C class destroyer (1913)
Encyclopedia
The C 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
Admiralty
The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...
specifications. The uniting feature of the class was a top speed of 30 knots, a "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...
and that they all had three funnels. The funnels were spaced equidistantly and were of equal height, but the central one was thicker.
In 1913 all "30 knotter" vessels with 3 funnels were classified by the Admiralty as the C class 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...
(The 4-funnelled, "30 knotters" became the B class
B class destroyer (1913)
The B 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 being a specified top speed of and 4 funnels,...
and the 2-funnelled ships 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...
). All vessels had the distinctive turtleback that was intended to clear water from the bows but actually tended to dig the bow in to anything of a sea, resulting in a very wet conning position and poor seaboats that were unable to reach top speed in anything but perfect conditions.
They generally displaced around 350 tons and had a length of around 200 feet. 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...
for 5,800 shp 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, except some unique "specials" that used 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 in addition to, or in lieu of, the reciprocating engines. Armament was one QF 12 pounder
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
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 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...
.
Ships
Originally (390 tons, built by Palmers, JarrowJarrow
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...
);, launched 11 August 1896, sold for breaking up 10 June 1919., launched 26 August 1896, sold for breaking up 27 November 1919., launched 7 October 1896, sold for breaking up 30 August 1919., launched 9 November 1896, foundered 26 September 1904 after mechanical failure caused a propeller blade to penetrate the hull plating., launched 17 December 1896, sold for breaking up 10 June 1919. , launched 4 March 1897, sold for breaking up 30 August 1919., launched 13 April 1897, sold for breaking up 23 July 1919., launched 15 May 1897, torpedoed and sunk by German destroyers 27 October 1916.
Originally (345 tons, built by Earle
Earle's Shipbuilding
Earle's Shipbuilding was an engineering company that was based in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England from 1845 to 1932.-Earle Brothers:...
, Kingston upon Hull
Kingston upon Hull
Kingston upon Hull , usually referred to as Hull, is a city and unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It stands on the River Hull at its junction with the Humber estuary, 25 miles inland from the North Sea. Hull has a resident population of...
), launched 10 February 1898, sold for breaking up 10 June 1919., launched 21 March 1898, sold for breaking up 27 January 1920.
Originally (350 tons, built by Doxford
William Doxford & Sons
William Doxford & Sons Ltd, often referred to simply as Doxford, was a British shipbuilding company.-History:The Company was established by William Doxford in 1840. From 1870 it was based in Pallion, Sunderland, on the River Wear in Northeast England. The Company was managed by William Doxford's...
, Sunderland), launched 3 May 1897, sold for breaking up 7 June 1920., launched 3 July 1897, sold for breaking up 23 July 1919., 365 tons, launched 27 January 1899, wrecked near Blacksod Bay
Blacksod Bay
Blacksod Bay is a bay of the Atlantic Ocean in Erris, North County Mayo, Ireland. The bay is bounded on its western side by the Mullet Peninsula and to its eastern side by the coastline of Kiltane Parish where it extends southwards from Belmullet towards Gweesalia and Doohoma...
5 October 1909.
Originally (355 tons except last two ships 350 tons, all built by Naval Construction and Armament Company - later Vickers Limited
Vickers Limited
Vickers Limited was a famous British engineering conglomerate that merged into Vickers-Armstrongs in 1927.-Early history:Vickers was formed in Sheffield as a steel foundry by the miller Edward Vickers and his father-in-law George Naylor in 1828. Naylor was a partner in the foundry Naylor &...
, Barrow in Furness), launched 10 October 1896, sold for breaking up 1 July 1920., launched 1 February 1897, rammed and sunk by SS Kenilworth off Portland Bill
Portland Bill
Portland Bill is a narrow promontory of Portland stone, which forms the most southerly part of Isle of Portland, and therefore also the county of Dorset, England....
, 4 April 1918., launched 23 November 1896, sold at Hong Kong 26 October 1916., launched 20 March 1897, sold for breaking up 10 June 1919., launched 29 March 1900, sold for breaking up 17 March 1921.
Originally (345-380 tons, built by J & G Thomson - later to become John Brown and Company, Clydebank
Clydebank
Clydebank is a town in West Dunbartonshire, in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. Situated on the north bank of the River Clyde, Clydebank borders Dumbarton, the town with which it was combined to form West Dunbartonshire, as well as the town of Milngavie in East Dunbartonshire, and the Yoker and...
