The D class as they were known from 1913 was a fairly homogeneous group of torpedo boat destroyers (TBDs) 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. The uniting feature of the class was a top speed of 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph) and they all had two funnels.

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HMS Fame
Class overview
Builders	John I. Thornycroft & Company
Preceded by	A class
Succeeded by	River class (E class)
Built	1895–1899
In commission	1896–1921
Completed	10
General characteristics
Type	Torpedo boat destroyer
Displacement	355 to 370 tons at full load
Length	210 ft (64 m)
Beam	19 ft 9 in (6.02 m)
Draught	7 ft 8 in (2.34 m)
Propulsion	Triple expansion steam engines Coal-fired water-tube boilers 5,700 ihp (4,300 kW) (Stag, 5,800 ihp)
Speed	30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph)
Armament	1 × QF 12-pounder 12 cwt gun 5 × QF 6 pounder 8 cwt gun 2 × 18-inch (450-mm) torpedo tubes

Classification

In 1913 the nine surviving "30 knotter" vessels with two funnels (all ten had been built by Thornycroft, but Ariel was lost before their renaming as D class) were retrospectively classified by the Admiralty as the D class to provide some system to the naming of HM destroyers. In the same way those with three funnels were classified as the C class and those with four funnels as the B class. All these vessels had a distinctive "turtleback" forecastle that was intended to clear water from the bow, but actually tended to dig the bow in to anything of a sea, resulting in a very wet conning position. They were better constructed than their A-class forebears (the "26 knotter" and "27 knotter" groups), but still were poor seaboats unable to reach top speed in anything but perfect conditions.

Design

They generally displaced 355 to 370 tons and had a length of 210 ft (64 m). All were powered by triple expansion steam engines for 5,700 indicated horsepower (4,300 kW) and had coal-fired water-tube boilers, except for the final vessel (Stag) in which the engine power was slightly raised to 5,800 ihp (4,300 kW). Armament was one QF 12-pounder gun on a bandstand on the forecastle, five QF 6-pounder guns (two sided abreast the conning tower, two sided between the funnels and one on the quarterdeck) and two single tubes for 18-inch (450 mm) torpedoes.

Due to the successful development of their previous 26 and 27-knot torpedo boat destroyers, John I Thornycroft & Company developed their two funnel design for the 1894/1895 – 1897/1898 building programs. The ships were considered an incremental improvement to the previous 27-knot design of the 1893/94 program. This design would be used for all follow-on turtleback ships under the 30-knot specification. The 30-knot torpedo boat destroyers built by Thornycroft were referred to as two funnel – 30-knot ships and were not assigned a class name at the time.[1]

They featured a large fore-bridge, mast halfway between bridge and fore funnel, turtleback cut-away bow, large round stern, both torpedo tubes on centerline aft of second funnel and two funnels. They had a Thornycroft stern with the rudder not visible. They had dual rudders which made them very responsive to the helm.[2][3]

Ships

All ten of the D class were built by Thornycroft at Chiswick, in four batches.

• First group (ordered 10 May 1895 under 1894–1895 programme);
  • Desperate
  • Fame
  • Foam
  • Mallard - ordered 30 May vice 10 May
• Second group (ordered 23 January 1895 under 1895–1896 programme) - identical with the preceding group;
  • Angler
  • Ariel
• Third group (ordered 21 April 1896 under 1896–1897 programme) - modified from the previous six vessels;
  • Coquette
  • Cygnet
  • Cynthia
• Last group (ordered 7 September 1897 under 1897–1898 programme) - with slightly enhanced engine power;
  • Stag

Key dates and fates

See also

A sister-ship built for the Imperial German Navy as flotilla leader for torpedo boats, called Torpedo-Divisionsboot.

Notes

Bibliography

Wikimedia Commons has media related to D class destroyer (1913).

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• Gardiner, Robert & Gray, Randal, eds. (1985). Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-245-5.
• Lyon, David (2001) [1996]. The First Destroyers. London: Caxton Editions. ISBN 1-84067-364-8.
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• March, Edgar J. (1966). British Destroyers: A History of Development, 1892–1953; Drawn by Admiralty Permission From Official Records & Returns, Ships' Covers & Building Plans. London: Seeley Service. OCLC 164893555.