- Kingfisher class sloop
The "Kingfisher" class was a class of patrol sloop of the British
Royal Navy built during the 1930s that saw service duringWorld War II .Design
The "Kingfisher" class was an attempt to build a small patrol vessel under 600 tons, such vessels being outwith the clauses of the
London Naval Treaty of 1930. It was intended that it would escort coastal shipping in wartime.The design had a number of shortcomings, however. Firstly, it was simply designed to too high a standard; constructed to full naval warship specifications and powered by geared
steam turbine engines, it was not suitable for mass production. Secondly, it was simply too small, short on range, and the hull-form, based on a scaled-downdestroyer , was not suitable for open ocean work, where escorts were found to be dearly lacking in numbers during wartime. Thirdly, armed originally with only a single 4-inch gun forwards anddepth charge s aft, they were limited in their ability to defend themselves, never mind their charges.Modifications
The woeful lack of defensive armament was addressed early in the war by adding a multiple
Vickers machine gun on the quarterdeck in the "Kingfisher" and "Kittiwake" groups, as per the "Shearwaters". As they became available, two single 20 mm Oerlikon guns were added, on single pedestal mounts on the deckhouse aft, with the useless machine gun being replaced later with a further pair of such weapons. Centimetric Radar Type 271 was added on the roof of the bridge as it became available, this was a target indication set capable of picking up theconning tower or even theperiscope orschnorkel of asubmarine . Radar Type 286 air warning was added at the masthead. The ships that had the Mark V gun on the open mounting HA Mark III had a shield added to give the gun crews a measure of protection on the exposedfo'c'sle .Ships
"Kingfisher" group
* "Kingfisher" — built by
Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company ,Govan , launched14 February 1935 , sold for scrapping 1947
* "Mallard" — built byAlexander Stephen and Sons ,Linthouse , launched26 March 1936 , sold for scrapping 1947
* "Puffin" — also built by Stephen, launched5 May 1936 , rammed and damaged by Germanmidget submarine inNorth Sea 26 March 1945 and written off as constructive total loss, sold for scrapping 1947"Kittiwake" group
* "Kittiwake" — built by
John I. Thornycroft and Company , Woolston, launched30 November 1936 , sold into mercantile service 1946 as "Tuch Shing"
* "Sheldrake" — also built by Thornycroft, launched28 January 1937 , sold into mercantile service 1946 as "Tuch Loon"
* "Widgeon" — built byYarrow and Company ,Scotstoun , launched2 February 1938 , sold for scrapping 1947"Shearwater" group
* "Guillemot" — built by
J. Samuel White and Company ,Cowes , launched6 July 1939 , sold for scrapping 1950
* "Pintail" — also built by White, launched18 August 1939 , mined inHumber estuary 10 June 1941
* "Shearwater" also built by White, launched18 April 1939 , sold for scrapping 1947Bibliography
* "British and Empire Warships of the Second World War", H T Lenton, Greenhill Books, ISBN 1-85367-277-7
* "Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships, 1922-1946", Ed. Robert Gardiner, Naval Institute Press, ISBN 0-87021-913-8
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