Thornycroft had become), had proposed a Modified Tyne Class. It would be bigger than the Batch 2/3 and be fitted with the Type 2087 TAS, so that it could replace the Type 25 Corvettes. Armament wise, the Modified Tynes would be similarly armed, though the Bofors 57mm has been favoured as a replacement for the 76mm and it is likely that they will be armed with the replacement for Harpoon. A further planned hull stretch would allow the class to land on a helicopter while fitted with the TAS. As of 2005, no names had been chosen for the planned Modified Tyne, but pennant numbers had been put aside for the Batch 1 vessels:

(P231)
(P232)
(P233)



Wartime Service.
When mobilisation was ordered all eight Tyne Class OPV were in Home Waters, although HMS Clyde was on work-up for her planned deployment to the Falkland Islands in 2006. As mentioned above, she was retained in Home Waters, being assigned to the newly established North Sea Escort Force. The NSEF was based at Kingston-upon-Hull (commonly known simply as Hull), and it was to that port that the majority of the Tyne Class would be based during the Third World War, although they would also use Rosyth when they needed repair and replenishment.

Even before mobilisation, ships carrying equipment and reinforcements for BAOR had been running from British East ports to the Hook of Holland and other ports on the Continent. Now, these merchant vessels would be formed into convoys escorted by Royal Navy, Koninklijke Marine, Belgian Navy and the Marine Nationale warships assigned to the NSEF. The Tyne Class would form a vital part of that force, with at least one member of the class assigned to each convoy.
One ship, HMS Forth (P222) was detached from the NSEF to escort HMS Challenger (K07), which had been activated to examine what were suspected to be Soviet acoustic sensors, that had been planted in the Firth of Clyde, on a route that SSN and SSBN would need to take. Obviously, that was something that could not be allowed to stand. Challenger had been ordered to examine and retrieve the sensors. As a Soviet AGI had very quickly appeared, Forth, Sentinel (P246) and Orkney (P299) had been ordered to cover Challenger. [2]
Shortly before 0031 hours Challenger was rocked by an explosion, as one of the sensors turned out to be a command detonated mine. Orkney had detected the signal, and ordered the AGI to halt and prepared to be boarded. Unsurprisingly, the AGI ignored the signal and began to leave the scene at speed. Forth pursued the Soviet ship, firing two shots across his bows, which were also ignored. Just as the OPV's commander was considering opening fire on the AGI, the following signal was received from MHQ Pitreavie:

'COMMENCE HOSTILITIES AGAINST WARSAW PACT FORCES.’

Forth would thus be the first RN vessel to engage the enemy during the Third World War, sinking the AGI with two 76mm shells; after the second shot the AGI had exploded. It was later determined that the AGI had been carrying a number of small mines.

Forth would also be involved a few days later in a running battle against a pair of Soviet Tarantul III Class FAC that had broken out into the North Sea during bad weather. One Soviet FAC was sunk, while the other was damaged and driven off, to be sunk later by an RDAF F-16. Forth took minor damage when she closed to engage with her gun.

Tyne Class vessels would also take part in what would later be named the Battle of the Great Fisher Bank, though only in a peripheral role. The mass break out of Soviet and East German FAC was defeated by larger warships, helicopters and fixed wing aircraft. The Tyne Class forming the close escorts of what convoys were at sea.

Shortly after the accession of the Republic of Ireland to NATO, an Irish Sea Escort Force (ISEF), commanded by the Irish Naval Service (against the better judgement of the RN, but politics intervened), was established. HMS Tamar (P226) when she finished fitting out. As mentioned above, she was the first Tyne Class vessel to be equipped with sonar. Which was to make her a valuable addition to the ISEF (none of the Irish vessels assigned to the force had sonar, or ASW weapons).

Most of the rest of the wartime service of the Tyne Class was routine: protecting convoys and other vessels against surface, submarine and air threats. In an example of the last, HMS Tay (P225) would help defend HMS Fearless (L10) against an air attack in an action off Broadstairs in Kent. Tay was later assessed to have probably shot down an Su-24 'Fencer' with her 76mm gun.


