Tribal class destroyer (1936)
Encyclopedia : T : TR : TRI : Tribal class destroyer (1936)
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| Tribal class |
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|---|---|
| General Characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 1,850 tons (standard), 2,520 tons (full) |
| Length: | 377 ft o/a |
| Beam: | 36 ft 6 in |
| Draught: | 9 ft |
| Propulsion: | 3 x Admiralty 3-drum boilers, steam turbines, 2 shafts, 44,000 shp |
| Speed: | 36 kt |
| Range: | 524 tons oil, 5,700 nm at 15 kt |
| Complement: | 190 (219 as leader) |
| Armament (as built): | |
| 4 x twin 4.7 in L/45 QF Mark XII, mounting CP Mk.XIX 1 x quad 2 pdr "pom-pom" mount Mk.VII 2 x quad Vickers 0.5 in MG AA 1 x quad tubes for 21 in torpedoes Mk.IX 1 x rack, 2 x throwers for depth charges | |
| Armament (war modifications): | |
| 3 x twin 4.7 in L/45 QF Mk.XII, mounting CP Mk.XIX 1 x twin 4 in L/45 QF Mk.XVI, mounting HA Mk.XIX 1 x quad 2 pdr "pom-pom" mount Mk.VII Up to 4 x single and twin 20 mm Oerlikon guns 1 x quad tubes for 21 in torpedoes Mk.IX 1 x rack, 2 x throwers for depth charges | |
| Armament (Cayuga, Athabaskan as built): | |
| 4 x twin 4 in L/45 QF Mk.XVI, mounting HA Mk.XIX 1 x twin 40 mm Bofors mount Mk.V 4 x single 40 mm Bofors mount Mk.III 1 x tubes for 21 in torpedoes Mk.IX 1 x rack, 2 x throwers for depth charges | |
Contents
Design History
From 1926 all Royal Navy destroyers had descended from a common lineage based upon the prototypes Amazon and Ambuscade. Little advance had been made in the way of armament or machinery and by the mid-1930s it was obvious that the "interwar standard" type - as it was known - was being eclipsed by foreign designs that were potential adversaries. In light of this view, it was decided that a new design of large destroyers were needed, with an emphasis on gunnery over torpedoes. The original design called for 5 twin 4.7 in guns, 36 knots, an endurance of 5,500 nm on 1,850 tons.By August 1935, after much debate, the design had evolved into one armed with 4 twin 4.7 in QF Mark XII on mountings CP Mark XIX controlled by a low-angle (LA) director and high-angle / low-angle (HA/LA) rangefinder director on the bridge. However, the main armament was only capable of 40° elevation, therefore they main armament was limited to long-range anti-aircraft use only. The anti-aircraft armament consisting of a quadruple 2 pdr "pom pom" mounting Mark VII and 2 quadruple Vickers 0.5 in machine guns and a quadruple bank of torpedo tubes. They were handsome ships with a clipper bow and twin, raked funnels and masts and are remembered with great affection to this day.
Two flotillas of 8 ships each were ordered for the Royal Navy in 1936, with a flotilla ordered each by the Royal Australian Navy (three ships completed out of an initial plan for 7) and the Royal Canadian Navy. The Canadian order was for four ships from British yards in 1940 (completed in 1942 and 1943) and another four from domestic yards at Halifax in 1942. The latter were not completed until after the war. Altogether, between 1937 and 1945, twenty-seven "Tribals" were built.
