Town class destroyer

The Town class destroyers were warships transferred from the United States Navy to the Royal Navy and the Royal Canadian Navy in exchange for military bases in the Bahamas and elsewhere, as outlined in the Destroyers for Bases Agreement between Britain and United States, signed on 2 September 1940. They were known as "four-pipers" or "four-stackers" because they had four smokestacks (later classes of destroyers typically had one or two).

Some went to the Royal Canadian Navy at the outset. Others went on to the Royal Norwegian Navy, the Royal Netherlands Navy, and the Soviet Navy after serving with the Royal Navy. Although given a set of names by the Commonwealth navies that suggested they were one class they actually came from three classes of destroyer: "Caldwell", "Wickes", and "Clemson". "Town" class refers to the Admiralty renaming these ships after towns common to the United States and the British Commonwealth. [Lenton&Colledge 1968 p.80] Ships initially commissioned into the Royal Canadian Navy, however, followed the Canadian practice of giving destroyers the names of Canadian rivers. The rivers selected for the town class were on the border between Canada and the United States, with the exception of the Nova Scotia river sharing the name of the United States Naval Academy location. [Milner 1985 p.23]

Roughly contemporaneous to the British V and W class destroyers they were not much liked by their new crews. They were uncomfortable and wet, working badly in a seaway. Their hull lines were rather narrow and 'herring-gutted' which gave them a vicious roll. The officers didn't like the way they handled either, since they had been built with propellors that turned the same way (2-screw ships normally have the shafts turning in opposite directions as the direction of rotation has effects on the rudder and the whole ship when manoeuvring, especially when coming alongside), so these were as awkward to handle as single-screw ships. Their turning circle was enormous, as big as most Royal Navy battleships, making them difficult to use in a submarine hunt which demanded tight maneouvers, compounded by unreliable "chain and cog" steering gear laid across the main deck. They also had fully-enclosed bridges which caused problems with reflections in the glass at night.

The original armament was four 4 inch (102 mm) guns, [Campbell 1985 p.143] one 3-inch (76 mm) anti-aircraft gun, and twelve torpedo tubes. [Silverstone 1968 p.103] On the "Wickes" class, the 4-inch gun placement was one gun in a shield on the forecastle, one on the quarterdeck and one each side on a platform between the number 2 and number 3 funnels. The Admiralty promptly removed one of the 4-inch guns and six torpedo tubes to improve stability. [Lenton&Colledge 1968 pp.80] Twenty-three of the class had further armament reductions for anti-submarine escort of trade convoys. [Lenton&Colledge 1968 pp.80&90-92] Two of the remaining 4-inch guns and three of the remaining torpedo tubes were removed to allow increased depth charge stowage and installation of hedgehog. [Lenton&Colledge 1968 pp.80&90-92]

Despite their disadvantages they performed vital duties escorting convoys in the Atlantic at a time when the U-boats, operating from newly-acquired bases on the Atlantic coast of France were becoming an increasingly serious threat to British shipping.

One of the Towns achieved lasting fame: HMS "Campbeltown" (ex-USS "Buchanan"). In the Commando raid Operation Chariot, "Campbeltown", fitted with a large demolition charge, rammed the Normandie Lock at Saint-Nazaire, France. The charge detonated on 29 March 1942, breaching the drydock and destroying "Campbeltown", thus destroying the only drydock on the Atlantic coast capable of accepting the German battleship "Tirpitz".

Ships by United States Navy class

="Caldwell"-class destroyers=

*USS "Conner" became HMS "Leeds" on 23 October 1940. She was scrapped on 19 January 1949.
*USS "Conway" became HMS "Lewes" on 23 October 1940. She outlived all of her sisters in British service and was stripped of valuable scrap and scuttled off Sydney, Australia on 25 May 1946.
*USS "Stockton" became HMS "Ludlow" on 23 October 1940; stripped and beached as a target for rocket firing aircraft off Fidra Island, United Kingdom.

