Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 2:25:41-2:27:31

The Royal Navy's 1959 next-generation missile ship

A late-1950s missile-ship study is explained as part of the development path toward later British guided-missile warships.

County Class DestroyersMissilesRoyal NavyType 82 Destroyer
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Question

What was the Royal Navy's 1959 next-generation missile ship scheme?

Short answer

If the intended scheme is the British study recalled here, it combined anti-ship and air-defence missiles and contributed especially to the development path toward Type 82 and HMS Bristol.

Notes

The scheme is tentatively identified as a late-1950s attempt to develop a comprehensively missile-armed warship. Ship-to-ship and surface-to-air missiles are recalled as intended functions. The answer is conditional on this being the British programme the questioner means. Its contribution to the County class is acknowledged, but its closer development path is placed with the Type 82 and HMS Bristol. The follow-up explains the lack of easily available information by saying the programme ceased functioning fairly quickly.