Modifications
Early wartime experience showed the alarming lack of anti-aircraft firepower, the main armament proving useless at short ranges, especially against dive bombers. After the loss of Afridi and Gurkha, they were taken in hand to improve the situation. "X" 4.7 in mounting was landed and replaced by a twin 4 in gun QF Mark XVI on the mounting HA Mark XIX. The mainmast was cut down and the rear funnel was lowered to improve the arcs of fire for the anti-aircraft weapons. As they became available, 20 mm Oerlikon guns were added, at first supplanting and eventually replacing the useless 0.5 in machine guns. By 1944 the four surviving ships were give a tall lattice foremast to carry Radar Type 293 target indication and Type 291 air warning, with Radar Type 285 added to the rangefinder-director.Service
As some of the Royal Navy's most modern and powerful escorts, they were widely deployed in World War II, and served with great distinction in nearly all theatres of war. As a result, losses were heavy and twelve out of the sixteen Royal Navy "Tribals" were sunk, as was one Canadian ship was also lost. Gurkha has the rare and unfortunate distinction of being the name of two ships that were sunk in World War II; the "L" class destroyer Larne being renamed to honour the lost "Tribal" class ship, and was herself lost in 1942.1940
Cossack earned fame early on in the war, when on 6 February 1940, commanded by the famed Captain Philip Vian, she pursued and then boarded the German ship Altmark in neutral Norwegian waters; the Altmark Incident. This was the last occasion when a naval boarding action took place with bayonets fixed. Gurkha was an early loss, being sunk by German bombers off of Stavanger, with Afridi lost soon afterwards to dive bombers while evacuating troops from Namsos. Bedouin, Punjabi, Eskimo and Cossack took part in the Second Battle of Narvik, where Eskimo had her bows blown off.1941
In May 1941, Somali boarded the German weathership München, retrieving vital Enigma cypher codebooks. In the same month, Zulu, Sikh, Cossack and Maori were in action against the German battleship Bismarck, with Mashona being sunk by German aircraft during these operations. In the Mediterranean, Mohawk was lost as part of "Force K", torpedoed by the Italian destroyer Tarigo in April. Cossack was torpedoed by U-563 in October while escorting convoy HG74 in the Atlantic, west of Gibraltar, sinking later under tow. Maori and Sikh were amongst the victors at the Battle of Cape Bon in December.1942
In 1942, Matabele was torpedoed and sunk in the Barents Sea and Maori was hit in the engine room by a bomb whilst lying in Grand Harbour, Valetta, in February, catching fire and later blowing up where she lay. Punjabi was tragically rammed and sunk by the battleship King George V whilst performing close escort in thick weather in May. In July, Bedouin was disabled in action with the Regia Marina during Operation Harpoon. Although later taken in tow by Partridge the tow had to be cast when aircraft attacked and she was sunk. In September, the final 2 "Tribals" lost in the Battle of the Mediterranean were sunk; Sikh and Zulu during a disastrous raid on Tobruk. Also that month, Somali was torpedoed by U-703 covering convoy QP14 during the Russian convoys. Although taken under tow by Tartar, she sank 4 days later after heavy weather broke her back. This was the last Royal Navy Tribal to be sunk during the war.1943
The four remaining ships, Ashanti, Eskimo, Nubian and Tartar were back in the Mediterannean covering the "Avalanche'' landings at Salerno.1944
Post war
Post war, the remaining Royal Navy ships, worn out after 6 years of service, were scrapped. The Australian and Canadian ships, with the exception of Micmac, served at Korea, with Bataan at one point escorting a United States aircraft carrier with the same name.Ships
Royal Navy
Royal Canadian Navy
