Weapon class destroyer
Encyclopedia
The Weapon class was a class
of destroyer
s built for the British
Royal Navy
towards the end of World War II
. They were the smaller counterpart to the Battle class
(which followed them) and were the first new destroyer designs for the Royal Navy since the Second World War Emergency Programme
. 20 ships were planned, of which only 13 were laid down and 7 were launched, but the cessation of hostilities resulted in only 4 being completed for service. Two of the ships had been previously ordered (as Celt and Centaur) as part of the planned C class
, or 15th Emergency flotilla, of 1944, but the orders were changed to the new design.
A criticism of the older designs was the use of adjacent boiler rooms. This had been adopted to allow for a single funnel, to lower the silhouette and increase the deck space of the relatively small hull. However, this made the ship vulnerable to being disabled by a single hit amidships. To remedy this, the Weapon class adopted the "unit" system, of side-by-side boiler and engine rooms with alternate port/starboard arrangement. This was standard practice in United States Navy
ships, but these were generally far larger than their Royal Navy counterparts. The unit arrangement meant that 2 funnels were needed. The forward funnel was trunked up through the foremast and there was a small stump funnel between the torpedo tubes. This led to an unusual and rather unbalanced appearance, similar to that of the Daring class
, and the Weapons were not the most attractive of ships.
The main improvement over earlier ships was to remedy the woefully inadequate arrangements for anti-aircraft
defence. To this end, three twin 4-inch Mark XIV mountings were carried, remotely controlled by a Type 275 Radar equipped Mark VI(M) director, allowing full blind-fire against aircraft targets. The light battery consisted of 2 of the new STAAG (Stabilised Tachymetric Anti-Aircraft Gun) mounts for twin Bofors 40 mm gun
s and two single weapons on Mk. II mounts in the bridge wings. The STAAGs were carried on either side aft, and each had its own Type 262 Radar and predictive fire control computer, allowing for automatic blind-fire engagement of targets. The STAAGs were excellent weapons on paper and the firing range, but when exposed to the vibration of a naval gun mounting and the rigour of the elements they were less than reliable. Coupled with a mounting weight of 17 tons, they were something of a disappointment and their post-war service was limited. Type 293 Radar was carried on the lattice foremast for target indication.
To increase the anti-submarine
capability of the class, it was decided to reduce the number of 4-inch mounts to 2, and to instead carry 2 "Squid"
anti-submarine mortars. In Battleaxe and Broadsword, these replaced 'B' gun, in the others it was 'X' that was lost. The latter arrangement was in fact preferable for the location of the "squid", but less so for gunnery, as it meant that the main weapons were unable to fire aft, which was a criticism also levelled at the Battle class.
All four ships were plagued by their machinery, as the steam turbine
s had numerous design flaws. The problems were remedied by removing the steam feed to the lower half of the reversing turbine, but this halved reversing power, and as a consequence these ships were slow to decelerate and handled rather sluggishly. This problem proved fatal for Battleaxe, when she was unable to manoeuvre quickly enough to prevent herself being rammed by the frigate HMS Ursa in the Clyde
in 1962. The damage was so catastrophic that it was beyond economical repair and she was written off as a total loss and scrapped.
The Weapons were never an entirely satisfactory design, and were criticised for their light gun armament and overly heavy torpedo outfit. Perhaps best thought of as fast fleet frigates, they undoubtedly possessed a quantum increase in fighting efficiency over the wartime emergency ships, and were more than capable of facing the increased threat of the enemy submarine and aircraft. It is possible that the mysterious G or Gael class design, which possessed 2 twin 4.5 inches (114.3 mm) semi-automatic Mark. VI guns was an attempt to remedy some of the deficiencies of the Weapons.
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 built for 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...
towards the end of 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...
. They were the smaller counterpart to the Battle class
Battle class destroyer
The Battle class were a class of destroyers of the British Royal Navy and Royal Australian Navy . Built in three groups, the first group were ordered under the 1942 naval estimates. A modified second and third group, together with two ships of an extended design were planned for the 1943 and 1944...
(which followed them) and were the first new destroyer designs for the Royal Navy since the Second World 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...
. 20 ships were planned, of which only 13 were laid down and 7 were launched, but the cessation of hostilities resulted in only 4 being completed for service. Two of the ships had been previously ordered (as Celt and Centaur) as part of the planned C class
C class destroyer (1943)
The C class was a class of 32 destroyers of the Royal Navy that were launched from 1943 to 1945. The class was built in four flotillas of 8 vessels, the Ca, Ch, Co and Cr classes, ordered as the 11th, 12th, 13th and 14th Emergency Flotillas respectively...
, or 15th Emergency flotilla, of 1944, but the orders were changed to the new design.
