O and P class destroyer
Encyclopedia
The O and P class was a class
of destroyer
s of the British
Royal Navy
. Ordered in 1939, they were the first ships in the War Emergency Programme
, also known as the 1st and 2nd Emergency Flotilla, respectively. They served as convoy
escorts in World War II
, and some were later converted to fast second-rate anti-submarine frigates in the 1950s.
HA Fire Control Computer.
and a pair of quadruple 0.5-inch Vickers A/A machine guns
. The latter proved to be outdated, and were replaced by 20 mm Oerlikon gun
s as they became available, with a total of six single mounts eventually being carried.
, Onslow being heavily damaged. After the Battle of the Barents Sea
the ships were refitted with tall lattice masts instead of the normal mast.
* = flotilla leader
† = fitted for minelaying
* = flotilla leader
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 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...
s 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...
. Ordered in 1939, they were the first ships in the War Emergency Programme
War Emergency Programme destroyers
The War Emergency Programme destroyers were 112 destroyers built for the British Royal Navy during World War II. They were based on the hull and machinery of the earlier J, K and N class destroyer. Due to supply problems and the persistent failure by the Royal Navy to develop a suitable...
, also known as the 1st and 2nd Emergency Flotilla, respectively. They served as convoy
Convoy
A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support, though it may also be used in a non-military sense, for example when driving through remote areas.-Age of Sail:Naval...
escorts in 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...
, and some were later converted to fast second-rate anti-submarine frigates in the 1950s.
Design
The O and P class were based on the hull and machinery of the preceding J class, but with more sheer forward to counter the poor riding qualities of the Js. These ships used the Fuze Keeping ClockFuze Keeping Clock
The Fuze Keeping Clock was a simplified version of the Royal Navy's High Angle Control System analogue fire control computer. It first appeared as the FKC Mk1 in destroyers of the 1938 Tribal class, while later variants were used on sloops, frigates, destroyers, aircraft carriers and several...
HA Fire Control Computer.
O class
The O-class ships were built in two groups of four. The first group had 4.7 in guns. They were in low-angle mounts which could elevate to only 40 degrees, and were additionally fitted with a 4 in anti-aircraft gun in place of one set of torpedo tubes. The second group had 4 inches (101.6 mm) guns in high-angle mounts and were fitted to act as minelayers; they could be recognised by the flat "beaver tail" stern over which the mines were dropped. When carrying mines they had to land Y gun, their torpedo tubes and depth charges. The designed anti-aircraft armament was one quadruple QF 2-pounder "pom pom"QF 2 pounder naval gun
The 2-pounder gun, officially designated the QF 2-pounder and universally known as the pom-pom, was a 1.575 inch British autocannon, used famously as an anti-aircraft gun by the Royal Navy. The name came from the sound that the original models make when firing...
and a pair of quadruple 0.5-inch Vickers A/A machine guns
Vickers .50 machine gun
The Vickers .50 machine gun, also known as the 'Vickers .50' was basically the same as the Vickers machine gun but scaled up to use a larger calibre round.-Mark II, IV and V:...
. The latter proved to be outdated, and were replaced by 20 mm Oerlikon gun
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...
s as they became available, with a total of six single mounts eventually being carried.
P class
The P class were repeats of the O class, armed entirely with 4 in guns, in high-angle mounts fitted with a new tall design of shield which did not require the ships to lose a set of torpedo tubes to take on further AA guns.O class
All ships survived the war. Five of the ships were involved in the Battle of the Barents SeaBattle of the Barents Sea
The Battle of the Barents Sea took place on 31 December 1942 between German surface raiders and British ships escorting convoy JW 51B to Kola Inlet in the USSR. The action took place in the Barents Sea north of North Cape, Norway...
, Onslow being heavily damaged. After the Battle of the Barents Sea
Battle of the Barents Sea
The Battle of the Barents Sea took place on 31 December 1942 between German surface raiders and British ships escorting convoy JW 51B to Kola Inlet in the USSR. The action took place in the Barents Sea north of North Cape, Norway...
the ships were refitted with tall lattice masts instead of the normal mast.