="Wickes"-class destroyers=

*USS "Aaron Ward" became HMS "Castleton" on 9 September 1940. She was scrapped on 2 January 1948.
*USS "Abbot" became HMS "Charlestown" on 23 September 1940. She was scrapped on 3 December 1948.
*USS "Buchanan" became HMS "Campbeltown" on 9 September 1940. She was destroyed in Operation Chariot on 29 March 1942.
*USS "Claxton" became HMS "Salisbury" on 5 December 1940; she was employed as a special escort for specific convoys, including escorting "Wasp" during the supply of Spitfires to Malta. She was scrapped in the US in April 1945.
*USS "Cowell" became HMS "Brighton" on 23 Sept. 1940; transferred to the Soviet Union as "Zharki" on 16 July 1944; returned to the Royal Navy on 4 March 1949. She was scrapped on 18 May 1949.
*USS "Crowninshield" became HMS "Chelsea" on 9 September 1940; transferred to the Soviet Union as "Dzerki" on 16 July 1944; returned to the Royal Navy on 24 June 1949. She was scrapped on 27 July 1949.
*USS "Doran" became HMS "St Marys" on 23 September 1940. She was scrapped in December 1945.
*USS "Evans" became HMS "Mansfield" on 23 October 1940; heavily involved in the critical convoy actions of March 1943 with convoy HS-229, landing survivors in the United Kingdom; sold on 24 October 1944 for scrapping.
*USS "Fairfax" became HMS "Richmond" on 26 November 1940; transferred to the Soviet Union as "Zhivuchi" on 16 June 1944; returned to the Royal Navy on 26 June 1949. She was scrapped on 29 June 1949.
*USS "Foote" became HMS "Roxborough" on 23 September 1940; while with convoy HX-222 "Roxborough" met with such heavy weather that the entire bridge structure was crushed, with eleven dead, including the Commanding Officer and 1st Lieutenant; the sole surviving executive officer managed to regain control of the ship, and under hand steering from aft, she made St. John's, Newfoundland; was transferred to the Soviet Union as "Doblestnyi" on 10 August 1944; returned to the Royal Navy on 7 February 1949. She was scrapped on 14 May 1949.
*USS "Hale" became HMS "Caldwell" on 9 September 1940. She was scrapped on 7 June 1945.
*USS "Haraden" became HMCS "Columbia" on 24 September 1940. She was scrapped on 7 August 1945.
*USS "Hopewell" became HMS "Bath" on 23 September 1940; while escorting her sixth convoy (OG-71) between Liverpool and Gibraltar, "Bath" was torpedoed by "U-204" on 19 August 1941 and sank rapidly.
*USS "Kalk" became HMCS "Hamilton" on 23 September 1940; lost while being towed to Boston for scrapping in 1945.
*USS "MacKenzie" became HMCS "Annapolis" on 29 September 1940; towed to Boston for scrapping on 22 June 1945.
*USS "Maddox" became HMS "Georgetown" on 23 September 1940; transferred to the Soviet Union as "Zhostki" in August 1944; returned to the Royal Navy on 9 September 1952. She was scrapped on 16 September 1952.
*USS "Philip" became HMS "Lancaster" on 23 October 1940. She was scrapped on 30 May 1947.
*USS "Ringgold" became HMS "Newark" on 5 December 1940; consigned for scrapping on 18 February 1947.
*USS "Robinson" became HMS "Newmarket" on 5 December 1940. She was scrapped on 21 September 1945.
*USS "Sigourney" became HMS "Newport" on 5 December 1940. She was scrapped on 18 February 1947.
*USS "Thatcher" became HMCS "Niagara" on 26 September 1940; on 28 August 1941 "Niagara" was involved in the capture of "U-570", which had surrendered to an RAF Hudson the previous day. She was scrapped by the end of 1947.
*USS "Thomas" became HMS "St Albans" on 23 September 1940; while with convoy SCL-81, "St Albans" took part in the sinking of "U-401" on 3 August 1941; encountered the Polish submarine "Jastrzab", and in company with the minesweeper "Seagull", attacked and sank it in early 1942; transferred to the Soviet Union as "Dostoinyi" on 16 July 1944; returned to the Royal Navy on 28 February 1949; towed for scrapping on 18 May 1949.
*USS "Tillman" became HMS "Wells" on 5 December 1940. She was scrapped February 1946.
*USS "Twiggs" became HMS "Leamington" on 23 October 1940; during the fighting around convoy SC-42 in the North Atlantic she shared in the sinking of "U-207" on 11 September 1941; while covering convoy WS-17 in the UK approaches, sank "U-587" on 27 March 1942; transferred to the Soviet Union as "Zhguchi" on 17 July 1944; returned on 15 November 1950; hired for the film "The Gifthorse", the last Town-class destroyer at sea under her own power. She was scrapped on 3 December 1951.
*USS "Wickes" became HMS "Montgomery" on 25 October 1940; on convoy escort "Montgomery" rescued the survivors of "Scottish Standard" on 21 February 1941 and sank the Italian submarine "Marcello" the next day. She was scrapped on 10 April 1945.
*USS "Williams" became HMCS "St Clair" on 29 September 1940. She was scrapped on 5 March 1946.
*USS "Yarnall" became HMS "Lincoln" on 23 October 1940; transferred to the Soviet Union as "Druzhny" on 26 August 1944; returned to the Royal Navy on 24 August 1952. She was scrapped on 3 September 1952.

