The Thornycroft type leader or Shakespeare class were a class of five destroyer leaders designed by John I. Thornycroft & Company

John I. Thornycroft & Company

John I. Thornycroft & Company Limited, usually known simply as Thornycroft was a British shipbuilding firm started by John Isaac Thornycroft in the 19th century.-History:...

 and built by them at Woolston, Southampton 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...

 towards the end of World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

. They were named after historical naval leaders. Only Shakespeare and Spenser were completed in time for wartime service. The other three were completed after the war, Broke and Keppel after being towed to Royal dockyards for completion, and two further ships - Saunders and Spragge - were cancelled. The function of a leader was to carry the flag staff of a destroyer flotilla

Flotilla

A flotilla , or naval flotilla, is a formation of small warships that may be part of a larger fleet. A flotilla is usually composed of a homogeneous group of the same class of warship, such as frigates, destroyers, torpedo boats, submarines, gunboats, or minesweepers...

, therefore they were enlarged to carry additional crew, offices and signalling equipment, allowing a fifth gun to be carried. These ships were very similar to the Admiralty type leader

Admiralty type leader

The Admiralty type leader, sometimes known as the Scott class, were a class of eight destroyer leaders designed and built for the Royal Navy towards the end of World War I. They were named after Scottish historical leaders...

, but had broad, slab-sided funnels characteristic of Thornycroft designs.

The design was used as the basis for several ships built for foreign navies in the 1920s.

• Regele Ferdinand class destroyer
  Regele Ferdinand class destroyer
  The Regele Ferdinand Class was two destroyers built in Italy for the Romanian Navy, which fought in World War II.-History:Following the end of World War I and the re-purchase of two Mărăşti class destroyers from Italy, the Romanian Government decided to order two more modern destroyers from the...
  
   built for the Romanian Navy in Italy
• Churruca class destroyer
  Churruca class destroyer
  Churruca was a Spanish destroyer class built for the Spanish Navy based on a British design. Eighteen ships were built, two sold to Argentina.The ships were authorized on 17 February 1915 by Navy Minister Augusto Miranda y Godoy...
  
   built for the Spanish Navy
• Mendoza class destroyer
  Mendoza class destroyer
  The Mendoza class were a group of destroyers built in Britain for the Argentine Navy in the 1920s. They were the first part of the Argentian re-armament programme of the 1920s- Design :...
  
   built in Britain for the Argentine navy

Ships

The first two ships to this design were ordered under the War Emergency Programme, in April 1916, and the third - Wallace - in April 1917:; laid down 2 October 1916, launched 7 July 1917 and completed 10 October 1917. Badly damaged by mine in June 1918, sold for breaking up and handed over 2 September 1936.; laid down 9 October 1916, launched 22 September 1917 and completed 12 December 1917. Saw wartime service, sold for breaking up and handed over 29 September 1936.; laid down 15 August 1917, launched 26 October 1918 and completed 14 February 1919. Converted to a WAIR anti-aircraft escort in 1939. Served mainly on east coast and during the Allied invasion of Sicily

Allied invasion of Sicily

The Allied invasion of Sicily, codenamed Operation Husky, was a major World War II campaign, in which the Allies took Sicily from the Axis . It was a large scale amphibious and airborne operation, followed by six weeks of land combat. It launched the Italian Campaign.Husky began on the night of...

. Sold for breaking up 20 March 1945.
Four more were ordered from Thornycroft in April 1918, but with the end of the War the first pair were completed by HM Dockyards and the second pair were cancelled; the second ship was initially named Rooke, but was renamed Broke in April 1921. Two more vessels were ordered at the same time to by built to this design by Cammell Laird

Cammell Laird

Cammell Laird, one of the most famous names in British shipbuilding during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, came about following the merger of Laird, Son & Co. of Birkenhead and Johnson Cammell & Co. of Sheffield at the turn of the twentieth century.- Founding of the business :The Company...

, but it was subsequently decided to build these instead to the Admiralty class leader design and in the event both were subsequently cancelled:; launched 23 April 1920, completed 1925 by HM Dockyard Portsmouth

HMNB Portsmouth

Her Majesty's Naval Base Portsmouth is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the British Royal Navy...

. Sold for breaking up July 1945.; launched 16 September 1920, completed January 1925 by HM Dockyard Pembroke

Pembroke Dock

Pembroke Dock is a town in Pembrokeshire, south-west Wales, lying north of Pembroke on the River Cleddau. Originally a small fishing village known as Paterchurch, the town was greatly expanded from 1814 onwards following the construction of a Royal Naval Dockyard...

. Sustained damage 8 November 1942 during naval assault upon Algiers

Algiers

' is the capital and largest city of Algeria. According to the 1998 census, the population of the city proper was 1,519,570 and that of the urban agglomeration was 2,135,630. In 2009, the population was about 3,500,000...

 during Operation Torch

Operation Torch

Operation Torch was the British-American invasion of French North Africa in World War II during the North African Campaign, started on 8 November 1942....

, and foundered the next day.; Cancelled, December 1918.; Cancelled, December 1918.

See also

• List of destroyers of the Royal Navy