| Name | Pennant | Builder | Laid Down | Launched | Commissioned | Fate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iroquois (ex-Athabaskan) | G89 | Vickers Armstrong, Newcastle upon Tyne | September 19 1940 | September 23 1941 | December 10 1942 | sold for scrapping, 1966 |
| Athabaskan (i) (ex-Iroquois) | G07 | Vickers Armstrong, Newcastle upon Tyne | October 31 1940 | November 18 1941 | February 15 1943 | lost April 29 1944, torpedoed by German torpedo boat T.24 north of Ile de Bas |
| Huron | G24 | Vickers Armstrong, Newcastle upon Tyne | July 15 1941 | June 25 1942 | July 28 1943 | sold for scrapping, 1965 |
| Haida | G63 | Vickers Armstrong, Newcastle upon Tyne | September 29 1941 | August 25 1942 | September 18 1943 | Preserved as museum ship, Hamilton, 1964 |
| Micmac | R10 | Halifax Shipyards, Nova Scotia | May 20 1942 | September 18 1943 | September 14 1945 | sold for scrapping, 1964 |
| Nootka (ii) | R96 | Halifax Shipyards, Nova Scotia | May 20 1942 | April 26 1944 | August 9 1946 | sold for scrapping, 1964 |
| Cayuga | R04 | Halifax Shipyards, Nova Scotia | October 7 1943 | July 28 1945 | October 20 1947 | sold for scrapping, 1964 |
| Athabaskan (ii) | R79 | Halifax Shipyards, Nova Scotia | May 15 1944 | May 4 1945 | January 12 1947 | sold for scrapping, 1969 |
Royal Australian Navy
| Name | Pennant | Builder | Laid Down | Launched | Commissioned | Fate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arunta | I30 | Cockatoo Dockyard, Sydney | November 15 1939 | November 30 1940 | April 30 1942 | Sold for scrapping 1969, foundered en route to breakers |
| Warramunga | I44 | Cockatoo Dockyard, Sydney | February 10 1940 | February 2 1942 | November 23 1942 | Sold for scrapping 1963 |
| Bataan (ex-Kurnai) | I91 | Cockatoo Dockyard, Sydney | November 30 1940 | January 15 1944 | May 25 1945 | Sold for scrapping 1958 |
The ships today
- Haida, the only surviving Tribal, has been restored and preserved as a museum in the harbour of Hamilton, Ontario Canada.
- The bow of Maori lies in 13 m (43 feet) of water in Marsamaxett Harbour, Valletta, Malta where she was sunk during World War II. It is a well-known scuba diving site.
Trivia
The fictional Missinabi was created by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation for a radio serial during the Second World War using a fictional Indian tribe mentioned by Stephen Leacock in Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town.Bibliography
- Destroyers of the Royal Navy, 1893-1981, Maurice Cocker, Ian Allan, ISBN 0711010757
- Royal Navy Destroyers since 1945, Leo Marriot, Ian Allan, ISBN 0711018170
- British and Empire Warships of the Second World War, H T Lenton, Greenhill Books, ISBN 1853672777
- Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships, 1922-1946, Ed. Robert Gardiner, Naval Institute Press, ISBN 0870219138
- Destroyers of World War II, An International Encyclopedia, M. J. Whiteley, Arms and Armour Press, 1988, ISBN 1845095218
- HMCS Haida: Battle Ensign Flying, Barry M Gough, Vanwell, 2001, ISBN 1551250586
- Tribal Class Destroyers, Peter Hodges, Almark, 1971, ISBN 0855240474
- The Tribals, Martin H Brice, Ian Allan, 1971, ISBN 0711002452
- Unlucky Lady: The Life and Death of HHCS Athabaskan 1940-44, Len Burrow & Emile Beudoin, Canada's Wings, 1983, ISBN 0920002137
External links
- [HMCS Haida web site]
- [Canadian Tribal Destroyer Association]
- [Specifications] for each of the ships
See also
| "Tribal" class destroyer (1936) |
| Royal Navy |
| Afridi | Ashanti | Bedouin | Cossack | Eskimo | Gurkha | Maori | Mashona | Matabele | Mohawk | Nubian | Punjabi | Sikh | Somali | Tartar | Zulu |
| Royal Canadian Navy |
| Athabaskan (i) | Athabaskan (ii) | Cayuga | Haida | Huron | Iroquois | Micmac | Nootka |
| Royal Australian Navy |
| Arunta | Bataan | Warramunga |
|
List of destroyers of the Royal Navy List of major warship classes of the Royal Australian Navy |
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