| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Builders: | John Brown & Company Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company |
| Operators: | Royal Navy |
| Built: | 1914–1915 |
| In commission: | 1915–1921 |
| Completed: | 4 |
| Lost: | 1 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Destroyer |
| Displacement: | 1,040 long tons (1,060 t) |
| Length: | 273 ft 6 in (83.36 m) |
| Beam: | 26 ft 6 in (8.08 m) |
| Draught: | 10 ft 6 in (3.20 m) |
| Propulsion: | Yarrow-type water-tube boilers Brown-Curtis steam turbines 3 shafts 25,000 shp |
| Speed: | 32 knots (37 mph; 59 km/h) |
| Endurance: | 270 tons oil |
| Complement: | 80 |
| Armament: | • 3 × QF 4-inch (101.6 mm) Mark IV guns, single mounting P Mk. IX • 1 × QF 2 pdr Mk.II, single mounting HA Mk.I • 2 × twin 21 in (530 mm) torpedo tubes |
The Medea class were a class of destroyers that were being built for the Greek Navy at the outbreak of World War I and that were taken over and completed for the Royal Navy for wartime service. All were named after characters from Greek mythology as result of their Greek heritage.
The Medeas were a private design roughly similar to their various Royal Navy M-class contemporaries. They had three funnels, the foremost of which was taller, and unusually, the mainmast was taller than the foremast, giving rise to a distinctive appearance. They shipped three single QF 4 inch guns, one on the forecastle, one between the first two funnels and the third on the quarterdeck.
| Name | Ship Builder | Laid down | Launched | Completed | Fate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Medea (ex-Kriti) | John Brown & Company, Clydebank | 8 April 1914 | 30 January 1915 | May 1915 | Sold for breaking up 9 May 1921. |
| Medusa (ex-Lesbos) | John Brown, Clydebank | 1914 | 27 March 1915 | 1915 | Rammed and sunk by HMS Laverock off of Schleswig 25 March 1916. |
| Melampus (ex-Melampus) | Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, Govan | 1914 | 16 December 1914 | 29 June 1915 | Sld for breaking up 22 September 1921. |
| Melpomene (ex-Samos) | Fairfields, Govan | 1914 | 1 February 1915 | 16 August 1915, | Sold for breaking up 9 May 1921. |
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