- B class destroyer (1913)
The B class as designated in 1913 was a heterogeneous group of
torpedo boat destroyer s (TBDs) built for theRoyal Navy in the late 1890s. They were constructed to the individual designs of their builders to meet Admiralty specifications, the uniting feature being a specified top speed of 30 knots and 4 funnels, although the funnel spacings differed between ships. All "30 knotter" vessels with 4 funnels were classified by the Admiralty as the B class in 1913 to provide some system to the naming of HM destroyers. (All "30 knotter" vessels with 3 funnels were classified by the Admiralty as the C class and those with 2 funnels became the D class.)Fourteen vessels were built by Laird Brothers at Birkenhead (in 1903 to become part of
Cammell-Laird ,Birkenhead ), seven by Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Company at Hebburn-on-Tyne, and one each by Armstrong Whitworth at Walker-on-Tyne, William Doxford and Sons at Sunderland, and J & G Thomson (later to become John Brown and Company) at Clydebank. All vessels had a distinctive "turtleback"forecastle that was intended to clear water from the bow, but actually tended to dig the bow into anything of a sea, resulting in a very wet conning position.They generally displaced around 350 tons, one third more than the preceding A class, giving an increase in speed of 3 knots over the "27 knotters". Length was around 210 feet. All were powered by triple expansion steam engines and had coal-fired
water-tube boiler s. However, "Albacore", "Arab", "Bonetta" and "Express" were builder's specials, and hadsteam turbine s fitted in addition to, or in lieu of, the reciprocating engines, giving 6,000 to 9,000 shp for 26.75 to 31 knots. 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 thequarterdeck ) and 2 single tubes for 18 inchtorpedo es.The last two Palmers boats, built in 1908, were replacements for the River class "Gala" and the C class "Tiger" that had collided and sunk that year. They were generally similar to the River (or E class) design, but were grouped with the B class as they possessed 4 funnels and were similarly armed, and made 27 knots on turbines.
hips
originally "Quail" class (all built by Laird, Birkenhead under the 1894-95 Programme)
*"Quail", launched24 September 1895 , sold for breaking up23 July 1919 .
*"Sparrowhawk", launched8 October 1895 , wrecked off the Yangtze17 June 1904 .
*"Thrasher", launched5 November 1895 , sold for breaking up4 November 1919 .
*"Virago", launched19 November 1895 , sold for breaking up10 October 1919 .originally "Earnest" class (all built by Laird, Birkenhead under the 1895-96 Programme)
*"Earnest", launched7 November 1896 , sold for breaking up7 January 1920 .
*"Griffon", launched21 November 1896 , sold for breaking up7 January 1920 .
*"Locust", launched5 December 1896 , sold for breaking up6 October 1919 .
*"Panther", launched21 January 1897 , sold for breaking up7 June 1920 .
*"Seal", launched6 March 1897 , sold for breaking up17 March 1921 .
*"Wolf", launched2 June 1897 , sold for breaking up1 July 1921 ."Express" (built by Laird, Birkenhead as a Special - steam turbine powered - under the 1896-97 Programme)
*"Express", launched11 December 1897 , sold for breaking up17 March 1920 ."Orwell" (built by Laird, Birkenhead under the 1897-98 Programme)
*"Orwell", launched29 September 1898 , sold for breaking up1 July 1920 .originally "Lively" class (both built by Laird, Birkenhead under the 1899-1900 Programme)
*"Lively", launched14 July 1900 , sold for breaking up1 July 1921 .
*"Sprightly", launched25 August 1900 , sold for breaking up1 July 1921 .Palmers 4-funnelled group (built by Palmers,
Jarrow , the "Spiteful" ordered under the 1897-98 Programme, three purchased under the 1899-1900 Estimates and the "Kangaroo" purchased under a supplementary programme for 1900-01)
*"Spiteful", launched11 January 1899 , sold for breaking up14 September 1920 .
*"Peterel", launched30 March 1899 , sold for breaking up30 August 1919 .
*"Myrmidon", launched26 May 1900 , rammed and sunk by SS "Hambourn" in theEnglish Channel ,26 March 1917 .
*"Syren", launched20 December 1900 , sold for breaking up14 September 1920 .
*"Kangaroo", launched29 December 1899 and purchased in July 1901, sold for breaking up23 March 1920 ."Success" (built by
Doxford ,Sunderland under the 1899-1900 Programme)
*"Success", launched21 March 1901 , wrecked offFife Ness December 27 1914 , becoming the first wartime destroyer loss."Arab" (built by J & G Thomson, Clydebank as a Special - steam turbine powered - under the 1896-97 Programme)
*"Arab", launched9 February 1901 , sold for breaking up23 July 1919 ."Cobra" (built by Armstrong Whitworth, Elswick as a Special - steam turbine powered)
*"Cobra", launched28 June 1899 and purchased8 May 1900 , wrecked while on delivery voyage19 September 1901 .Palmers final group (steam turbine powered)
*"Albacore", launched9 October 1906 and purchased3 May 1909 , sold for breaking up1 August 1919 .
*"Bonetta", launched14 January 1907 and purchased3 May 1909 , sold for breaking up7 June 1920 .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.
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.