The HMS Sheffield was the initial ship of the Type 42 destroyer design for the Royal Navy. Laid down on December 15, 1970, launched on June 10, 1971 and commissioned on February 28, 1975, Sheffield was given the name from one of the most renowned cruisers of World War Two. However, unlike the Town Class light cruiser of that war, which engaged the enemy time and time again, survived and had a long, very distinguished career, the Type 42 Sheffield would exist only a mere seven years, enter one engagement and founder as a result. The Type 42 destroyer design was the result of pure politics and resultant extreme penny-pinching.

The eight destroyers of the County Class had been started in 1959 and started entering service in 1963. Displacing 5,200-tons (6,200-tons full load) the class was designed around the Seaslug missile system. Far larger than the proceeding Daring class destroyers, they could have been very effective ships, except for one significant drawback, the Seaslug system. The Seaslug missile system followed a beam projected by the firing ship and owed its genesis to the German FX1400 guided bombs of World War Two. It was intended that the missile system would engage enemy aircraft at long range before that aircraft could launch its air to surface missile. However, that beam was subject to weather conditions and a host of other factors, which would degrade performance. As the County class entered service it was already recognized that beam guided missiles were already obsolescent at best. The Seaslug proved to be totally ineffective in its intended role during the Falklands War. Although classified as anti-aircraft destroyers, "The fallacy of this was shown by the Falklands War. One captain reportedly despaired so much of getting any use out of the Seaslug that he launched the missile at an aircraft in the vain hope that its discarded boosters would damage the enemy, rather than the missile proper." (British Warship Designs Since 1906, 1985 by G. M. Stephen, at pages 98-99)

By the early 1960s it was recognized that the Royal Navy would need at least twelve missile destroyers to modernize her aging destroyer fleet and to carry better missiles than the Seaslug. The follow up design to the Counties was the Type 82 destroyer of the HMS Bristol class. The Bristol was designed around the Sea Dart missile system. The Sea Dart was a medium guided missile with a maximum range of 35nm and altitude range of 100 to 60,000-feet. The missile with a semi-active guidance system was far more effective than the Seaslug. However, as initially designed, they were ineffective against low-level attacks and could not handle saturation attacks. The Type 82 jumped in displacement to 6,100-tons standard (7,100-tons full load), even though the ship was shorter than the preceding County design. Initial plans called for four Type 82s with another four envisioned to replace the early County class ships. HMS Bristol was laid down in 1967, launched in 1969 and completed in 1973. However, due to a change in government, Bristol became the only ship built to the Type 82 design. The Bristol was already ordered when in 1966 the Labour government decided to cancel not only CVA-01 full deck carrier design, but also the balance of the Type 82 destroyers. It was also decided that the Royal Navy did not need large carriers, eliminating the original mission of the Type 82 as escorts for the large carrier.

"The demise of the CVA-01 carrier programme and the cancellation of all but one Type 82 destroyer – both politically motivated decisions – left the Royal Navy with a potential situation where it would be seriously lacking in any effective form of defence against air attack. The fleet air defence provided by the carrier’s fighters and airborne early warning aircraft would soon disappear and the limitations of the Seaslug surface-to-air missile aboard the ‘County’ class ships were already recognized. In these circumstances it was vital to get the new Sea Dart missile into service as soon as possible so that it would be available in the mid-1970s when it was expected that the last of the carriers would have paid off." (Royal Navy Destroyers Since 1945, 1989, by Leo Marriott, at page 116) Even the government saw the need for new destroyers for the anti-aircraft role but true to any bureaucracy imposed artificial and severe restrictions upon the new design based on a maximum cost of 11 million pounds sterling for each vessel. The result was the Type 42 destroyer.

Sprue A - Hull and Superstructure

 To achieve a destroyer design to carry the Sea Dart missile within the cost restrictions imposed severe design constraints. The initial Type 42 destroyer was the minimum size vessel capable of deploying the Sea Dart missile system. One look at the dimensions of the Type 42 design reflects how much smaller these ships were from the preceding Type 82 design. With a length of 412-feet (oa) and beam of 46-feet, they were almost 100-feet shorter and ten feet narrower than HMS Bristol. At a displacement of 3,500-tons standard (4,100-tons full load), they were almost half the weight of the Type 82 design. To save costs the final design was greatly shortened. This decision made the ships extremely cramped, extremely wet and eliminated any margin for future upgrades on the completed destroyers. "Sheffield was too short. It is rumoured that 30ft of her hull was chopped off at the design stage for a minimal saving in unit cost. Whatever the reason the short length of the hull gave rise to a host of problems. Some reports suggest the ship had a tendency to dig her nose into a heavy sea, and the forward 4.5in gun position and the Sea Dart launchers both look very wet. Internal arrangements were cramped, maintenance and repair difficult, and reports suggest the Operations Room was particularly crowded and thus rendered inefficient. The ships in their first form appear to have marked a quantum leap backwards from the ‘Leander’ hulls." (British Warship Designs Since 1906, 1985 by G. M. Stephen, at page 103)

