The B class as designated in 1913 was a heterogeneous group of torpedo boat destroyers (TBDs) built for the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

 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 (58.8 km/h) 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

Naming conventions for destroyers of the Royal Navy

The first Torpedo Boat Destroyer in the Royal Navy was HMS Havock of 1893. From 1906, the term "Torpedo Boat Destroyer" began to appear in the shortened form "Destroyer" when referring to Destroyer Flotillas...

. (All "30 knotter" vessels with 3 funnels were classified by the Admiralty as the C class

C class destroyer (1913)

The C class as designated in 1913 was a heterogeneous group of torpedo boat destroyers built for the Royal Navy in the late-1890s. They were constructed to the individual designs of their builders to meet Admiralty specifications. The uniting feature of the class was a top speed of 30 knots, a...

 and those with 2 funnels became the D class

D class destroyer (1913)

The D class as so named in 1913 was a heterogeneous group of torpedo boat destroyers 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...

.)

Fourteen vessels were built by Laird Brothers at Birkenhead (in 1903 to become part of Cammell-Laird, Birkenhead

Birkenhead

Birkenhead is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in Merseyside, England. It is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite the city of Liverpool...

), 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

Forecastle

Forecastle refers to the upper deck of a sailing ship forward of the foremast, or the forward part of a ship with the sailors' living quarters...

 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

A class destroyer (1913)

The A class as designated in 1913 was a heterogeneous group of torpedo boat destroyers built for the Royal Navy in the mid-1890s. Some 42 vessels were constructed to the individual designs of their builders to meet Admiralty specifications, the only uniting feature being a specified top speed of...

, giving an increase in speed of 3 knots (5.9 km/h) over the "27 knotters". Length was around 210 feet (64 m). All were powered by triple expansion steam engines

Steam engine

A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid.Steam engines are external combustion engines, where the working fluid is separate from the combustion products. Non-combustion heat sources such as solar power, nuclear power or geothermal energy may be...

 and had coal-fired

Coal

Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...

 water-tube boiler

Water-tube boiler

A water tube boiler is a type of boiler in which water circulates in tubes heated externally by the fire. Fuel is burned inside the furnace, creating hot gas which heats water in the steam-generating tubes...

s. However, Albacore, Arab, Bonetta and Express were builder's specials, and had steam turbine

Steam turbine

A steam turbine is a mechanical device that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam, and converts it into rotary motion. Its modern manifestation was invented by Sir Charles Parsons in 1884....

s fitted in addition to, or in lieu of, the reciprocating engines, giving 6000 SHP to 9000 SHP for 26.75 knots (52.4 km/h) to 31 knots (60.8 km/h). Armament was one QF 12 pounder gun

QF 12 pounder 12 cwt naval gun

The QF 12 pounder 12 cwt gun was a common calibre naval gun introduced in 1894 and used until the middle of the 20th century. It was produced by Armstrong Whitworth, Elswick and used on Royal Navy warships, and exported to allied countries...

 on a bandstand on the forecastle, five QF 6 pounder guns

QF 6 pounder Hotchkiss

The QF 6 pounder Hotchkiss was a light 57 mm naval gun and coast defence gun of the late 19th century used by many countries, and was adapted for use in the early British tanks in World War I.- Canada History :...

 (two sided abreast the conning tower, two sided between the funnels and one on the quarterdeck

Quarterdeck

The quarterdeck is that part of a warship designated by the commanding officer for official and ceremonial functions. In port, the quarterdeck is the most important place on the ship, and is the central control point for all its major activities. Underway, its importance diminishes as control of...

) and 2 single tubes for 18-inch (450-mm) torpedoes

British 18 inch torpedo

There have been a number of 18 inch torpedoes in service with the United Kingdom. These have been used on ships of the Royal Navy and aircraft of both the Fleet Air Arm and Royal Air Force...

.

The last two Palmers boats, built in 1908, were replacements for the River class

River class destroyer

The River-class destroyer was a heterogeneous class of torpedo boat destroyer built to assorted builders' designs for the Royal Navy at the turn of the 20th century, which saw extensive service in World War I...

 Gala and the C class

C class destroyer (1913)

The C class as designated in 1913 was a heterogeneous group of torpedo boat destroyers built for the Royal Navy in the late-1890s. They were constructed to the individual designs of their builders to meet Admiralty specifications. The uniting feature of the class was a top speed of 30 knots, a...

 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 (52.9 km/h) on turbines.

Ships

Originally (all built by Laird, Birkenhead under the 1894-95 Programme), launched 24 September 1895, sold for breaking up 23 July 1919., launched 8 October 1895, wrecked off the Yangtze 17 June 1904., launched 5 November 1895, sold for breaking up 4 November 1919., launched 19 November 1895, sold for breaking up 10 October 1919.

Originally (all built by Laird, Birkenhead under the 1895-96 Programme), launched 7 November 1896, sold for breaking up 7 January 1920., launched 21 November 1896, sold for breaking up 7 January 1920., launched 5 December 1896, sold for breaking up 6 October 1919., launched 21 January 1897, sold for breaking up 7 June 1920., launched 6 March 1897, sold for breaking up 17 March 1921., launched 2 June 1897, sold for breaking up 1 July 1921.

Express (built by Laird, Birkenhead as a Special - steam turbine powered - under the 1896-97 Programme), launched 11 December 1897, sold for breaking up 17 March 1920.

Orwell (built by Laird, Birkenhead under the 1897-98 Programme), launched 29 September 1898, sold for breaking up 1 July 1920.

Originally (both built by Laird, Birkenhead under the 1899-1900 Programme), launched 14 July 1900, sold for breaking up 1 July 1921., launched 25 August 1900, sold for breaking up 1 July 1921.
Success (built by Doxford, Sunderland under the 1899-1900 Programme), launched 21 March 1901, wrecked off Fife Ness

Fife Ness

Fife Ness is a headland , forming the most eastern point in Fife. It is situated in the area of Fife known as the East Neuk, and forms the muzzle of the dog-like outline of the latter when viewed on a map....

 December 27, 1914, becoming the first wartime destroyer loss.

Palmers 4-funnelled group (built by Palmers, Jarrow

Jarrow

Jarrow is a town in Tyne and Wear, England, located on the River Tyne, with a population of 27,526. From the middle of the 19th century until 1935, Jarrow was a centre for shipbuilding, and was the starting point of the Jarrow March against unemployment in 1936.-Foundation:The Angles re-occupied...

, 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), launched 11 January 1899, sold for breaking up 14 September 1920., launched 30 March 1899, sold for breaking up 30 August 1919., launched 26 May 1900, rammed and sunk by SS Hambourn in the English Channel

English Channel

The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...

, 26 March 1917., launched 20 December 1900, sold for breaking up 14 September 1920., launched 29 December 1899 and purchased in July 1901, sold for breaking up 23 March 1920.

Arab (built by J & G Thomson, Clydebank as a Special - steam turbine powered - under the 1896-97 Programme), launched 9 February 1901, sold for breaking up 23 July 1919.

Cobra (built by Armstrong Whitworth, Elswick as a Special - steam turbine powered), launched 28 June 1899 and purchased 8 May 1900, wrecked while on delivery voyage 19 September 1901.

Palmers final group (steam turbine powered), launched 9 October 1906 and purchased 3 May 1909, sold for breaking up 1 August 1919., launched 14 January 1907 and purchased 3 May 1909, sold for breaking up 7 June 1920.