RN Prewar Destroyer Classes
The British Royal Navy in World War II
NOTE ON NOMENCLATURE
The following terms and abbreviations are used in this article: AA (antiaircraft guns), A/S (antisubmarine), DC (depth charge), DP (dual-purpose guns and fire control systems capable of engaging both surface and air targets), HA (high-angle antiaircraft gun), HMS (His Majesty's Ship), MG (machine gun), RAN (Royal Australian Navy), RCN (Royal Canadian Navy) RN (Royal Navy), TT (torpedo tubes), USN (United States Navy). Some British guns were identified by the weight of the shell they fired, e.g. the 12-pounder (3in) HA gun. It was so designated to distinguish it from the 3in HA gun, which was similar but of a different design.
In the years immediately following World War I, the Royal Navy’s large destroyer force was quickly reduced. All such ships built prewar and most of those built early in the war were discarded beginning in 1919 and by 1922 the only ones remaining in service were those built from 1916 onward. In 1926-30 there was a second round of scrapping, this time because newly built destroyers were beginning to join the fleet. Older destroyers continued to be discarded in the 1930s until by 1939 there were only about 70 Great War veterans left, a number that included some flotilla leaders, essentially large destroyers with facilities for a flotilla commander and his staff.
Most of the surviving veterans belonged to the “V & W” class—which actually consisted of five sub-classes. These ships are of particular interest in that they set the pattern for most of the destroyers built for the RN between 1926 and 1939. Their design was based on that of the five “V” class flotilla leaders that entered service in 1917. Intelligence reports (later found to be erroneous) led the Admiralty to believe that the German Navy was building a new class of large destroyers, so it was decided to adapt the design of the “V” class flotilla leaders for the RN’s next destroyer class. The initial batch of 23, known as the Admiralty “V” sub-class, were 312 feet in length, displaced 1,207 tons and had a maximum speed of 34 knots. Armament consisted of 4 x 4in guns (two forward, two aft), 1 x 3in HA gun and 4 x TT (two twin mounts). Nine were fitted with mine rails and could be converted for minelaying with one 4in gun and all TT removed to free space for up to 60 mines.
The following four sub-classes were very similar to the Admiralty “Vs,” except that triple TT mounts replaced the twins and 4.7in guns replaced the 4in in the nine ships of the last two sub-classes. The triple TT eventually replaced one or both of the twin TT in the earlier ships. In a few ships 2 x 2-pounder pom-pom AA in single mounts replaced the 3in HA. Including the flotilla leaders, 67 “V & Ws” were built, while 40 either under construction or on order at the end of the war were canceled. Four went to the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), gaining fame in World War II as the “Scrap Iron Flotilla.”
At the time they entered service the “V & Ws” were the world’s most advanced destroyers. Being available in large numbers they more than met the needs of the peacetime fleet, so that no further destroyers were built up to 1925. Six were scrapped in the 1930s, leaving 57 at the beginning of World War II. Most served initially as fleet destroyers but as more modern ships entered service, many of the “V & Ws” underwent conversion for escort work.
In 1938-41 fourteen of them were converted into AA escorts. The bridge was remodeled, all TT were removed, and the gun armament was changed to 4 x 4in HA in two twin mounts controlled by a DP director, plus either 8 x caliber .50 AA MG (two quadruple mounts) or 2 x 2-pounder (40mm) AA pom-pom (single mounts). In 1941-42, the MG and pom-poms were replaced by 4 x 20mm Oerlikon AA (single mounts). Fire control radar and air warning radar were added when they became available. The “Wairs,” as they were called, also had 2 x DC racks and 2 x DC throwers. Normally they carried 45 DC.
In 1941-43, 21 “V & Ws” were converted into long-range escorts. One boiler and funnel were deleted to make room for extra fuel and accommodation, cutting their speed to 24-25 knots—considered adequate for the escort role. All TT were removed and the gun armament was reduced to 2 x 4in or 4.7in, 1 x 12-pounder HA and 4 x 20mm AA (single mounts). They also received a Hedgehog A/S mortar, two DC racks and four DC throwers. Normally they carried 110 DC. A further twelve became short-range escorts, mainly because they had a different arrangement of boiler rooms that rendered them unsuitable for the long-range escort conversion. The gun armament was reduced to 2 x 4.7in to clear space for a Hedgehog forward and DC racks and throwers aft. One of the triple TT mounts was removed and replaced by a 12-pounder HA. Light AA was variable, some ships having 2 x 2-pounder pom-pom and 2 or 3 x 20mm, others having 4 x 20mm (all single mounts). Several also received an Army-pattern twin 6-pounder gun forward for defense against German E-boats. Between 20 and 70 DC were carried.
By 1943 all the “V & Ws” except for five lost early in the war had undergone conversion and like their American cousins, the famous flush-deckers, they served with distinction despite their age.