Six Type 42 destroyers were initially ordered with the lead ship HMS Sheffield. Originally ordered in 1968, when construction started in 1970, the ships took an extraordinary long time to build at five years. This was longer than it took the British ship building industry to build battleships of the past. Two of these were lost in the Falklands War. Sheffield was hit by one aircraft launched exocet anti-ship missile on May 4, 1982 and sank while being towed to South Georgia. On May 25, 1982 another Type 42, HMS Coventry, was hit by three bombs and sank in fifteen minutes. Both losses reflected a lack of a point defense system and inadequate damage control. A third sister was more lucky. HMS Glasgow was hit on May 12 by a single 1,000 pound bomb, which fortunately passed through the ship without exploding. If it had exploded it would have been likely that she would have been lost as well, in which case, three of the initial six Type 42 destroyers, designed for anti-aircraft missions would have been lost to air attacks within the span of a month.

Sprue A - Hull and Superstructure

The initial Type 42 design was modified after the ships started entering service. In 1976 two of the new ships were ordered, followed by orders for two more. The differences between these four and the initial six Type 42 destroyers was in the electronics fit. The Type 1022 radar, replaced the Type 965 radar of the initial design. It was far more effective and further enhanced by new computer software. They also shipped the Lynx helicopter, rather than Wasp, carried by the first ships as fitted. One additional change was the addition of an ASW STWS-1 torpedo system. The first six ships were given the designation of Type42A or batch one ships and the second four Type42B or batch two ships. Only two of the Batch Two ships were ready by the time of the Falklands war but only one of these, HMS Exeter, saw action. The HMS Liverpool was the last of the four Type 42 Batch Two ships to be laid down. Laid down July 5, 1978 at Cammell Laird Birkenhead, she was launched on September 25, 1980. Liverpool was placed in service on July 9, 1982, almost a year ahead of sistership Nottingham. The size of the design did not change until the Type 42 was reworked for a third design. This design actually reverted to the initial design for the ships before government politicians had economized the design by shortening them.

The Manchester class, Type 42C or Batch Three, ships were 41-feet longer than the Batch One and Two ships, all added at the bow. The extra buoyancy conferred by the extra internal volume made the ships far dryer and far more seaworthy. The lengthening also eliminated a lot of the crew congestion found in the original design and allowed far more missiles to be carried in enlarged magazines. Other changes over the two preceding designs was substitution of the Type 2016 sonar from the initial Type 184 sonar and the inclusion of a larger squared transom stern from the rounded stern of the original ships. This increased the area of the flight deck and made air operations safer. Four destroyers of the Type 42C or Batch Three design were ordered and were laid down in 1979 and 1980. They went into service from 1982 to 1985. With their far longer forecastle, they are much more attractive and sleek looking vessels over the other two versions. (History from: British Warship Designs Since 1906, 1985 by G. M. Stephen; Royal Navy Destroyers Since 1945, 1989, by Leo Marriott)

Sprue B - Weapons and Equipment

Dragon HMS Liverpool Type 42B Batch Two Destroyer
This model is the Premium Edition of the Batch Two Type 42 destroyer. Last September DML released their kit of HMS York, the long bowed Type 42C Batch Three ship. That kit portrayed the most attractive variant of the Type 42 destroyer design with the long bow and remarkably sleek appearance. DML seems to be covering the variants of the Type 42 from newest to oldest, since the Liverpool is the second series of ships, modified from the original Sheffield design. In comparing the parts’ sprues of the Batch Two Liverpool kit with the Batch Three York kit, there are only a few differences in sprue A differentiating the kits. Sprues B and C are the same in both kits.

As is true with other Dragon Premium Edition kits, the HMS Liverpool kit adds items not found in the initial release of the model. With this kit that includes a brass photo-etch fret, new decals and a newly tooled 4.5-inch mount. The box is overly large for a destroyer kit and unlike the Dragon Essex kits that used every square millimeter of box volume, the box contains more air than parts. Total parts count is over 120, so although the parts included is about one fourth to one fifth of the parts counts of the Dragon Essex class carrier kits, for a destroyer model in 1:700 scale, the number of parts provided by Dragon in this kit is still substantial in spite of the unused volume of the box. Also in conformance with other Dragon Premium Edition releases, many of the original parts on the injected plastic sprues are not used in building the kit. Optional parts and ship specific differences among the four ships are also covered in the instructions.

