C-class destroyer (1913)

Class overview
HMS Chamois
Name:	C class
Builders:	Various
Operators:	Royal Navy
Built:	1896–1902
In commission:	1896–1921
Completed:	40
Lost:	11
Scrapped:	29
General characteristics
Type:	Torpedo boat destroyer
Displacement:	344–445 long tons (350–452 t)
Length:	209–215 ft (64–66 m)
Propulsion:	Triple expansion steam engines Coal-fired water-tube boilers and/or Steam turbines
Speed:	30–36.5 knots (55.6–67.6 km/h; 34.5–42.0 mph)
Complement:	62–68
Armament:	1 × QF 12-pounder (76-mm) gun 5 × QF 6-pounder (57-mm) guns 2 × 18-inch (450-mm) torpedo tubes

The C class as designated in 1913 was a heterogeneous group of torpedo boat destroyers (TBDs) built for the Royal Navy in the late-1890s. They were constructed to the individual designs of their builders to meet Admiralty specifications. The uniting feature of the class was a top speed of 30 knots, a "turtleback" forecastle and that they all had three funnels. The funnels were spaced equidistantly and were of equal height, but the central one was thicker.

In 1913 all "30 knotter" vessels with 3 funnels were classified by the Admiralty as the "C" class to provide some system to the naming of HM destroyers (at the same time, the 4-funnelled, "30 knotters" became the "B" class and the 2-funnelled ships the "D" class). All vessels had the distinctive turtleback that was intended to clear water from the bows but actually tended to dig the bow in to anything of a sea, resulting in a very wet conning position and poor seaboats that were unable to reach top speed in anything but perfect conditions.

They generally displaced around 350 tons and had a length of around 200 feet. All were powered by triple expansion steam engines for 5,800 shp and had coal-fired water-tube boilers, except some unique "specials" that used steam turbines in addition to, or in lieu of, the reciprocating engines. Armament was one QF 12 pounder on a bandstand on the forecastle, five QF 6 pounder (two sided abreast the conning tower, two sided between the funnels and one on the quarterdeck) and 2 single tubes for 18 inch torpedoes.

Ships

Star class (390 tons, built by Palmers, Jarrow);
- Star, launched 11 August 1896, sold for breaking up 10 June 1919.
- Whiting, launched 26 August 1896, sold for breaking up 27 November 1919.
- Bat, launched 7 October 1896, sold for breaking up 30 August 1919.
- Chamois, launched 9 November 1896, foundered 26 September 1904 after mechanical failure caused a propeller blade to penetrate the hull plating.
- Crane, launched 17 December 1896, sold for breaking up 10 June 1919.
- Flying Fish, launched 4 March 1897, sold for breaking up 30 August 1919.
- Fawn, launched 13 April 1897, sold for breaking up 23 July 1919.
- Flirt, launched 15 May 1897, torpedoed and sunk by German destroyers 27 October 1916.^[1]
Bullfinch class (345 tons, built by Earle, Kingston upon Hull)
- Bullfinch, launched 10 February 1898, sold for breaking up 10 June 1919.
- Dove, launched 21 March 1898, sold for breaking up 27 January 1920.
Violet class (350 tons, built by Doxford, Sunderland)
- Violet, launched 3 May 1897, sold for breaking up 7 June 1920.
- Sylvia, launched 3 July 1897, sold for breaking up 23 July 1919.
- Lee, 365 tons, launched 27 January 1899, wrecked near Blacksod Bay 5 October 1909.
Avon class (355 tons except last two ships 350 tons, all built by Naval Construction and Armament Company - later Vickers Limited, Barrow in Furness)
- Avon, launched 10 October 1896, sold for breaking up 1 July 1920.
- Bittern, launched 1 February 1897, rammed and sunk by SS Kenilworth off Portland Bill, 4 April 1918.
- Otter, launched 23 November 1896, sold at Hong Kong 26 October 1916.
- Leopard, launched 20 March 1897, sold for breaking up 10 June 1919.
- Vixen, launched 29 March 1900, sold for breaking up 17 March 1921.
Brazen class (345-380 tons, built by J & G Thomson - later to become John Brown and Company, Clydebank)
- Brazen, launched 3 July 1896, sold for breaking up 4 November 1919.
- Electra, launched 14 July 1896, sold for breaking up 29 April 1920.
- Recruit, launched 22 August 1896, torpedoed and sunk by U-boat UB-6 off the Galloper in the River Thames Estuary, 1 May 1915.
- Vulture, launched 22 March 1898, sold for breaking up 27 May 1919.
- Kestrel, launched 25 March 1898, sold for breaking up 17 March 1921.
Mermaid class (355 tons, built by Hawthorn, Newcastle upon Tyne)
- Cheerful, launched 14 July 1897, mined and sunk off Shetland Islands, 30 June 1917.
- Mermaid, launched 22 February 1898, sold for breaking up 23 July 1919.
- Greyhound, launched 6 October 1900, sold for breaking up 10 June 1919.
- Racehorse, launched 8 November 1900, sold for breaking up 23 March 1920.
- Roebuck, launched 4 January 1901, broken up at Portsmouth Dockyard in 1919.
Gipsy class (355 tons, built by Fairfield, Govan)
- Gipsy, launched 9 March 1897, sold 17 March 1921 and then used as a floating pontoon at Dartmouth for many years.
- Fairy, launched 25 September 1897, foundered after damaged sustained ramming of UC-75 in North Sea, 31 May 1918.
- Osprey, launched 7 April 1897, sold for breaking up 4 November 1919.
- Leven, 370 tons, launched 28 June 1898, sold for breaking up 14 September 1920.
- Falcon, 375 tons, launched 29 December 1899, sunk in collision 1 April 1918 with trawler John Fitzgerald in the North Sea. The captain was Lieutenant Charles Lightoller RNR, who previously had been second officer of RMS Titanic.
- Ostrich, 375 tons, launched 22 March 1900, sold for breaking up 29 April 1920.
John Brown private builds, purchased 31 May 1900 (380 tons, built on speculation by John Brown and Company, formerly J & G Thomson, at Clydebank)
- Thorn, launched 17 March 1900, broken up at Portsmouth Dockyard in 1919.
- Tiger, launched 19 May 1900, sank in collision with HMS Berwick off St. Catherine's Point 2 April 1908.
- Vigilant, launched 16 August 1900, sold for breaking up 10 February 1920.
Thornycroft special
- Albatross, 380 tons, launched 19 July 1898, sold for breaking up 7 June 1920.
Viper class Hawthorn specials, (4 shafts, steam turbines)
- Viper, 344 tons, launched 6 September 1899, wrecked near Alderney in accident 3 August 1901.
- Velox (ex-Python), 445 tons, launched 11 February 1902, mined and sunk off Nab light vessel, 25 October 1915.