="Clemson"-class destroyers=

*USS "Abel P. Upshur" became HMS "Clare" on 9 September 1940. She was scrapped on 18 February 1947.
*USS "Aulick"(DD-258) became HMS "Burnham" on 8 October 1940. She was scrapped on 2 December 1948.
*USS "Bailey" became HMS "Reading" on 26 November 1940. She was scrapped on 24 July 1945.
*USS "Bancroft" became HMCS "St Francis" on 24 September 1940. She was wrecked while being towed for scrapping on 14 July 1945.
*USS "Branch" became HMS "Beverley" on 8 October 1940; she attacked and sank "U-187" on 4 February 1942. "Beverley" was torpedoed by "U-188" on 11 April 1943 and was sunk with the loss of all but four of the ship's company of 152.
*USS "Edwards" became HMS "Buxton" on 8 October 1940. She was scrapped on 21 March 1946.
*USS "Herndon" became HMS "Churchill" on 9 September 1940; transferred to the Soviet Union as "Dyatelnyi" on 30 May 1944; torpedoed and sunk by "U-956" on 16 January 1945 while escorting a White Sea convoy; the last war loss of the class and the only one of the destroyers transferred to the Soviet Union to be lost.
*USS "Hunt" became HMS "Broadway" on 8 October 1940; while escorting convoy OB-318, "Broadway" took part in the attack on "U-110" on 9 May 1941; abandoned by its crew, "U-110" was boarded and taken in tow. Escorting convoy HX-237, "Broadway" located and sank "U-89" in the North Atlantic on 14 May 1943; allocated for scrapping in March 1948.
*USS "Laub" became HMS "Burwell" on 8 October 1940; one of the ships involved in the recovery of "U-570" after its surrender to an RAF aircraft; consigned for scrapping in March 1947.
*USS "Mason" became HMS "Broadwater" on 2 October 1940; escorting convoy SC-48 between St. John's, Newfoundland and Iceland, "Broadwater" was torpedoed by "U-101" and sunk on 19 October 1941.
*USS "McCalla" became HMS "Stanley" on 23 October 1940; escorting convoy HG-76 from Gibraltar, Stanley and accompanying vessels sank "U-131" on 17 December 1941 and "U-434" on the following day; "Stanley" was sunk by "U-574" on 19 December 1941 with the loss of all but 25 of her crew.
*USS "McCook" became HMCS "St Croix" on 24 September 1940; escorting convoy ON-113 she attacked and sank "U-90" on 27 July 1942; escorting convoy KMS-10, "St Croix" and HMCS "Shediac" sank "U-87"; while escorting the combined convoys ON-202 and ONS-18, "St Croix" was twice torpedoed by "U-305" and sunk on 20 September 1940; survivors were taken aboard the frigate "Itchen", which was sunk on 22 September with very heavy loss of life; only one of "St Croix's" crew of 147 survived.
*USS "McLanahan" became HMS "Bradford" on 8 October 1940; consigned for scrapping in August 1946.
*USS "Meade" became HMS "Ramsey" on 26 November 1940. She was scrapped July 1947.
*USS "Rodgers" became HMS "Sherwood" on 23 October 1940; stripped of usable parts, "Sherwood" was beached on 3 October 1943 as a target for RAF rocketequipped Beaufighters.
*USS "Satterlee" became HMS "Belmont" on 8 October 1940; while escorting troop convoy NA-2 from St. John's, Newfoundland, "Belmont" was torpedoed by "U-82" on 31 January 1942 and sank with the loss of her entire ship's company.
*USS "Shubrick" became HMS "Ripley" on 26 November 1940; consigned for scrapping on 10 March 1945.
*USS "Swasey" became HMS "Rockingham" on 26 November 1940; while returning to Aberdeen on 27 September 1944, poor navigation brought her into the defensive minefields off the east coast of the United Kingdom, and after striking a mine "Rockingham" was abandoned and sank with the loss of one life.
*USS "Welborn C. Wood" became HMS "Chesterfield" on 9 September 1940. She was scrapped on 3 December 1948.
*USS "Welles" became HMS "Cameron" on 9 September 1940; "Cameron" never reached operational service; hit and set on fire by an air raid in Portsmouth on 5 December 1940, she was considered by the U.S. Navy as the worst damaged but surviving destroyer available and was extensively studied for explosive effects and damage control; consigned for scrapping on 1 December 1944.

