C class destroyer (1913)

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The D class of 1913 was a heterogeneous group of torpedo boat destroyers (TBDs) built for the Royal Navy in the late-1890s. They were constructed to the individual designs of their builders to meet Admiralty specifications. The uniting feature of the class was a top speed of 30 knots, a "turtleback" forecastle and that they all had three funnels. The funnels were spaced equidistantly and were of equal height, but the central one was thicker. In 1913 all "30 knotter" vessels with 3 funnels were classified by the Admiralty as the D class to provide some system to the naming of HM destroyers (The 4-funnelled, "30 knotters" became the B class and the 2-funnelled ships the D class). All vessels had the distinctive turtleback that was intended to clear water from the bows but actually tended to dig the bow in to anything of a sea, resulting in a very wet conning position and poor seaboats that were unable to reach top speed in anything but perfect conditions.

They generally displaced around 350 tons and had a length of around 200 feet. All were powered by triple expansion steam engines for 5,800 shp and had coal-fired water-tube boilers, except some unique "specials" that used steam turbines in addition to, or in lieu of, the reciprocating engines. Armament was one QF 12 pounder on a bandstand on the forecastle, five QF 6 pounder (two sided abreast the conning tower, two sided between the funnels and one on the quarterdeck) and 2 single tubes for 18 inch torpedoes.

Ships

ex-Star class (360 tons, built by built by Palmers, Jarrow);

Bat, built 1896
Crane, built 1896
Chamois, built 1896, foundered 1904 after mechanical failure caused a propeller blade to penetrate the hull plating
Flirt, built 1897, torpedoed and sunk by German destroyers October 27 1918
Flying Fish, built 1897
Star, built 1896
Whiting, built 1896

ex-Bullfinch class (345 tons, built by Earle, Kingston upon Hull)

Bullfinch, built 1901
Dove, built 1898

ex-Violet class (350 tons, built by Doxford, Sunderland

Lee, built 1899
Sylvia, built 1897
Violet, built 1897

ex-Avon class (350 tons, built by Vickers Armstrong, Barrow in Furness

Avon, built 1896
Bittern, built 1897, rammed and sunk by SS Kenilworth off Portland Bill, April 4 1918
Leopard, built 1897
Otter, built 1896
Vixen (400 ton displacement), built 1901

ex-Brazen class (350 tons, built by Clydebank Shipbuilding Yard, Clydebank)

Brazen, built 1896
Electra, built 1901
Kestrel, built 1898
Recruit, built 1901, torpedoed and sunk by U-boat off the Galloper in the River Thames, May 1 1915
Vulture, built 1898

ex-Mermaid class (355 tons, built by Hawthorn, Newcastle upon Tyne

Cheerful, built 1897, mined and sunk off Shetland islands, June 30 1917
Mermaid, built 1898

ex-Gipsy class (355 tons, built by Fairfield, Govan

Greyhound, built 1900
Racehorse, built 1900
Roebuck, built 1901
Fairy, built 1897, foundered after damaged sustained ramming U boat UC-75 in North Sea, May 31 1918
Falcon, built 1901
Gipsy, built 1897
Osprey, built 1897

ex-Leven class (370 tons, built by Fairfield, Govan)

Leven, built 1901
Ostrich, built 1901

ex-John Brown private builds, purchased 1901 (380 tons, built by John Brown and Company, Clydebank)

Thorn, built 1901
Tiger, built 1901
Vigilant, built 1901

Thornycroft Special

Albatross, 430 tons, built 1898

Hawthorn Specials (4 shafts, steam turbines)

Velox, 400 tons, built 1902, mined and sunk off Nab light vessel, October 25 1915
Viper, 477 tons , built 1899

Vickers Armstrong Special (transom stern, outboard rudder)

Cobra, built 1900 by Vickers Armstrong (Newcastle upon Tyne)

Bibliography

Destroyers of the Royal Navy, 1893-1981, Maurice Cocker, 1983, Ian Allan ISBN 0711010757

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