HMS Dundas (F48)

HMS Dundas, the last active Type 14 "Captain" or "Blackwood" Class anti-submarine frigate at Portsmouth Navy Days, August 1980
History
United Kingdom
Name:	HMS Dundas
Namesake:	James Whitley Deans Dundas
Builder:	JS White and Co Ltd, Cowes
Laid down:	17 October 1952
Launched:	25 September 1953
Acquired:	March 1956
Commissioned:	16 March 1956
Identification:	Pennant number: F48
Fate:	Broken up 1983
General characteristics
Class and type:	Blackwood-class frigate
Displacement:	1,456 tons (1,479 tonnes) full load
Length:	310 ft (94 m)
Beam:	33 ft (10 m)
Draught:	15 ft (4.6 m)
Propulsion:	Y-100 plant 2 × Babcock & Wilcox boilers steam turbines on single shaft 15,000 shp (11 MW)
Speed:	27 knots (50 km/h)
Range:	5,200 nautical miles (9,630 km) at 12 knots (22 km/h)
Complement:	112
Sensors and processing systems:	Radar Type 974 navigation Sonar Type 174 search Sonar Type 162 target classification Sonar Type 170 targeting
Armament:	3 × 40 mm Bofors gun Mark 7 (quarterdeck mount later removed) 2 × Limbo Mark 10 anti-submarine mortars

HMS Dundas was a Blackwood-class anti-submarine warfare frigate of the Royal Navy.^[1]

Orders and delivery

The Blackwood-class frigates were first ordered in 1951, with Dundas being the first to be commissioned, on 9 March 1956.^[2] They were considered to be of limited usage, and best kept for anti-submarine warfare (ASW) duties. Twelve were delivered in total. Dundas was built by JS White and Co Ltd, at Cowes.

Specifications

Dundas had a crew of 140, a displacement of 1,180 tonnes when empty and 1,535 tonnes when full. She was 310 ft (94 m) long, 33 ft (10 m) on the beam and had a draught of 15 ft (4.6 m). She was powered by a Parsons or English Electric geared steam turbine, with two Babcock & Wilcox boilers giving 15,000 shp (11 MW) and a speed of 25 knots (46 km/h). Her armament included two Mk.NC 10 Limbo 3-barreled ASW mortars and two 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes in twin mounts. She was also equipped with sonar and radar.^[3]

Service

Dundas appeared in the Ava Gardner film The Little Hut in 1957.

In 1966 Dundas was part of the 2nd Frigate Squadron, based at Portland and used for anti-submarine training. In that year she was present at Portsmouth Navy Days.^[4] She subsequently completed a 14-month refit at Gibraltar Dockyard and re-commissioned on 21 June 1968. In the same year she took part in Navy Days at Portsmouth Dockyard.^[5]

In 1970 she was present at Portsmouth Navy Days, at the time she had just completed a refit in Gibraltar and was still part of the Second Frigate Squadron to help train officers and men in Anti-Submarine Warfare at Portland.^[6]

Dundas attended the 1977 Silver Jubilee Fleet Review off Spithead when she was part of the 2nd Frigate Squadron.^[7]

Decommissioning and disposal

Dundas was eventually scrapped in Troon in April 1983.^[8]

Commanding officers

From	To	Captain
1964	1965	Commander A Mancais RN
1966	1966	Lieutenant-Commander J R T Bluett RN
1968	1968	Lieutenant-Commander J Garnier MVO RN
1970	1970	Lieutenant-Commander M Ruddle RN FIL
1977	1977	Lieutenant-Commander W J Christie RN

References

1. "HMS Dundas (1956) FF (2nd)". www.britainsnavy.co.uk. Retrieved 7 October 2012.
2. "Unit History: HMS Dundas". www.forces-war-records.co.uk. Retrieved 7 October 2012.
3. "Blackwood Class (Type 14)". www.hazegray.org. Retrieved 7 October 2012.
4. Programme, Navy Days at Portsmouth 27–29 August 1966, HMSO p.17
5. Programme, Navy Days at Portsmouth August 31st-September 2nd 1968, p.19.
6. Programme, Navy Days Portsmouth, 29th-31st August 1970, p19.
7. Official Souvenir Programme, 1977. Silver Jubilee Fleet Review, HMSO
8. "Blackwood Class Frigates". www.worldnavalships.com. Retrieved 7 October 2012.

Publications

• Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8. OCLC 67375475.
• Marriott, Leo (1983). Royal Navy Frigates 1945-1983. Ian Allen Ltd. ISBN 07110 1322 5.