Conclusion
Given their past and continuing record, the Tyne Class OPV proved to be one of the best procurement decisions that the Royal Navy made in the late 20th Century. It would have been very easy to have built a relatively simple vessel to replace existing OPV classes. However, the navy chose to make the most of the potential of the platform, turning it from a just an OPV into a powerful and flexible small combatant. In many ways the Tyne Class fulfilled the requirements that had been drawn up for the abortive OPV3. The design was also flexible enough to be stretched twice and be partially redesigned. Future iterations of the design will be further stretched, improving its capabilities.
While more expensive than the initial OPV design, the Tyne Class will in the medium to long term save the Royal Navy money. It will replace legacy classes, thus reducing the number of ship classes that the RN operates. That will lead to greater commonality and lead to a more effective support system. Although there were detail differences between the three classes, especially between the Batch 1 and Batch 2 & 3, the vessels still have a high degree of commonality, which will reduce the need for differing sets of spare parts. Moreover, sailors trained to operate Batch 1 vessels, would need very little additional training when transferred to Batch 2, or 3 vessels. The same would be true when it came to a potentially Modified Tyne Class. The class also provided early opportunities for command for officers of lieutenant-commander rank. It was noted in later years that a significant percentage of officer who went on to command frigates, destroyers and major surface warships, had previously commanded a Tyne Class.

The Tyne Class gave the Royal Navy excellent peacetime and war service and would, in the post-war world, go on to prove its worth further. It would be held up as model of defence procurement. An example of spending extra and expanding the capabilities of a platform saving money in the longer-term and also delivering an excellent warship in the process. It is sad, perhaps, that not all defence procurements have gone so well.

*

Appendix: Kiwi Cousins & other exports.
Around the same time as the RN was starting the procurement process for the Tyne Class, the Royal New Zealand Navy issued a requirement for four Offshore Patrol Vessels. After looking at a number of different designs, the RNZN took the decision to procure a modified variant of the Tyne Class, based on HMS Clyde. Weapons wise, the Kiwi Tyne Class were planned to be similarly armed to their British cousins, though the RNZN chose the Bofors 57mm gun as the wartime main gun, with a 25mm Typhoon as the peacetime gun. In practice no Typhoon mounts were purchased and the procurement of the 57mm gun was delayed. As was the purchase of Harpoon canisters and torpedo tubes. For the first eighteen months of their lives, the RNZN vessels were armed with a single Bofors L60 40mm gun. With the increased defence spending of the post-'Second Tol' environment, the four New Zealand vessels finally got all the weapons and equipment that they had been 'Fitted For But Not With'. In addition to the weapons, the vessels were fitted with a SAAB 9LV combat suite, a Thomson Sintra Spherion B bow sonar (as used by the ANZAC class FFH), two Triple tubes removed from retired frigates and reserve stock, and a Kariwara thinline towed array, which used a Variable Depth System to get it to depth. When the TAS was fitted, the vessels could no longer operate a helicopter, but could still carry out HIFR. Once modified, the four RNZN Tyne would be assigned to two light escort groups. The success of the vessels as light ASW platforms fed back into the original design, the RN deciding that its Batch 2 vessels should be 'Fitted For But Not With' a bow sonar and TAS. As noted above, the outbreak of war altered those plans. The following vessels were in service with the RNZN in 2005:

HMNZS Taupo (P420)
HMNZS Hawea (P422)
HMNZS Pukaki (P424)
HMNZS Rotoiti (P625)

The Tyne Class design would also later be sold to the Brazilian, Royal Bahrain, and Royal Thai Navies. The Brazilian Amazonas would be relatively lightly armed (1x30mm and 2x25mm), while the Thai Krabi Class would have a 76mm main gun. The export ships were built to a slightly lower standard than the British and New Zealand vessels, something reflected in their costs. That was something remarked upon by some commentators, who evidently missed that the RN and RNZN vessels were more capable and surviveable.

***

1) A brief history of the OPV3 design can be found in Hampshire, Edward, 'The Royal Navy In The Cold War Years 1966 – 1990: Retreat and Revival' (Barnsley 2024), p.573-575.

2) Orkney was using her ELINT/SIGINT capability to monitor the AGI.

[Bernard Woolley]

Accompanying Pictures

[jemhouston]

Sounds like the RN had a good handle on what they needed, what they would like to have, and the sense to know the difference between the two, along with what they didn't need.

[Bernard Woolley]

Yup, they avoided the temptation to add too much to the design. The OPV3 was arguably a an example of that. It was either going to be an up-gunned Castle, or austere T23.

The commentry on the Batch 3 is somewhat inspired by criticism in @ of the River Class Batch 2. There were commentators who wanted them to be something they are not needed to be. In the TLWverse, the RN needs a small reasonably armed combattant to escort convoys between the UK and the Continent. In @ it needed a flexible OPV that can be deployed worldwide. For that job a 30mm gun and a good sized working deck aft is all that's needed. The TLWverse ships need a 76mm gun, the @ ships don't.