Original Design
The ships were originally intended for long-range anti-submarine warfare. Their primary weapon for this role was their complement of two CH-124 Sea King helicopters, which were supported on a large flight deck with a two-helicopter hangar that collectively took up roughly half of the ship's available area. The helicopters could be launched even in high sea states due to their "bear trap" winch system.
The Iroquois represented an uncommon design compromise compared to its contemporaries. Most ships of the same general size and role, like the Royal Navy's Type 22 or US Navy's Oliver Hazard Perry, had much smaller helicopter support areas, typically only the rear 1/4 of the ship that supported a single, small, short-range helicopter, the Westland Lynx or Kaman Seasprite. Such small helicopters were incapable of operating independently of the ship's sensors, and were effectively a system for extending the range of the weapons they carried. In contrast, the Iroquois' Sea Kings were able to carry a complete sensor suite and operate at much longer ranges, allowing a single Iroquois to independently control a much larger area of the ocean. The downside to this design is that the area taken up by the helicopters would normally be given over to other weapon systems.
For anti-submarine use, the helicopters were backed up by two triple-mount torpedo launchers firing Mk.44 and Mk.46 Mod 5 torpedoes and a Limbo Mark 10 depth charge mortar. For other duties, the ships also mounted a Oto Melara 5-in multi-purpose gun and two four-round Sea Sparrow launchers for point anti-aircraft defence. These launchers were located in a protected box on the deck just in front of the bridge area (behind the gun). For firing, the box opened and the battery extended to the sides, requiring some time for them to unlimber.
The ships were powered primarily by two Pratt & Whitney FT12-AH3 of 7,400 shp each, backed up by two more FT4-A2 gas turbines of 50,000 shp each for boost. They were the first large combat ships to be powered entirely by gas turbine. The power from these turbines was used to run the twin shafts through a series of helical gears. One unique feature was the distinctive Y-shaped "Playboy Bunny" funnels, which were designed to exit the exhaust gases to either side of the helicopter deck.
The ships are 425 × 50 × 14 feet (129.8 × 15.2 × 4.4 metres) and 5,000 tonnes displacement. The normal crew complement was 285.
Read more about this topic: Iroquois Class Destroyer
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