Kingfisher class sloop
Encyclopedia
The Kingfisher class was a class
Ship class
A ship class is a group of ships of a similar design. This is distinct from a ship-type, which might reflect a similarity of tonnage or intended use. For example, the is a nuclear aircraft carrier of the Nimitz class....
of nine patrol sloops
Sloop-of-war
In the 18th and most of the 19th centuries, a sloop-of-war was a warship with a single gun deck that carried up to eighteen guns. As the rating system covered all vessels with 20 guns and above, this meant that the term sloop-of-war actually encompassed all the unrated combat vessels including the...
of the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
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...
built in three groups of three each during the 1930s, that saw service during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
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 TreatyLondon Naval Treaty
The London Naval Treaty was an agreement between the United Kingdom, the Empire of Japan, France, Italy and the United States, signed on April 22, 1930, which regulated submarine warfare and limited naval shipbuilding. Ratifications were exchanged in London on October 27, 1930, and the treaty went...
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
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....
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-down destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
, 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 and depth charge
Depth charge
A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare weapon intended to destroy or cripple a target submarine by the shock of exploding near it. Most use explosives and a fuze set to go off at a preselected depth in the ocean. Depth charges can be dropped by either surface ships, patrol aircraft, or from...
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 gunVickers machine gun
Not to be confused with the Vickers light machine gunThe Vickers machine gun or Vickers gun is a name primarily used to refer to the water-cooled .303 inch machine gun produced by Vickers Limited, originally for the British Army...
on the quarterdeck in the Kingfisher and Kittiwake groups, as per the Shearwaters. As they became available, two single 20 mm Oerlikon guns
Oerlikon 20 mm cannon
The Oerlikon 20 mm cannon is a series of autocannons, based on an original design by Reinhold Becker of Germany, very early in World War I, and widely produced by Oerlikon Contraves and others...
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
Cavity magnetron
The cavity magnetron is a high-powered vacuum tube that generates microwaves using the interaction of a stream of electrons with a magnetic field. The 'resonant' cavity magnetron variant of the earlier magnetron tube was invented by John Randall and Harry Boot in 1940 at the University of...
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 the conning tower
Conning tower
A conning tower is a raised platform on a ship or submarine, often armored, from which an officer can con the vessel; i.e., give directions to the helmsman. It is usually located as high on the ship as practical, to give the conning team good visibility....
or even the periscope
Periscope
A periscope is an instrument for observation from a concealed position. In its simplest form it consists of a tube with mirrors at each end set parallel to each other at a 45-degree angle....
or schnorkel of a submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
. 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 exposed fo'c'sle.
Kingfisher group
— built by Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering CompanyFairfield 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....
. Ordered 15 December 1933, keel laid down 1 June 1934, launched 14 February 1935, and completed 18 June 1935. Sold for scrapping 1947. — built by Alexander Stephen and Sons
Alexander Stephen and Sons
Alexander Stephen and Sons Limited, often referred to simply as Alex Stephens or just Stephens, was a Scottish shipbuilding company based in Linthouse, Govan in Glasgow, on the River Clyde.-History:...
, Linthouse
Linthouse
Linthouse is a district in the Scottish city of Glasgow. It is situated south of the River Clyde. It is immediately west of Govan, and although it is often referred to locally as 'Govan' due to its closeness, it is in fact a distinct area .Linthouse was home to the shipbuilder...
. Ordered 21 March 1935, keel laid down 12 June 1935, launched 26 March 1936, and completed 15 July 1936. Sold for scrapping 1947. — also built by Alexander Stephen and Sons
Alexander Stephen and Sons
Alexander Stephen and Sons Limited, often referred to simply as Alex Stephens or just Stephens, was a Scottish shipbuilding company based in Linthouse, Govan in Glasgow, on the River Clyde.-History:...
, Linthouse
Linthouse
Linthouse is a district in the Scottish city of Glasgow. It is situated south of the River Clyde. It is immediately west of Govan, and although it is often referred to locally as 'Govan' due to its closeness, it is in fact a distinct area .Linthouse was home to the shipbuilder...
. Ordered 21 March 1935, keel laid down 12 June 1935, launched 5 May 1936, and completed 26 August 1936. Rammed and damaged by German
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
midget submarine
Midget submarine
A midget submarine is any submarine under 150 tons, typically operated by a crew of one or two but sometimes up to 6 or 8, with little or no on-board living accommodation...
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...
26 March 1945 and written off as constructive total loss, sold for scrapping 1947.
Kittiwake group
— built by John I. Thornycroft and Company, Woolston. Ordered on 21 January 1936, keel laid down 7 April 1936, launched 30 November 1936, and completed 29 April 1937. Sold into mercantile service 1946 as Tuch Shing. — also built by John I. Thornycroft and Company, Woolston. Ordered on 21 January 1936, keel laid down 21 April 1936, launched 28 January 1937, and completed 1 July 1937. Sold into mercantile service 1946 as Tuch Loon. — built by Yarrow and Company, ScotstounScotstoun
Scotstoun is a historic district of Glasgow, Scotland, west of Glasgow City Centre. It is bounded by Yoker and Knightswood to the west, Victoria Park, Broomhill and Whiteinch to the east, Jordanhill to the north and the River Clyde to the south...
. Ordered on 13 January 1937, keel laid down 8 March 1937, launched 2 February 1938, and completed 16 June 1938. Sold for scrapping 1947.
Shearwater group
— also built by J. Samuel White and Company, CowesCowes
Cowes is an English seaport town and civil parish on the Isle of Wight. Cowes is located on the west bank of the estuary of the River Medina facing the smaller town of East Cowes on the east Bank...
; ordered 6 April 1938, keel laid down 15 August 1938, launched 18 April 1939, and completed 7 September 1939. Sold for scrapping 1947. — built by J. Samuel White and Company, Cowes
Cowes
Cowes is an English seaport town and civil parish on the Isle of Wight. Cowes is located on the west bank of the estuary of the River Medina facing the smaller town of East Cowes on the east Bank...
; ordered 6 April 1938, keel laid down 22 August 1938, launched 6 July 1939, and completed 28 October 1939. Sold for scrapping November 1950. — also built by J. Samuel White and Company, Cowes
Cowes
Cowes is an English seaport town and civil parish on the Isle of Wight. Cowes is located on the west bank of the estuary of the River Medina facing the smaller town of East Cowes on the east Bank...
; ordered 6 April 1938, keel laid down 22 August 1938, launched 18 August 1939, and completed 28 November 1939. Mined in Humber estuary 10 June 1941.