Acorn-class destroyer
HMS Fury
| |
Class overview | |
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Builders |
|
Operators | |
Preceded by | Beagle class |
Succeeded by | Acheron class |
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 (75.13 m) |
Beam | 25 ft 6 in (7.77 m) |
Draught | 7 ft (2.1 m)–10 ft (3.0 m) |
Propulsion |
|
Speed | 27 knots (50 km/h) |
Endurance | 170 tons oil |
Complement | 72 |
Armament |
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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.
Design
After the coal-burning
While the detailed design of earlier destroyer classes was left to the builders resulting in individual ships differing considerably, this changed for the Acorns, where a standard hull design was used, allowing more shipyards to bid for orders, thus driving down costs, while reducing the time and effort required for the Admiralty to check and approve each builder's designs. Machinery design, however, was still left to the builders, although it had to fit into the space allowed in the standard design.[1][4][5] They had a reasonably uniform appearance, with three funnels, a tall, thin fore funnel, a short, thick central and a short narrow after stack.[3][6]
The ships were 240 feet 0 inches (73.15 m)
The revised machinery layout freed up deck space, allowing heavier armament to be carried.
The Acorns were followed, in the 1910-11 Programme, by the Acheron class (later known as the 'I' class).
Service
On commissioning, between December 1910 and February 1912, the ships of the class joined the 2nd Destroyer Flotilla of the Royal Navy's Home Fleet, replacing River-class destroyers.[1] They were officially redesignated the H class in October 1913 as part of a general re-designation of the Royal Navy's destroyers.[11]
The ships of the class remained members of the 2nd Flotilla on the outbreak of the
Following the end of the war, the Royal Navy quickly disposed of large numbers of older ships, including the Acorn class. All remaining ships of the class had been sold for scrap by the end of 1921.[12][13]
Ships
Name | Builder | Laid down | Launch date | Completed | Fate |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Acorn | John Brown and Company, Clydebank | 12 January 1910 | 1 July 1910 | December 1910.[14] | Sold for breaking up 29 November 1921.[12] |
Alarm | John Brown and Company, Clydebank | 7 February 1910 | 29 August 1910 | March 1911.[14] | Sold for breaking up 9 May 1921.[12] |
Brisk | John Brown and Company, Clydebank | 21 February 1910 | 20 September 1910 | June 1911.[14] | Sold for breaking up 15 November 1921.[12] |
Cameleon | Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering Company, Govan |
6 December 1909, | 2 June 1910 | December 1910.[14] | Sold for breaking up 15 November 1921.[12] |
Comet | Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering Company, Govan | 1 February 1910 | 23 June 1910 | June 1911.[14] | Torpedoed and sunk by Austrian Mediterranean 6 August 1918.[12]
|
Fury | A. & J. Inglis, Pointhouse, Glasgow | 3 March 1910 | 25 April 1911 | February 1912.[14] | Sold for breaking up 4 November 1921.[12] |
Goldfinch | Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering Company, Govan | 23 February 1910 | 12 July 1910 | February 1911.[14] | Wrecked in fog on Start Point, Sanday, Orkney on the night of 18–19 February 1915.[15]
|
Hope | Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson, Wallsend |
9 December 1909 | 6 September 1910 | March 1911.[14] | Sold for breaking up at Malta in February 1920.[12] |
Larne | Woolston |
8 December 1909 | 23 August 1910 | February 1911.[14] | Sold for breaking up 9 May 1921.[12] |