Ships by World War II navy

Royal Canadian Navy
*"Annapolis" (ex-USS "MacKenzie")
*"Buxton" (ex-HMS "Buxton")
*"Columbia" (ex-USS "Haraden")
*"Hamilton" (ex-USS "Kalk")
*"Niagara" (ex-USS "Thatcher")
*"St Clair" (ex-USS "Williams")
*"St Croix" (ex-USS "McCook"; lost on 20 September 1943)
*"St Francis" (ex-USS "Bancroft")

(RCN: loaned from the Royal Navy)
*"Chelsea" (ex-HMS "Chelsea")
*"Georgetown" (ex-HMS "Georgetown")
*"Leamington" (ex-HMS "Leamington")
*"Lincoln" (ex-HMS "Lincoln")
*"Mansfield" (ex-HMS "Mansfield")
*"Montgomery" (ex-HMS "Montgomery")
*"Richmond" (ex-HMS "Richmond")
*"Salisbury" (ex-HMS "Salisbury")

Royal Navy
*"Bath" (ex-USS "Hopewell"; to Norway as "Bath")
*"Belmont" (ex-USS "Satterlee"; lost on 31 January 1942)
*"Beverley" (ex-USS "Branch"; lost on 11 April 1943)
*"Bradford" (ex-USS "McLanahan")
*"Brighton" (ex-USS "Cowell"; to the Soviet Union as "Zarkij")
*"Broadwater" (ex-USS "Mason"; lost on 18 October 1941)
*"Broadway" (ex-USS "Hunt")
*"Burnham" (ex-USS "Aulick"(DD-258))
*"Burwell" (ex-USS "Laub")
*"Buxton" (ex-USS "Edwards"; to Canada as "Buxton")
*"Caldwell" (ex-USS "Hale")
*"Cameron" (ex-USS "Welles"; lost on 5 December 1940)
*"Campbeltown" (ex-USS "Buchanan"; lost on 28 March 1942)
*"Castleton" (ex-USS "Aaron Ward")
*"Charlestown" (ex-USS "Abbot")
*"Chelsea" (ex-USS "Crowninshield"; to the Soviet Union as "Derzki")
*"Chesterfield" (ex-USS "Welborn C. Wood")
*"Churchill" (ex-USS "Herdon"; to the Soviet Union as "Dejatelny")
*"Clare" (ex-USS "Abel P. Upshur")
*"Georgetown" (ex-USS "Maddox"; to the Soviet Union as "Zostki")
*"Hamilton" (ex-USS "Kalk"; to Canada as "Hamilton")
*"Lancaster" (ex-USS "Philip")
*"Leamington" (ex-USS "Twiggs"; to the Soviet Union as "Zguchi")
*"Leeds" (ex-USS "Conner")
*"Lewes" (ex-USS "Conway")
*"Lincoln" (ex-USS "Yarnall"; to the Soviet Union as "Druzny")
*"Ludlow" (ex-USS "Stockton")
*"Mansfield" (ex-USS "Evans"; to Canada as "Mansfield"; to Norway as "Mansfield")
*"Montgomery" (ex-USS "Wickes"; to Canada as "Montgomery")
*"Newark" (ex-USS "Ringgold")
*"Newmarket" (ex-USS "Robinson")
*"Newport" (ex-USS "Sigourney")
*"Ramsey" (ex-USS "Meade")
*"Reading" (ex-USS "Bailey")
*"Richmond" (ex-USS "Fairfax"; to the Soviet Union as "Zivuchi")
*"Ripley" (ex-USS "Shubrick")
*"Rockingham" (ex-USS "Swasey"; lost on 27 September 1944)
*"Roxborough" (ex-USS "Foote"; to the Soviet Union as "Doblestnyj")
*"Salisbury" (ex-USS "Claxton"; to Canada as "Salisbury")
*"Sherwood" (ex-USS "Rodgers")
*"St Albans" (ex-USS "Thomas"; to Norway as "St Albans"; to the Soviet Union as "Dostojny")
*"St Mary's" (ex-USS "Doran")
*"Stanley" (ex-USS "McCalla"; lost on 19 December 1941)
*"Wells" (ex-USS "Tillman")

Royal Netherlands Navy
*"Campbeltown" (ex-HMS "Campbeltown")

Royal Norwegian Navy
*"Bath" (ex-HMS "Bath") (lost on 19 August 1941)
*"Lincoln" (ex-HMS "Lincoln")
*"Mansfield" (ex-HMS "Mansfield")
*"Newport" (ex-HMS "Newport")
*"St Albans" (ex-HMS "St Albans")

Soviet Navy
*"Dejatelnyj" (ex-HMS "Churchill") (lost on 16 January 1945)
*"Derzkij" (ex-HMS "Chelsea")
*"Doblestnyj" (ex-HMS "Roxborough")
*"Dostojnyj" (ex-HMS "St Albans")
*"Druznyj" (ex-HMS "Lincoln")
*"Zarkij" (ex-HMS "Brighton")
*"Zguchij" (ex-HMS "Leamington")
*"Zivuchij" (ex-HMS "Richmond")
*"Zostkij" (ex-HMS "Georgetown")

Notes

References

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