Sprue B - Weapons and Equipment

Hull, Decks & Superstructure – Sprue A
There are three plastic sprues included in this kit. Sprue A covers the hull, decks and superstructure. Almost all of these parts are used in the building of the Type 42 Batch Two kit, although there are a few parts that are not used and are for Batch One or Three kits, such as a second funnel cap piece of a different design (Part #34 for Batch One), short aft flight platform (Part #23 for Batch Three), long forecastle piece (Part #5 for Batch Three), as well as parts #10 and #21. Upper and lower hull halves are included so you can build the kit as waterline or full hull at your discretion. Unlike the Dragon San Diego or Independence kits, the upper hull is one piece so you will not have and unsightly seams on the hull sides to smooth. Also except for the most forward end of the forecastle and flight deck, the deck is part of the hull piece.

Although there are no seams to fill, the hull sides still have a few blemishes to smooth. My copy of HMS Liverpool had slight dimples on each side of the hull where the flair of the bow joined the main part of the hull. These are minor and appear to be easily capable of sanding smooth. Detail on the deck is sparse, although this probably the result of the actual design of the ships, rather than omissions by Dragon. There is a forward angled breakwater with a low enclosed structure at the apex in front of the 4.5-inch gun. A second low breakwater is present between the gun mount and missile mount. As the Sheffield Batch One ships were known to be very wet because of their short bows, it is probably best that the Batch Two ships had two breakwaters. In this area, the Liverpool kit differs greatly from the York kit. A couple of pipes or deck tracks run lengthwise through the second breakwater. Just behind this is the missile position. The other centerline features on the deck are the small circular base for the 4.5-inch gun and a larger circular base plate for the forward missile launcher. There are locator lines onto which the superstructure subassemblies are attached behind the missile launcher base plate. At the edges of the deck are three twin bollard plates at the bow and additional two plates at the stern on each side. There is also a single set of closed chocks on each side at the bow. Another difference between the A sprues of York and Liverpool is the base plate found in the Liverpool kit. The York A sprue contained the lower hull piece for the kit but instead of this, the Liverpool has a base plate. Oddly, the instructions show that the base plate is not used (shaded blue) but it does seem to fit the upper hull. I wouldn’t use it anyway but it is there if you like base plates on waterline models.

Sprue C - Lower Hull and Stand

The superstructure bulkheads are separate from the upper deck parts. There are two superstructure subassemblies. One is from the bridge to mainmast and the other is for the aft helicopter hangar. There are positives and negatives to this design choice taken by Dragon. The positive is that the bulkheads have an abundance of crisp detail on each part and the negative is the need to smooth the seams where the parts join each other. Each of the bulkheads has an impressive array of features, such as doors, piping, fittings as well as portholes. The two halves of the lower part of the stack structure is especially nice with multiple fittings and exhaust cooling rectangles. The smaller deck pieces are also detailed but not to the same extent as the bulkhead parts. The small forecastle part for the extreme bow has four chocks, two more twin bollard plates, minimal anchor gear, anchor chain and locator holes for the forward jack staff, although the staff itself is too thick and should be replaced with rod or stretched sprue. Superstructure decks include items such as life raft canisters, fittings, and base mounts for various fittings. The stack cap and masts are also well detailed. The masts come with plastic yards as part of each mast piece. Although these are well done, they are somewhat thick and most modelers will probably want to remove these and use the brass replacements found on the included brass photo-etched fret. For those looking for such things, the following parts are different on the Liverpool Sprue A from the York Sprue A: new hull (1), base plate (39), new flight pad (41), and new exhaust outlets (43). Although the other parts are the same, some are used only on the Batch Two ships and some are used only on the Batch Three ships.

Weapons & Fittings – Sprue B
Only about half of the B Sprue is used and comprises the various weapons and fittings for the ship. Actually most modelers will use fewer of these parts than indicated in the instructions, as many of the plastic parts also have brass replacement parts on the photo-etch. Plastic parts include the helicopter, rotor blades, main radar, radar domes, fire control radars, boats, rafts, small guns, torpedo tube mounts, ventilator intakes, anchor and assorted other fittings. The largest and nicest of these parts are the two halves for the Lynx helicopter. Although the tail rotor is too thick (a separate brass tail rotor as well as main rotor is included in brass) and the panel lines to deep, the sides of the Lynx have cleanly defined windows as well as other fittings. The main radar is solid and should be replaced with the brass radar included on the fret. Although the parts are same on the B Sprue for both the Liverpool and York kits, each kit uses a different selection of the parts.