- 4.7 inch-armed ships
- OnslowHMS Onslow (G17)HMS Onslow was an O-class destroyer flotilla leader of the Royal Navy She was ordered from John Brown & Company at Clydebank, Glasgow on 3 September 1939. The ship was laid down on 1 July 1940 and launched on 31 March 1941. She was completed on 8 October 1941 at a cost of £416,942.Attached to the...
* (ex-Pakenham), built by John Brown & CompanyJohn Brown & CompanyJohn Brown and Company of Clydebank was a pre-eminent Scottish marine engineering and shipbuilding firm, responsible for building many notable and world-famous ships, such as the , the , the , the , the , and the...
, ClydebankClydebankClydebank 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...
, to Pakistan 1949 as Tippu Sultan, sold out - OffaHMS Offa (G29)HMS Offa was an O-class destroyer of the Royal Navy which entered service in 1941.During November 1941 HMS Offa was part of Convoy PQ-4, the fifth of the Arctic Convoys of World War II. The convoy sailed from Hvalfjord, Iceland on 17 November 1941 and arrived at Arkhangelsk on 28 November 1941.On...
, built by Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering Company, GovanGovanGovan 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....
, to Pakistan 1949 as Tariq, sold for scrapping 1959 - Onslaught (ex-Pathfinder), built by Fairfield, to Pakistan 1951 as Tughril, sold out
- OribiHMS Oribi (G66)HMS Oribi was an O-class destroyer of the Royal Navy. Following the style of her sister ships she was named with a word beginning with O...
(ex-Observer), built by Fairfield, to Turkey 1946 as Gayret, sold out
- Onslow
- 4 inch-armed ships
- ObdurateHMS Obdurate (G39)HMS Obdurate was an O-class destroyer of the Royal Navy. She was built by William Denny and Brothers of Dumbarton, being laid down at their yards on the River Clyde on 25 April 1940, launched on 19 February 1942 and commissioned on 3 September 1942....
†, built by William Denny & Brothers, Dumbarton, sold for scrapping 1964 at J CashmoreJohn Cashmore LtdJohn Cashmore Ltd was a company based at Newport, Monmouthshire, Wales...
's, NewportNewportNewport is a city and unitary authority area in Wales. Standing on the banks of the River Usk, it is located about east of Cardiff and is the largest urban area within the historic county boundaries of Monmouthshire and the preserved county of Gwent...
, MonmouthshireMonmouthshire (historic)Monmouthshire , also known as the County of Monmouth , is one of thirteen ancient counties of Wales and a former administrative county.... - Obedient †, built by Denny, sold for scrapping 1964
- OpportuneHMS Opportune (G80)HMS Opportune was an O-class destroyer of the Royal Navy. She was ordered from John I. Thornycroft & Company, Woolston on 3 September 1939 for the 1st Emergency Flotilla. She was commissioned on 14 August 1942...
†, built by John I. Thornycroft & CompanyJohn I. Thornycroft & CompanyJohn I. Thornycroft & Company Limited, usually known simply as Thornycroft was a British shipbuilding firm started by John Isaac Thornycroft in the 19th century.-History:...
, Woolston, sold for scrapping 1955 - OrwellHMS Orwell (G98)HMS Orwell was an O-class destroyer of the Royal Navy that entered service in 1942. She saw action at the Battle of the Barents Sea, and was involved in convoy escort duties during the Battle of North Cape. In 1952 she was converted to a Type 16 frigate and was broken-up in June 1965....
†, built by Thornycroft, converted to Type 16 frigateType 16 frigateThe Type 16 frigates were a class of British anti-submarine frigates of the Royal Navy. They were based on the hulls of World War II-era destroyers that had been rendered obsolete by rapid advances in technology...
1952, sold for scrapping 1965
- Obdurate
† = fitted for minelaying
P class
They served mainly in the Mediterranean, where four ships were lost.- Pakenham * (ex-Onslow), built by Hawthorn Leslie & Company, HebburnHebburnHebburn is a small town situated on the south bank of the River Tyne in North East England, sandwiched between the towns of Jarrow and Bill Quay...