Design
The hull length was not much increased over the War Emergency Programme design, but beam and draught were increased to allow for a displacement increase, as the latter design was grossly overweight with the addition of wartime technology to a relatively small hull. Two full sets of torpedo tubes were carried, a somewhat retrospective feature in a late-war design.A criticism of the older designs was the use of adjacent boiler rooms. This had been adopted to allow for a single funnel, to lower the silhouette and increase the deck space of the relatively small hull. However, this made the ship vulnerable to being disabled by a single hit amidships. To remedy this, the Weapon class adopted the "unit" system, of side-by-side boiler and engine rooms with alternate port/starboard arrangement. This was standard practice in United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
ships, but these were generally far larger than their Royal Navy counterparts. The unit arrangement meant that 2 funnels were needed. The forward funnel was trunked up through the foremast and there was a small stump funnel between the torpedo tubes. This led to an unusual and rather unbalanced appearance, similar to that of the Daring class
Daring class destroyer (1949)
The Daring class was a class of eleven destroyers built for the Royal Navy and Royal Australian Navy . Constructed after World War II, and entering service during the 1950s, eight ships were constructed for the RN, and three ships for the RAN. Two of the RN destroyers were subsequently sold to and...
, and the Weapons were not the most attractive of ships.
The main improvement over earlier ships was to remedy the woefully inadequate arrangements for anti-aircraft
Anti-aircraft warfare
NATO defines air defence as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action." They include ground and air based weapon systems, associated sensor systems, command and control arrangements and passive measures. It may be to protect naval, ground and air forces...
defence. To this end, three twin 4-inch Mark XIV mountings were carried, remotely controlled by a Type 275 Radar equipped Mark VI(M) director, allowing full blind-fire against aircraft targets. The light battery consisted of 2 of the new STAAG (Stabilised Tachymetric Anti-Aircraft Gun) mounts for twin Bofors 40 mm gun
Bofors 40 mm gun
The Bofors 40 mm gun is an anti-aircraft autocannon designed by the Swedish defence firm of Bofors Defence...
s and two single weapons on Mk. II mounts in the bridge wings. The STAAGs were carried on either side aft, and each had its own Type 262 Radar and predictive fire control computer, allowing for automatic blind-fire engagement of targets. The STAAGs were excellent weapons on paper and the firing range, but when exposed to the vibration of a naval gun mounting and the rigour of the elements they were less than reliable. Coupled with a mounting weight of 17 tons, they were something of a disappointment and their post-war service was limited. Type 293 Radar was carried on the lattice foremast for target indication.
To increase the anti-submarine
Anti-submarine warfare
Anti-submarine warfare is a branch of naval warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, or other submarines to find, track and deter, damage or destroy enemy submarines....
capability of the class, it was decided to reduce the number of 4-inch mounts to 2, and to instead carry 2 "Squid"
Squid (weapon)
Squid was a British World War II ship-mounted anti-submarine weapon. It consisted of a three-barrelled mortar which launched depth charges. It replaced the Hedgehog system, and was in turn replaced by the Limbo system....
anti-submarine mortars. In Battleaxe and Broadsword, these replaced 'B' gun, in the others it was 'X' that was lost. The latter arrangement was in fact preferable for the location of the "squid", but less so for gunnery, as it meant that the main weapons were unable to fire aft, which was a criticism also levelled at the Battle class.
All four ships were plagued by their machinery, as the 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 had numerous design flaws. The problems were remedied by removing the steam feed to the lower half of the reversing turbine, but this halved reversing power, and as a consequence these ships were slow to decelerate and handled rather sluggishly. This problem proved fatal for Battleaxe, when she was unable to manoeuvre quickly enough to prevent herself being rammed by the frigate HMS Ursa in the Clyde
River Clyde
The River Clyde is a major river in Scotland. It is the ninth longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third longest in Scotland. Flowing through the major city of Glasgow, it was an important river for shipbuilding and trade in the British Empire....
in 1962. The damage was so catastrophic that it was beyond economical repair and she was written off as a total loss and scrapped.
The Weapons were never an entirely satisfactory design, and were criticised for their light gun armament and overly heavy torpedo outfit. Perhaps best thought of as fast fleet frigates, they undoubtedly possessed a quantum increase in fighting efficiency over the wartime emergency ships, and were more than capable of facing the increased threat of the enemy submarine and aircraft. It is possible that the mysterious G or Gael class design, which possessed 2 twin 4.5 inches (114.3 mm) semi-automatic Mark. VI guns was an attempt to remedy some of the deficiencies of the Weapons.
