D class destroyer (1913)

For the 1931 D-class destroyer, see C and D class destroyer.

HMS Fame
Class overview
Builders:	John I. Thornycroft & Company
Preceded by:	C-class destroyer
Succeeded by:	River-class (E-class) destroyer
Subclasses:	Desperate group; Angler group; Coquette group; Stag.
Built:	1895–1899
In commission:	1896–1921
Completed:	10
General characteristics
Type:	Destroyer
Displacement:	355 to 370 tons
Length:	210 ft (64 m)
Propulsion:	Triple expansion steam engines Coal-fired water-tube boilers 5,700 ihp (Stag, 5,800 ihp)
Speed:	30 kn (56 km/h)
Armament:	1 × QF 12-pounder gun 5 × QF 6 pounder gun 2 × 18-inch (450-mm) torpedo tubes

The D class as so named in 1913 (previous to this they were known as the Desperate class) was a heterogeneous group of torpedo boat destroyers (TBDs) built for the Royal Navy in the mid-1890s. They were all constructed to the individual designs of their builder, John I. Thornycroft & Company of Chiswick, to meet Admiralty specifications. The uniting feature of the class was a top speed of 30 knots (56 km/h) and they all had two funnels. In 1913 the nine surviving "30 knotter" vessels with 2 funnels (all ten had been built by Thornycroft, but Ariel was lost before their renaming as D class) were classified by the Admiralty as the D class to provide some system to the naming of HM destroyers. In the same way those with 3 funnels were classified as the C class and those with 4 funnels as the B class. All these vessels had a distinctive "turtleback" forecastle that was intended to clear water from the bow, but actually tended to dig the bow in to anything of a sea, resulting in a very wet conning position. They were better constructed than their A-class forebears (the "26 knotter" and "27 knotter" groups), but still were poor seaboats unable to reach top speed in anything but perfect conditions.

They generally displaced 355 to 370 tons and had a length of 210 feet (64 m). All were powered by triple expansion steam engines for 5,700 indicated horsepower (4,300 kW) and had coal-fired water-tube boilers, except for the final vessel (Stag) in which the engine power was slightly raised to 5,800 indicated horsepower (4,300 kW). 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 (460 mm) torpedoes.

Ships

All ten of the "D" Class were built by Thornycroft at Chiswick, comprising four batches.
Desperate group (ordered 10 May 1895 under 1894-95 Programme);

• Milford Haven Milford Haven Rainham Rainham Stag 334 16 April 1898 18 November 1899 September 1900 Sold for scrap 17 March 1921, to Ward, Grays

  See also

  Media related to D class destroyer (1913) at Wikimedia Commons

  Bibliography

  • Destroyers of the Royal Navy, 1893-1981, Maurice Cocker, 1983, Ian Allan ISBN 0-7110-1075-7.
  • The First Destroyers, David Lyon, 1996, Chatham Publishing ISBN 1-86176-005-1.