HMS Amazon (D39)

HMS "Amazon" was a prototype design of destroyer ordered for the Royal Navy in 1924. She was designed and built by Thornycroft in response to an admiralty request for a new design of destroyer incorporating the lessons and technological advances of World War I. Their great rivals Yarrow produced a similar, competative design - the "Ambuscade".

Design and construction

Thornycroft evolved at least four separate designs for this ship, two being 310 ft long (between perpendiculars) and two being 305 ft long, with shaft horse power varying between 33,000, 32,000, 30,000 and 28,000. Two final designs were offered to the Admiralty, who required prototypes for subsequent destroyer construction. Thornycroft's "A" design used the maximum length allowed (310 ft between perpendiculars). Their "B" design, however, which was adopted, reduced the length by 5 ft, using only a single boiler room forward (as in their wartime "Wishart".

Two different designs for the machinery were prepared, plus a third outline design. The "B" design was modified in November 1924 after building had begun, to take machinery capable of giving an extra 2 knots speed; this required extra length. After the initial trials in 1926 the turbines were altered.

The "Amazon" was easily recognisable by her slab-sided funnels, characteristic of Thornycroft vessels. Most differences were internal. Unlike earlier designs, which were designed for home fleet service, they were designed for colonial use, with higher freeboard, cruising turbines and better ventilation.

Armament was identical to the V and W class destroyers built late during World War I, and comprised 4 single 4.7 in BL Mark I on mountings CP Mk. VI**. These weapons were based on an Army field piece and had separate bagged charges and no Quick Firing (QF) mechanism. The mountings had half shields and afforded 30° elevation.

Fire control was by a convert|9|ft|m|0 base rangefinder and the new "Destroyer Director Control Tower" (DCT). The latter would be fitted to all subsequent Royal Navy destroyer designs from the "C" class up to the "U" class of 1942. "Amazon" reached only 34.5 knots on her initial trials, and so was taken in hand for modifications. Her suibsequent acceptance trials on 3 January 1927 resulted in a speed of 37.5 knots, and she later reached convert|38.7|kn|km/h|1. She was completed on 5 May 1927.

Such was the Navy's satisfaction with the design that they formed the basis of the next 77 subsequent destroyers, often known as the "interwar standard", up to (but not including) the Tribal class of 1936.

The "Amazon" was fitted out for service in World War II as a convoy escort. 'A' and 'Y' 4.7 in guns and her after set of torpedo tubes were removed. A 12-pdr (3 in) AA Mk.V was added in place of the torpedoes, to remedy the lack of a heavy AA weapon and a "Hedgehog" A/S projector was added on the forecastle. Radar Type 286P was added at the masthead, and the rangefinder and director on the bridge were replaced with a centimetric Radar Type 271 for detecting surfaced submarines. The 2-pdr guns were replaced with 20 mm Oerlikon AA guns, with a further pair added in the bridge wings. In 1943 the 12-pdr gun and the remaining torpedo tubes were removed to allow a 10-round depth charge pattern to be carried, and Radar Type 291 replaced 286P.

Service history

On 29 April 1940, "Amazon" assisted in the sinking of U50 off of Norway. She spent most of the war up to 1942 escorting North Atlantic and Russian convoys, moving to the Mediterranean until returning to home waters in 1943 for the duration of the war. By 1944 she was reduced to acting as a target and was broken up by West of Scotland Shipbreaking at Troon in 1949.

Bibliography

*"Destroyers of the Royal Navy, 1893-1981", Maurice Cocker, 1983, Ian Allan ISBN 0-7110-1075-7
*"Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships, 1922-1946", Ed. Robert Gardiner, Naval Institute Press, ISBN 0-87021-913-8
*"Destroyers of World War Two : An International Encyclopedia", M J Whitley, Arms and Armour Press, 1999, ISBN 1-85409-521-8.