Modification
The class were something of an oddity in the post-war Royal Navy, and did not figure in any of the plans for the fleet of the future. They were laid up by 1956, but there emerged a need for fast fleet Aircraft Direction (A/D) ships to accompany the carrier strike force and act as radar pickets, directing fighter cover. The Battle class were being modified for this role, but as a stop-gap, the Weapons were given a more limited conversion. This involved adding a large mainmast amidships for the Radar Type 965 with an AKE-1 "single bedstead" antenna array, with the torpedo tubes replaced by radar offices. The director was replaced with a lighter MRS-8 pattern, possibly to lower topweight associated with the new radar, and all ships had the squids mounted aft and the guns mounted forward. They lacked specialised height finding and aircraft direction radar sets that the Battles possessed, and so were rapidly superseded and returned to reserve.Ships
| Name | Pennant | Builder | Laid Down | Launched | Commissioned | Fate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HMS Battleaxe HMS Battleaxe (D118) HMS Battleaxe was a Weapon class destroyer of the Royal Navy, completed just after the Second World War.... |
G18, later D118 | Yarrow and Company, Scotstoun Scotstoun 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... |
April 22, 1944 | June 12, 1945 | October 23, 1947 | Broken up, 1964 |
| HMS Broadsword HMS Broadsword (D31) HMS Broadsword was a Weapon-class destroyer of the British Royal Navy.... |
G31, later D31 | Yarrow and Company, Scotstoun | July 20, 1944 | February 4, 1946 | October 4, 1948 | Broken up, 1968 |
| HMS Cutlass | G74 | Yarrow and Company, Scotstoun | unknown | March 20, 1946 | not completed | Cancelled December 23, 1945, broken up at Troon, 1946 |
| HMS Dagger | G23 | Yarrow and Company, Scotstoun | March 7, 1945 | not launched | not completed | Cancelled December 23, 1945, scrapped on slip |
| HMS Crossbow HMS Crossbow (D96) HMS Crossbow was a Weapon-class destroyer of the British Royal Navy... |
G96, later D96 | John I. Thornycroft and Company, Woolston | August 26, 1944 | December 20, 1945 | March 4, 1948 | Broken up, 1972 |
| HMS Culverin | G28 | John I. Thornycroft and Company, Woolston | April 27, 1944 | March 1946 | not completed | Broken up at Grays, 1946 |
| HMS Howitzer | G44 | Thornycroft, Woolston | February 26, 1945 | not launched | not completed | Cancelled October 5, 1945, scrapped on slip |
| HMS Longbow | G55 | Thornycroft, Woolston | April 11, 1945 | not launched | not completed | Cancelled September 25, 1945, scrapped on slip |
| HMS Scorpion (ex-Tomahawk, ex-Centaur) HMS Scorpion (D64) HMS Scorpion was a Weapon-class destroyer of the British Royal Navy.Originally named HMS Centaur, the ship was renamed Tomahawk and finally Scorpion before her launch.... |
G64, later D64 | J. Samuel White J. Samuel White J. Samuel White was a British shipbuilding firm based in Cowes, taking its name from John Samuel White . It came to prominence during the Victorian era... , 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... |
December 16, 1944 | August 15, 1946 | September 17, 1947 | Broken up, 1971 |
| HMS Sword (ex-Celt) | G85 | J. Samuel White, Cowes | unknown | not launched | not completed | Cancelled October 5, 1945, scrapped on slip |
| HMS Musket | G85 | J. Samuel White, Cowes | unknown | not launched | not completed | Cancelled October 5, 1945 |
| HMS Lance (ex-Rapier) | none allocated | J. Samuel White, Cowes | not laid down | not launched | not completed | Cancelled October 5, 1945 |
| HMS Carronade | G82 | Scotts Shipbuilding & Engineering Company, Greenock Greenock Greenock is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council area in United Kingdom, and a former burgh within the historic county of Renfrewshire, located in the west central Lowlands of Scotland... |
unknown | April 1946 | not completed | Cancelled December 23, 1945, broken up at Troon, 1946 |
| HMS Claymore | G34 | Scotts , Greenock | unknown | not launched | not completed | Cancelled September 25, 1945, scrapped on slip |
| HMS Dirk | G02 | Scotts , Greenock | not laid down | not launched | not completed | Cancelled September 25, 1945 |
| HMS Grenade | G53 | Scotts , Greenock | not laid down | not launched | not completed | Cancelled December 23, 1945 |
| HMS Halberd | G99 | Scotts , Greenock | not laid down | not launched | not completed | Cancelled December 23, 1945 |
| HMS Poniard | G06 | Scotts , Greenock | not laid down | not launched | not completed | Cancelled December 23, 1945 |
| HMS Rifle | G21 | William Denny & Brothers, Dumbarton | June 30, 1944 | not launched | not completed | Cancelled December 27, 1945, scrapped on slip |
| HMS Spear | G30 | Denny, Dumbarton | September 29, 1944 | not launched | not completed | Cancelled December 27, 1945, scrapped on slip |
Note
- Tomahawk was renamed after Admiral of the Fleet, Viscount Cunningham had remarked about his sadness at the loss of a ship of this name after the S-class destroyerS and T class destroyerThe S and T class was a class of sixteen destroyers of the Royal Navy launched in 1942–1943. They were built as two flotillas, known as the 5th and 6th Emergency Flotilla respectively and they served as fleet and convoy escorts in World War II.-Design features:The S class, introduced the CP ...
, Scorpion, was transferred to the Royal Netherlands NavyRoyal Netherlands NavyThe Koninklijke Marine is the navy of the Netherlands. In the mid-17th century the Dutch Navy was the most powerful navy in the world and it played an active role in the wars of the Dutch Republic and later those of the Batavian Republic and the Kingdom of the Netherlands...
. Scorpion had been the name of Cunningham's first command, and when the Admiralty ship names committee discovered a medieval form of ballistaBallistaThe ballista , plural ballistae, was an ancient missile weapon which launched a large projectile at a distant target....
with this name, the solution presented itself.