British Rail Class 43 (Warship Class)

The BR Class 43s were diesel-hydraulic locomotives that were built from 1960 - 1962. Class 41s and Class 42s are also Warship classes. They had the B-B configuration where they have four axles, and two individual bogies (or trucks).
==Mechanical details==
The NBL-built D800s differed mechanically from the Swindon-built batch: the Swindon locomotives used Maybach engines connected to Mekydro hydraulic transmissions whereas the NBL-built examples used MAN engines and Voith transmissions. NBL had entered into an arrangement with the German company MAN AG in the early 1950s to market MAN's engine designs in the UK: NBL were anxious to enter the diesel locomotive market, especially once it became apparent that British Railways would be seeking large quantities of such locomotives when the "Modernisation Plan" was announced. MAN were equally keen to obtain a slice of the UK market for themselves. The first results of this collaboration were the D600-D604 locomotiveswhich failed to take advantage of the weight-saving potential of light alloy stressed-skin construction allied to hydraulic transmissions.
No further examples of this design were ordered but NBL then received an order for 33 locomotives to a more advanced design, the D800 design drawn up by Swindon Works in turn derived from the original German Krauss-Maffei V200 design. The prime mechanical components of these were two MAN L12V18/21B diesel engines, each rated at 1,100 hp (820 kW) at 1530 rpm and coupled to a Voith LT306r hydraulic transmission; each engine/transmission combination drove one bogie. Unlike the Mekydro four-speed transmissions in the Swindon-built locomotives, the Voith was only a three-speed design but was chosen because it kept compatibility with D600-4 and because NBL already had a licence to manufacture it. Whereas the Swindon-built locomotives had all their engines and transmissions supplied by the German manufacturers (albeit with ten engines and three transmissions supplied as kits of parts for the British licensee to re-assemble) the engines and transmissions required for D833-65 were all built by NBL.
== Operation ==
In operational service, the NBL locomotives were less reliable than their Swindon-built cousins. Mild steel was used for the exhaust manifoldsand these components were prone to fracture. Not only did this result in a loss of exhaust pressure to drive the turbochargers but also the driving cabs rapidly filled with exhaust fumes. The MAN-built engines used in the German DB class V 200 design had nickel-resist steel manifolds and were far less troublesome. The engine design also suffered from being quite highly rated for a design with no active piston cooling and piston ring life expectancy was decreased as a result. One MAN L12V18/21B was sent to the British Internal Combustion Engine Research Association for various tests and potential modifications to improve the deficiencies but nothing ever came of this. Further problems arose because of the conversion from metric to imperial feet and inches when the MAN drawings were received by NBL. It is almost certain that rounding errors in these conversions resulted in poor tolerances and lowered reliability in practice. Despite all this, figures for 1965 show the North British Warships covered a far greater annual mileage than contemporary Type 4's such as the Westerns, Peaks and Brush Type 4.
== Withdrawal ==
The NBL-built D800s were withdrawn before their Class 42 sisters, themselves doomed to a short life because of the decision to standardise on diesel-electric transmission for mainline locomotives. None have survived into preservation. They were allocated to Bristol Bath Road, Laira Plymouth, Newton Abbot and Old Oak Common.
Year	Quantity in
service at
start of year	Quantity
withdrawn	Locomotive numbers 	Notes
1969	33	3 	840/48/63 	
1970	30	0 	– 	
1971	30	30	833-9/41-7/49-62/64-5	857 simply switched off in full working order.
== Class details ==
Built by NBL, date of order 3 July 1958, maker's order no. L100, Swindon lot no. 443.
Running number	Name 	Date to traffic 	Date withdrawn	Disposal 	Notes
D833 	Panther 	6 July 1960 	3 October 1971	5 February 1972 at Swindon 	
D834 	Pathfinder 	26 July 1960 	3 October 1971	18 February 1972 at Swindon 	
D835 	Pegasus 	5 August 1960 	3 October 1971	11 December 1971 at Swindon 	
D836 	Powerful 	13 September 1960	22 May 1971 	10 March 1972 at Swindon 	
D837 	Ramillies 	8 November 1960 	22 May 1971 	23 June 1972 at Swindon 	
D838 	Rapid 	3 October 1960 	27 March 1971 	29 July 1972 at Swindon 	Last locomotive recorded as being outshopped in a non-corporate livery, left Swindon Works in August 1968 in maroon.