Notes

↑ "Major Warships Sunk in World War 1 1916". World War 1 Naval Combat. Retrieved 2007-01-06.

References

Cocker, Maurice (1983). Destroyers of the Royal Navy, 1893-1981. Ian Allan. ISBN 0-7110-1075-7.
Lyon, David (1996). The First Destroyers. Chatham Publishing. ISBN 1-86176-005-1.

External links

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

Three-funnel 30-knotter torpedo boat destroyers (reclassified in 1912 as C-class destroyers)
Palmer 30 knotters	Bat Chamois Crane Fawn Flirt Flying Fish Star Whiting
Earl 30 knotters	Bullfinch Dove
Doxford 30 knotters	Lee Sylvia Violet
Vickers 30 knotters	Avon Bittern Leopard Otter Vixen
Clydebank 30 knotters	Brazen Electra Recruit Vulture Kestrel Thorn Tiger Vigilant
Hawthorn Leslie 30 knotters	Cheerful Mermaid Greyhound Racehorse Roebuck
Fairfields 30 knotters	Fairy Falcon Gipsy Leven Osprey Ostrich
Thornycroft 33 knotters	Albatross
Parsons turbine specials	Velox Viper
Preceded by: B class Followed by: D class List of destroyers of the Royal Navy

British naval ship classes of the First World War
Aircraft/Seaplane carriers	Empress^S^V Riviera^S^V Engadine^S^V Ark Royal^S Ben-my-Chree^S^V Campania^S^V Raven II^S^V Anne^S^V Vindex^S^V Manxman^S^V Furious^M Pegasus^S^V Nairana^S^V Argus^S^V Vindictive^S^V
Dreadnought battleships	Dreadnought^S Bellerophon St Vincent Neptune^S Colossus Orion King George V Erin^S Agincourt^S Iron Duke Canada^S Queen Elizabeth Revenge
Pre-dreadnought battleships	Royal Sovereign Majestic Canopus Formidable Duncan King Edward VII Swiftsure Lord Nelson
Battlecruisers	Invincible Indefatigable Lion Queen Mary^S Tiger^S Renown Courageous Admiral^S^C Incomparable^X
Armoured cruisers	Cressy Drake Monmouth Devonshire Duke of Edinburgh Warrior Minotaur
Heavy cruisers	Hawkins
Light cruisers	Town^G Arethusa C^{G, C} Danae^C Emerald^A
Protected cruisers	Apollo Astraea Eclipse Blake Pearl Edgar Powerful Diadem Arrogant Pelorus Highflyer Challenger Topaze
Scout cruisers	Adventure Forward Pathfinder Sentinel Boadicea Blonde Active
Destroyer flotilla leaders	Swift^S Faulknor Marksman Parker Admiralty (or Scott)^C Thornycroft (or Shakespeare)^C
Destroyers	A^G B^G C^G D^G E^G F Cricket^G G H I K L Admiralty M Hawthorn M Thornycroft M Yarrow M Yarrow Later M Medea Arno^S R^G S^{G, C} Talisman V and W^{G, C}
Monitors	Marshal Ney Abercrombie Lord Clive Humber Gorgon M15 M29 Erebus
Minesweepers	Flower Racecourse Hunt Dance 24^C
Gunboats	Fly Insect
Submarines	A B C D E F G H^C J K L^C M^C R^C Swordfish^S V
A All completed after the war C One or more completed after the war G Grouping of several classes M converted from Courageous class S Single ship of class V Conversions X Cancelled

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C-class destroyer (1913)

Ships

See also

Notes

References

External links