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The Loch class was a class of anti-submarine (A/S) frigate built for the Royal Navy and her Allies during World War II. They were an innovative design based on the experience of 3 years of fighting in the Battle of the Atlantic and attendant technological advances. ==Design== The Lochs were based upon the hull of the preceding with increased sheer and flare to improve seakeeping and modified to suit it to mass pre-fabrication, with sections riveted or welded together at the shipyard. Accordingly, as many curves as possible were eliminated, producing a noticeable kink in the main deck where the increased sheer forwards met the level abreast the bridge. The fighting capability of the Loch class was a great jump forward, being based around the new Squid ahead-throwing A/S mortar. Previously, escorts had attacked with depth charges, requiring the attacking vessel to pass over the submerged submarine and drop warheads over the stern. Consequently, the ahead-looking ASDIC (sonar) set lost contact at the vital moment before the weapons were launched, allowing a skilled submarine commander to take successful evasive action. Squid, however, lobbed three , 390 pound warheads up to ahead of the launching vessel falling in a triangular pattern with sides of . As the clockwork fuses detonated the warheads at a depth determined by the ships' ASDIC set, the Squid therefore attacked in full ASDIC contact for greater accuracy and lethality. Two mortars were carried, with the bombs set to explode at different depths in order to create a convergent pressure wave to crush the hull of a submarine. The first successful "kill" was by on 31 July 1944, sinking the . Such was the utility of Squid that depth charge carriage was reduced to only 15, with a single rack and a pair of throwers being carried at the stern, resulting in a clear quarterdeck compared to the eight throwers, two racks and stowage for 100 plus charges in the Rivers. The weapons outfit was completed with a single QF Mark V gun forwards. An oversight in the River design had been to place the gun in the favourable position forward on the shelter deck, with the ahead throwing Hedgehog on the main deck, exposed to the worst of the seas breaking over the fo'c'sle, consequently this was reversed in the Lochs; the Squids being on the shelter deck behind protective bulwarks. For anti aircraft (A/A) defence, a quadruple mounting Mark VII QF 2 pounder was shipped aft along with up to 12 20 mm Oerlikon guns, in 2 twin powered mounts Mark V in the bridge wings and 8 single pedestal mounts Mark III. , ''Loch Craggie'', ''Loch Eck'', ''Loch Glendhu'', and the South African Navy ships HMSAS ''Good Hope'', ''Natal'' and ''Transvaal'' carried single Bofors 40 mm gun mounts in lieu of the twin Oerlikons. In addition to the new weaponry, the Lochs also carried new sensors, in the form of Radar Type 277. This set utilised the cavity magnetron to transmit on centimetric wavelengths for target indication purposes, excelling at picking out small targets such as a submarine periscope or schnorkel from the surface clutter. The increased weight of the stabilised antenna array and the carriage of HF/DF at the masthead meant that a lattice mast was stepped in lieu of the traditional tripod or pole. Some vessels completed with Radar Type 271 or 272 and the associated "lantern" radome until Type 277 became available. ASDIC Type 144 was carried for search and attack functions with Type 147B used for depth finding. As with the previous wartime escort designs, mercantile machinery was adopted to speed construction, with a pair of 4-cylinder vertical triple-expansion reciprocating engines. ''Loch Arkaig'' and ''Loch Tralaig'' were fitted with Parsons single reduction steam turbines to establish the feasibility of such an installation, but it was not possible to provide enough sets of turbines for all vessels. One advantage of the use of mercantile machinery was that it was instantly familiar to the mainly reservist and volunteer (RNR and RNVR) crews who manned these ships. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Loch-class frigate」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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