), launched 3 July 1896, sold for breaking up 4 November 1919., launched 14 July 1896, sold for breaking up 29 April 1920., launched 22 August 1896, torpedoed and sunk by U-boat off the Galloper in the River Thames
River Thames
The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
Estuary, 1 May 1915., launched 22 March 1898, sold for breaking up 27 May 1919., launched 25 March 1898, sold for breaking up 17 March 1921.
Originally (355 tons, built by Hawthorn
Hawthorn Leslie and Company
R. & W. Hawthorn Leslie and Company, Limited, usually referred to as Hawthorn Leslie, was a shipbuilding and locomotive manufacturer. The Company was founded on Tyneside in 1886 and ceased building ships in 1982.-History:...
, Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
), launched 14 July 1897, mined and sunk off Shetland Islands
Shetland Islands
Shetland is a subarctic archipelago of Scotland that lies north and east of mainland Great Britain. The islands lie some to the northeast of Orkney and southeast of the Faroe Islands and form part of the division between the Atlantic Ocean to the west and the North Sea to the east. The total...
, 30 June 1917., launched 22 February 1898, sold for breaking up 23 July 1919., launched 6 October 1900, sold for breaking up 10 June 1910., launched 8 November 1900, sold for breaking up 23 March 1920., launched 4 January 1901, broken up at Portsmouth Dockyard in 1919.
Originally (355 tons, built by Fairfield
Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company
The Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, Limited was a British shipbuilding company in the Govan area on the Clyde in Glasgow. Fairfields, as it is often known, was a major warship builder, turning out many vessels for the Royal Navy and other navies through the First World War and the...
, Govan
Govan
Govan is a district and former burgh now part of southwest City of Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated west of Glasgow city centre, on the south bank of the River Clyde, opposite the mouth of the River Kelvin and the district of Partick....
), launched 9 March 1897, sold 17 March 1921 and then used as a floating pontoon at Dartmouth for many years., launched 25 September 1897, foundered after damaged sustained ramming U-boat
U-boat
U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...
in North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
, 31 May 1918., launched 7 April 1897, sold for breaking up 4 November 1919., 370 tons, launched 28 June 1898, sold for breaking up 14 September 1920., 375 tons, launched 29 December 1899, sunk in collision 1 April 1918 with trawler John Fitzgerald in the North Sea. Captain at this time was Lt. Charles Lightoller
Charles Lightoller
Commander Charles Herbert Lightoller DSC & Bar, RD, RNR was the second mate on board the , and the most senior officer to survive the disaster...
RNR, who previously had been second officer of ., 375 tons, launched 22 March 1900, sold for breaking up 29 April 1920.
Originally John Brown private builds, purchased 31 May 1900 (380 tons, built on speculation by John Brown and Company, formerly J & G Thomson, at Clydebank
Clydebank
Clydebank is a town in West Dunbartonshire, in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. Situated on the north bank of the River Clyde, Clydebank borders Dumbarton, the town with which it was combined to form West Dunbartonshire, as well as the town of Milngavie in East Dunbartonshire, and the Yoker and...
), launched 17 March 1900, broken up at Portsmouth Dockyard in 1919., launched 19 May 1900, sank in collision with off St. Catherine's Point 2 April 1908., launched 16 August 1900, sold for breaking up 10 February 1920.
Originally Thornycroft special, 380 tons, launched 19 July 1898, sold for breaking up 7 June 1920.
Originally Hawthorn specials, (4 shafts, steam turbines), 344 tons, launched 6 September 1899, wrecked near Alderney
Alderney
Alderney is the most northerly of the Channel Islands. It is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown dependency. It is long and wide. The area is , making it the third-largest island of the Channel Islands, and the second largest in the Bailiwick...
in accident 3 August 1901. (ex-Python), 445 tons, launched 11 February 1902, mined and sunk off Nab light vessel
Nab Tower
The Nab Tower is a tower planned for anti-submarine protection in the Straits of Dover in World War I. It was sunk over the Nab rocks east of the Isle of Wight to replace a lightship after the war, and is a well known landmark for sailors as it marks the deep water eastern entry into the...
, 25 October 1915.