D839 	Relentless 	12 November 1960 	3 October 1971	4 August 1972 at Swindon 	
D840 	Resistance 	3 February 1961 	26 April 1969 	26 May 1971 at Swindon 	
D841 	Roebuck 	14 December 1960 	3 October 1971	25 February 1972 at Swindon 	
D842 	Royal Oak 	20 December 1960 	3 October 1971	17 March 1972 at Swindon 	
D843 	Sharpshooter	2 January 1961 	22 May 1971 	21 April 1972 at Swindon 	
D844 	Spartan 	16 March 1961 	3 October 1971	26 May 1972 at Swindon 	
D845 	Sprightly 	7 April 1961 	3 October 1971	19 May 1972 at Swindon 	
D846 	Steadfast 	12 April 1961 	22 May 1971 	24 December 1971 at Swindon 	
D847 	Strongbow 	22 April 1961 	27 March 1971 	17 March 1972 at Swindon 	
D848 	Sultan 	27 April 1961 	26 March 1969 	26 May 1971 at Swindon 	
D849 	Superb 	29 May 1961 	22 May 1971 	7 July 1972 at Swindon 	
D850 	Swift 	8 June 1961 	22 May 1971 	3 March 1972 at Swindon 	
D851 	Temeraire 	10 July 1961 	22 May 1971 	9 June 1972 at Swindon 	
D852 	Tenacious 	24 July 1961 	3 October 1971	2 June 1972 at Swindon 	
D853 	Thruster 	30 August 1961 	3 October 1971	16 June 1972 at Swindon 	
D854 	Tiger 	26 September 1961	3 October 1971	5 May 1972 at Swindon 	
D855 	Triumph 	25 October 1961 	3 October 1971	28 April 1972 at Swindon 	
D856 	Trojan 	16 November 1961 	22 May 1971 	7 January 1972 at Swindon 	
D857 	Undaunted 	11 December 1961 	3 October 1971	28 April 1972 at Swindon 	Last to be withdrawn, simply switched off in full working order.
D858 	Valorous 	15 December 1961 	3 October 1971	9 June 1972 at Swindon 	
D859 	Vanquisher 	9 January 1962 	27 March 1971 	30 June 1972 at Swindon 	
D860 	Victorious 	22 January 1962 	27 March 1971 	4 December 1971 at Swindon 	
D861 	Vigilant 	14 February 1962 	3 October 1971	29 July 1972 at Swindon 	
D862 	Viking 	13 March 1962 	3 October 1971	12 May 1972 at Swindon 	
D863 	Warrior 	7 April 1962 	26 March 1969 	Cut up at J Cashmore Ltd, Newport 	
D864 	Zambesi 	10 May 1962 	27 March 1971 	Cut up 19 November 1971 at Swindon	Was to have been named Zealous
D865 	Zealous 	28 June 1962 	22 May 1971 	Cut up 9 June 1972 at Swindon 	Was to have been named Zenith
== Gallery ==
File:1b511554f95e97e9b0b00a1fa2b8309e.jpg
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File:D852 - old oak common - 1964.jpg
Category:United Kingdom
Category:British Rail locomotives
Category:1955 Modernisation Plan
Category:Warships
Category:B-B locomotives
Category:Four-axled diesel locomotives
Category:Diesel locomotives
Category:Scrapped locomotives
Category:Non-Standard Locomotives
Category:Built in 1960
Category:North British locomotives
Category:Locomotives
Category:Standard gauge locomotives
Category:British Diesel Locomotives
Category:British Rail diesel locomotives
Category:Built in 1961
Category:Built in 1962
Category:Scrapped diesel locomotives