When destroyer production for the RN resumed in 1925 the first ships built were larger but otherwise quite similar to the “V & Ws,” with the same general layout and armament. HMS Amazon and HMS Ambuscade, prototype destroyers built by Thornycroft and Yarrow respectively in 1925-26, carried 4 x 4.7in guns, 2 x 2-pounder pom-pom (single mounts) as light AA and 6 x TT (two triple mounts). They were followed by the eighteen ships of the “A” and “B” classes, built in 1928-31, two of which went to the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN), as did three of the following “C” class. They had the same gun armament as the two prototype destroyers but carried 8 x TT (two quadruple mounts).
The following six classes proceeded through the alphabet to “H” with minor improvements. With the “I” class, built in 1936-37 the torpedo armament was increased to 10 x TT (two quintuple mounts). These, however, proved to be too heavy and were replaced by quadruple mounts. Two ships of the “E” class and all eight of the “I” class were built with mine rails and could be converted for minelaying by removing two 4.7in guns and all TT to free space for 60 mines. Six new flotilla leaders were also built between 1929 and 1936. They were enlarged editions of the destroyers building at the same time, with extra accommodation for a flotilla commander and staff, and a fifth 4.7in gun amidships. Counting the flotilla leaders, 73 new destroyers were built for the RN between 1925 and 1936. At the same time, however, even larger numbers of old destroyers were being discarded.
Many of the “A” through “I” ships were converted into escorts during the war, with armament similar to the “V & W” long-range escort conversion: 2 or 3 x 4.7in, 4 x 20mm (single mounts) as light AA, 4 x TT (quadruple mount), Hedgehog, 2 x DC racks and 4 x DC throwers. They carried 100-125 DC.
As built, these interwar destroyers had one glaring weak spot: totally inadequate AA armament. When the USN resumed building destroyers in 1933-34, they were armed with director-controlled 5in DP guns effective against both surface and air targets—a choice that paid off handsomely during the war. But the main armament of the RN destroyers, the 4.7in gun, could be elevated only 30 degrees from the horizontal. This was sufficient to engage surface targets at the gun’s maximum range but quite insufficient to engage air targets. During the war it was found necessary to delete one TT mount and replace it with a 12-pounder or 3in HA gun. As for light AA, the single 2-pounder pom-pom was but marginally effective and the quadruple caliber .50 MG was almost useless. During the war they were replaced as soon as possible by four to six 20mm guns, usually in single mounts.
Only with the “Tribal” class, built in 1936-38, was there a major departure from the standard design described above. These ships, built as a reply to the latest heavily armed destroyers of the Japanese Navy, displaced over 1900 tons, versus around 1400 for the preceding “I” class. Though they carried only one quadruple TT mount, the gun armament was doubled: 8 x 4.7in. The guns were in four twin mounts with 40 degree elevation—still not enough for effective AA defense. During the war, therefore, one 4.7in mount was replaced by a twin 4in HA mount in some ships. The light AA armament was somewhat improved: 4 x 2-pounder pom-pom in a quadruple mount, and during the war 2 x 40mm Bofors and 8 to 10 x 20mm AA (all single mounts) were added. The “Tribals” could carry up to 40 DC. Sixteen were built for the RN, three in Australia for the RAN, and eight for the RCN, four in Britain and four in Canada.
The ships of the “J” and “K” classes were the last destroyers laid down before the outbreak of World War II, and all were in commission by the middle of 1939. Though smaller than the “Tribals,” they were larger than earlier classes, displacing just over 1700 tons. Armament was 6 x 4.7in (three twin mounts of the “Tribal” type), 4 x 2-pounder pom-pom (quadruple mount) and 10 x TT (two quintuple mounts). A single 4in HA gun could be carried in place of one TT mount. Later 2 to 4 x 40mm and 8 to 10 x 20mm AA (all single mounts) were added.
Neither the “Tribal” class nor the “J” and “K” classes included specially built flotilla leaders; they were large enough that the standard destroyer could be fitted as a leader, mainly by providing extra accommodation. One ship of each class was modified in this manner, a practice that was continued for subsequent destroyer classes.
During the war, losses among all of the above classes were very heavy. Of the eighteen “As” and “Bs,” for example, eleven were sunk: one by a German cruiser, one torpedoed by an aircraft, six by bombs, two by mines, and one so badly damaged by bombs that she was never repaired. It was the same story with the “Tribal” class. Of the sixteen RN ships, ten were sunk: one torpedoed by an Italian destroyer, three torpedoed by U-boats, one torpedoed by an aircraft, one sunk by coastal artillery and four by bombs. Losses were heaviest between 1939 and 1943 and thus were concentrated among the older classes. The full roster pays somber tribute to the fighting spirit of the Royal Navy and the high price of its eventual victory.
Retired baseball player F.P. Santangelo used to do the color commentary and analysis for Washington Nationals baseball games.
Whenever a player broke his bat in the process of getting a base hit, F.P. would comment, "the bat died a hero."
I thought about that reading about the fate of the HMS Mashona, who died while while hunting down the Bismarck.