, damaged by gunfire from Italian NavyItalian NavyItalian Navy may refer to:* Pre-unitarian navies of the Italian states* Regia Marina, the Royal Navy of the Kingdom of Italy * Italian Navy , the navy of the Italian Republic...
torpedo boats Cassiopea and Cigno off MarsalaMarsalaMarsala is a seaport city located in the Province of Trapani on the island of Sicily in Italy. The low coast on which it is situated is the westernmost point of the island...
1943-04-16, abandoned and sunk by sister ship HMS Paladin (see Battle of the Cigno ConvoyBattle of the Cigno ConvoyThe Battle of the Cigno Convoy was a naval engagement between two British Royal Navy destroyers and two Italian Regia Marina torpedo boats which took place southeast of Marettimo island, on the early hours of 16 April 1943...
) - PaladinHMS Paladin (G69)HMS Paladin was a P-class destroyer of the British Royal Navy that saw service during the Second World War. She was built by John Brown and Co. Ltd., Clydebank...
, built by John Brown, converted to Type 16 frigate 1954, sold for scrapping 1962 - PantherHMS Panther (G41)HMS Panther was a P class destroyer of the Royal Navy laid down on 5 March 1940 by the Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company and launched on 28 May of the following year...
, built by Fairfield, bombed and sunk by German aircraft in Scarpanto Strait 1943-10-09 - Partridge, built by Fairfield, torpedoed by German Submarine U.565 off OranOranOran is a major city on the northwestern Mediterranean coast of Algeria, and the second largest city of the country.It is the capital of the Oran Province . The city has a population of 759,645 , while the metropolitan area has a population of approximately 1,500,000, making it the second largest...
, 1942-12-18 - PathfinderHMS Pathfinder (G10)HMS Pathfinder was a P class destroyer of the Royal Navy. She served during the Second World War, being damaged while serving in the Far East, and was scrapped after the end of the war....
(ex-Onslaught), built by Hawthorn Leslie, bombed and damaged by Japanese aircraft off Ramtree Island 1945-02-11, never repaired and used as aircraft target, sold for scrapping 1948 - PennHMS Penn (G77)HMS Penn was an escort destroyer of the P Class. Penn was ordered by the United Kingdom under the Wartime Emergency Programme, in the early part of the Second World War and was laid down at the Newcastle-on-Tyne yard of Vickers Armstrong on 26 December 1939.- Service :HMS Penn was launched on 12...
, built by Vickers Armstrongs, WalkerWalker, Newcastle upon TyneWalker is a residential suburb and electoral ward just east of the centre of Newcastle upon Tyne, England. Walker's name is a hybrid of Old English and Viking Norse, "Wall-kjerr", where "kjerr" is Norse for "marshy woodland"...
, sold for scrapping 1949 - PetardHMS Petard (G56)HMS Petard was a "P"-class destroyer of the British Royal Navy that saw service during World War II. She was one of the three "P" class ships, out of the original eight, to survive the war in a serviceable condition....
(ex-Persistent), built by Vickers Armstrongs, converted to Type 16 frigate, sold for scrapping 1967 - PorcupineHMS Porcupine (G93)HMS Porcupine was a P-class destroyer built by Vickers Armstrong on the River Tyne. She was ordered on 20 October 1939, laid down on 26 December 1939 and launched on 10 June 1941. She was commissioned on 31 August 1942, but led a relatively short active life...
, built by Vickers Armstrongs, torpedoed by German submarine U.602 in Mediterranean 1942-12-09 and broke in two, never repaired and hulked as Pork and Pine, sold for scrapping 1947
See also
- Type 16 frigateType 16 frigateThe Type 16 frigates were a class of British anti-submarine frigates of the Royal Navy. They were based on the hulls of World War II-era destroyers that had been rendered obsolete by rapid advances in technology...
: postwar conversion of some O and P class vessels into second-rate fast anti-submarine frigates