Acorn class destroyer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Builders: | John Brown and Company William Denny & Brothers Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering Company R. W. Hawthorn Leslie & Company Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson A. & J. Inglis John I. Thornycroft & Company J. Samuel White & Company |
| Built: | 1910–1911 |
| In commission: | 1910–1921 |
| Completed: | 20 |
| Lost: | 3 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Destroyer |
| Displacement: | 730 to 780 tons |
| Length: | 246 ft 6 in (75.1 m) |
| Beam: | 25 ft 6 in (7.8 m) |
| Draught: | 7 ft (2.1 m)–10 ft (3.0 m) |
| Propulsion: | Oil-fired boilers 3 shaft steam turbines 13,500 shp |
| Speed: | 27 knots (50 km/h) |
| Range: | 170 tons oil |
| Complement: | 72 |
| Armament: | 2 × BL 4 in L/40 Mark VIII, mounting P Mark V 2 × QF 12 pdr 12 cwt Mark I mounting P Mark I 2 × 21 in (530 mm) torpedo tubes |
The Acorn class (officially redesignated the H class in 1913) was a class of twenty destroyers of the Royal Navy all built under the 1909-1910 Programme, and completed between 1910 and 1911. The Acorns served during World War I.
After the coal-burning Beagle or G class of 1909, the Acorns marked a return to oil-firing as pioneered in the Tribal or F class of 1905 and HMS Swift of 1907. This change allowed a generally smaller vessel than the Beagles even with an increase in armament.
The Acorns were, as with previous classes, built to designs by their individual builders, but had a more-or-less uniform appearance, with three funnels, a tall, thin fore funnel, a short, thick central and a short narrow after stack. They had two 4-inch guns on the fo'c'sle - which was higher than that of the Beagles, negating the need for a raised bandstand - and on the quarterdeck. The 12-pounder guns were amidships, on sided between the first pair of funnels, and the torpedo tubes were aft of the funnels, mounted singly with a searchlight position between them.
Three ships were lost in wartime service.
Contents |
[edit] Ships
- HMS Acorn — built by John Brown and Company, Clydebank, launched 1 July 1910, sold for breaking up 29 November 1921.
- HMS Alarm — built by John Brown and Company, Clydebank, launched 29 August 1910, sold for breaking up 9 May 1921.
- HMS Brisk — built by John Brown and Company, Clydebank, launched 20 September 1910, sold for breaking up 15 November 1921.
- HMS Cameleon — built by Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering Company, Govan, launched 2 June 1910, sold for breaking up 15 November 1921.
- HMS Comet — built by Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering Company, Govan, launched 23 June 1910, torpedoed and sunk by Austrian U-boat in the Mediterranean 6 August 1918.
- HMS Goldfinch — built by Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering Company, Govan, launched 12 July 1910, wrecked in fog on Start Point, Sanday Island, Orkneys on night of 18-19 February 1915.
- HMS Fury — built by A. & J. Inglis, Pointhouse, Glasgow, launched 25 April 1911, sold for breaking up 4 November 1921.
- HMS Hope — built by Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson, Wallsend, launched 6 September 1910, sold for breaking up February 1920 at Malta.
- HMS Larne — built by John I. Thornycroft & Company, Woolston, launched 23 August 1910, sold for breaking up 9 May 1921.
- HMS Lyra — built by John I. Thornycroft & Company, Woolston, launched 4 October 1910, sold for breaking up 9 May 1921.
- HMS Martin — built by John I. Thornycroft & Company, Woolston, launched 15 December 1910, sold for breaking up 21 August 1920 at Malta.
- HMS Minstrel — built by John I. Thornycroft & Company, Woolston, launched 2 February 1911, loaned to Imperial Japanese Navy from June 1917 to 1918 as Sendan, sold for breaking up 1 December 1921.
- HMS Nemesis — built by R. W. Hawthorn Leslie & Company, Hebburn, launched 9 August 1910, loaned to Imperial Japanese Navy from June 1917 to 1918 as Kandan, sold for breaking up 26 November 1921.
- HMS Nereide — built by R. W. Hawthorn Leslie & Company, Hebburn, launched 6 September 1910, sold for breaking up 1 December 1921.
- HMS Nymphe — built by R. W. Hawthorn Leslie & Company, Hebburn, launched 31 January 1911, sold for breaking up 9 May 1921.
- HMS Redpole — built by J. Samuel White & Company, Cowes, launched 24 June 1910, sold for breaking up 9 May 1921.
- HMS Rifleman — built by J. Samuel White & Company, Cowes, launched 22 August 1910, sold for breaking up 9 May 1921.
- HMS Ruby — built by J. Samuel White & Company, Cowes, launched 4 November 1910, sold for breaking up 9 May 1921.
- HMS Sheldrake — built by William Denny & Brothers, Dumbarton, launched 18 January 1911, sold for breaking up 9 May 1921.
- HMS Staunch — built by William Denny & Brothers, Dumbarton, launched 29 October 1910, torpedoed and sunk by German U-boat UC.38 off Gaza, Palestine 11 November 1917.
[edit] Image gallery
 HMS Fury (dark, centre picture) and HMS Liverpool together with RMS Olympic, try to take the sinking HMS Audacious in tow. The view is from the passenger areas of RMS Olympic October 27 1914. |
 HMS Fury (dark, centre picture) and HMS Liverpool together with RMS Olympic, try to take the sinking HMS Audacious in tow. The view is from the passenger areas of RMS Olympic October 27 1914. |
[edit] Bibliography
- Destroyers of the Royal Navy, 1893-1981, Maurice Cocker, 1983, Ian Allan ISBN 0-7110-1075-7
[edit] See also
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