Type 43 Westminster Class Destroyer
Conceived in the mid-1970s as a larger and more capable follow-on to the Type 82-class destroyer, the Type 43-class would use the American Spruance-class hull as its basis, incorporating a fully British weapons and sensor suite. These would be the first British warships to use the American MK45 5-inch gun, marking a shift away from the long-storied 4.5 inch gun, at least in larger surface combatants. More notably, however, is the enlarged Ikara missile system, fired from a new launcher developed from the American ASROC box, with four missile in the system and an additional 20 in the magazine. These ships would also carry a Sea Dart system aft, complemented by the two clearly visible Type 909 domes, and would carry the most surface to surface missiles of any NATO destroyer before the Willis A. Lee Class, with an armament of 20 Harpoons. Unlike the American Kidd and Spruance-class destroyers, the Royal Navy would opt to operate a single Sea King from each destroyer, giving an even stronger anti-submarine and limited anti-ship punch. 10 of these Westminster-class destroyers would be built and commissioned between 1976 and 1984, becoming the backbone of the Royal Navy escort force on account of their excellent capabilities for their class. These ships would go on to serve into the 21st century before ultimately being replaced by newer destroyers.
Right well, I made CVA-01, so naturally I had to give her a proper escort destroyer, with hopefully more British things to come, that remains to be seen. Anyways, this is a rather fictional concept by my own design for essentially an Anglicized Kidd, gaining Sea Wolf, a super Ikara, Sea Dart, and a Sea King with appropriate livery. This is a very capable destroyer for what it is, and will serve well when paired with CVA-01 or any capital ship that needs escorting in fleet duties. They are able to operate independently, however, boasting the largest canister launched Harpoon armament currently present in Sea Power as far as I know, with 20 in total, giving them a formidable surface warfare punch alongside their already very strong AAW and ASW capabilities. Also, the Sea King now brings a set of teeth in the form of a pair of Exocets, for when the target is just outside of reach of the Harpoons. Right, I could ramble on about this thing for quite a while, but I’ll let her speak for herself, so with that, enjoy!
Revisions:
Old revisions of this mod are available below. Click the link to download.