Brass Photo-Etched Fret

Lower Hull Fittings & Stand – Sprue C
This sprue covers two areas, the lower hull fittings and a display stand for a full hull model. The lower hull fittings include propellers, propeller shaft, propeller shaft support struts, twin rudders and four fin stabilizers. The stand is comprised of four parts; base, two support pillars and HMS York nameplate, not the Liverpool, as this sprue is identical to that in the DML York kit. . Also included on this sprue is a new 4.5-inch gun mount and separate barrel. Included on this is the lower hull for Batch One and Two versions of the Type 42 destroyer. The lower hull is very nice for full hull builders. The distinctive sonar dome is present and there are two sets of bilge keels on each side, which slant more downwards than outwards. These bilge keels may be a trifle thick but they do look good. There is also a smaller centerline keel towards the stern. On each side of the lower hull are two circular depressions for separate fin stabilizers, location depressions for the shaft housings, locator holes for the shaft supports and locator holes for the twin rudders.

Brass Photo-Etch Fret
One of the distinguishing aspects of a Dragon Premium Edition from their earlier releases of the model is the presence of a dedicated brass photo-etch fret for the model. For the HMS Liverpool kit these parts include foremast yards, mainmast yards, main mast aft spar, main radar, both main and tail helicopter rotors, flight deck safety netting, and a full set of deck railing. Although this fret has a different layout than the fret found in the York kit, only the railing parts are different. I cannot overstate that the completed model will be far finer by using these brass parts in lieu of any plastic parts included in the kit and by adding the brass parts, such as safety netting and railing, where no plastic equivalents are included. As the most extreme example there is the main radar. In plastic it is one solid chunk of plastic but with the included brass parts it is a very delicate and intricate array made up of seven brass parts. There is no comparison between the two assemblies. The included brass fret significantly increases the detail of the finished model to almost every aspect of this model.

Box Art and Decals

Decal Sheet
Another feature of Dragon Premium Edition models over their former reincarnations of the same kit is the inclusion of a new decal sheet. For the HMS Liverpool kit the Italian firm of Cartograf prepared a new decal sheet. Included on this sheet are names and hull numbers for all four members of the Type 42 Batch Two destroyers: HMS Exeter D 89, HMS Southampton D 90, HMS Nottingham D 91 and HMS Liverpool D92. The names are in red and are placed on either side of the stern and the hull numbers come in two sizes. Two large decals are provided for the hull sides and a smaller version for the transom stern. Warning circles are provided for the 4.5-inch mount and Sea Dart mount. The flight deck has full markings with a landing circle, guide lines to the hangar, and individual ship initials. A nice inclusion in the Liverpool decal sheet, not found on the York decal set, are individual ship’s crests for each side of the stack. There are two decals, one for each side of the stack, for three different destroyers. Unfortunately, the instructions do not state which crest goes with which destroyer. Also included on the sheet are helicopter markings, two white ensigns, hull draft lines and stack markings.

Instructions
The instructions are one back-printed sheet, folded into eight pages. Page one has drawings of all of the parts with unused plastic parts shaded in blue. The base plate on A Sprue is shaded blue and yet it does fit the bottom of the hull. Also remember that some of the unshaded plastic parts may not be used if you substitute the included brass part. Page two has text instructions in English, Japanese, Chinese, German, Spanish and French. This page also includes a listing of the colors needed to paint the model with GSI Creos Corporation Mr. Colour and Model Master Color paint numbers. The bottom half shows the 4.5-inch, ASW torpedo mount and Sea Dart mount assemblies. Page three includes assemblies for the Lynx, masts main radar and stack. Page four is of superstructure subassemblies. Page five continues superstructure subassemblies and attaching assemblies to the forward deck. Page six includes attaching subassemblies to the aft deck, deck detail, stern decal placement and lower hull assembly. Page seven has final assembly with optional attachment to lower hull and display stand. Page eight is a profile and plan of the destroyer showing other decal placement. Throughout these instructions Dragon illustrates which plastic parts have brass replacements, designated by a "MA" nomenclature. Also of note is the inclusion of specific parts used or removed for specific ships within the class. The HMS Southampton is different from the other three with the Southampton has some extra deck area on the upper bridge deck (A14), which is removed from the other three. The other three appear to be identical in assembly.

Instructions

Verdict
With the 1:700 scale HMS Liverpool, Type 42 Batch Two Royal Navy destroyer, Dragon extends the Premium Edition execution to one of the short hull variants of the Type 42 design. Since the Batch Two design retained the short, wet, cramped hull of the original Sheffield Batch One design, it still retained most of the negative aspects of the original design. There are differences in the A sprue from the DML York, Type 42 Batch Three kit, but sprues B and C are identical in the two kits.

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