Lyra | John I. Thornycroft & Company, Woolston | 8 December 1909 | 4 October 1910 | February 1911.[14] | Sold for breaking up 9 May 1921.[12] |
Martin | John I. Thornycroft & Company, Woolston | 21 December 1909 | 15 December 1910 | March 1911.[14] | Sold for breaking up 21 August 1920 at Malta.[12] |
Minstrel | John I. Thornycroft & Company, Woolston | 11 March 1910 | 2 February 1911 | May 1911. | Loaned to Imperial Japanese Navy from June 1917 to 1919 as Sendan (栴檀).[14] Sold for breaking up 1 December 1921.[12] |
Nemesis | R. W. Hawthorn Leslie & Company, Hebburn |
24 November 1911 | 9 August 1910 | March 1911 | Loaned to Imperial Japanese Navy from June 1917 to 1919 as Kanran (橄欖).[14] Sold for breaking up 26 November 1921.[12] |
Nereide | R. W. Hawthorn Leslie & Company, Hebburn | 3 December 1912 | 6 September 1910 | March 1911.[14] | Sold for breaking up 1 December 1921.[12] |
Nymphe | R. W. Hawthorn Leslie & Company, Hebburn | 8 December 1909 | 31 January 1911 | May 1911[14] | Sold for breaking up 9 May 1921.[12] |
Redpole | J. Samuel White & Company, Cowes |
10 December 1909 | 24 June 1910 | February 1911 | Sold for breaking up 9 May 1921.[12] |
Rifleman | J. Samuel White & Company, Cowes | 21 December 1909 | 22 August 1910 | March 1911.[14] | Sold for breaking up 9 May 1921.[12] |
Ruby | J. Samuel White & Company, Cowes | 15 February 1910 | 4 November 1910 | 7 April 1911.[14] | Sold for breaking up 9 May 1921.[12] |
Sheldrake | William Denny & Brothers, Dumbarton |
15 January 1910 | 18 January 1911 | 19 May 1911.[14] | Sold for breaking up 9 May 1921.[12] |
Staunch | William Denny & Brothers, Dumbarton | 15 January 1910 | 29 October 1910 | March 1911.[14] | Torpedoed and sunk by German U-boat SM UC-38 off Gaza, Palestine 11 November 1917.[12][15] |
References
Notes
- ^ The power needed to reach the specified speed was greater than expected in some ships, with Acorn needing 15,072 shaft horsepower (11,239 kW) during sea trials to reach 27.335 knots (50.624 km/h; 31.457 mph). Other ships were faster, with Larne reaching 28.723 knots (53.195 km/h; 33.054 mph) with 14,900 shaft horsepower (11,100 kW) and Ruby reaching 30.335 knots (56.180 km/h; 34.909 mph) with 16,776 shaft horsepower (12,510 kW).[8]
- ^ The abbreviation BL stood for Breech Loading. In British use it also indicated that the gun used a bagged charge, with QF (Quick Firing) meaning that the gun used a charge enclosed in a metal cartridge case.
- ^ "Cwt" is the abbreviation for hundredweight, 12 cwt referring to the weight of the gun.
Citations
- ^ a b c d e f g h Gardiner and Gray 1985, p. 74.
- ^ Brown 2010, p. 69.
- ^ a b Manning 1961, p. 57.
- ^ Brown 2010, p. 68.
- ^ Friedman 2009, pp. 118–119.
- ^ Friedman 2009, p. 119.
- ^ Friedman 2009, p. 295.
- ^ a b c d e Friedman 2009, p. 122.
- ^ Friedman 2009, p. 118.
- ^ Friedman 2009, p. 147.
- ^ Gardiner and Gray 1985, pp. 18, 74.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Dittmar and Colledge 1972, p. 61.
- ^ Gardiner and Gray 1985, p. 5.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Friedman 2009, p. 306.
- ^ a b Moore 1990, p. 314.
Bibliography
- Brown, David K. (2010). The Grand Fleet: Warship Design and Development 1906–1922. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-085-7.
- Cocker, Maurice (1983). Destroyers of the Royal Navy, 1893-1981. Ian Allan. ISBN 0-7110-1075-7.
- Dittmar, F.J.; Colledge, J.J. (1972). British Warships 1914–1919. Shepperton, UK: Ian Allan. ISBN 0-7110-0380-7.
- Friedman, Norman (2009). British Destroyers: From Earliest Days to the Second World War. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-049-9.
- 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.
- Manning, T.D. (1961). The British Destroyer. London: Putnam. OCLC 6470051.
- Moore, John (1990). Jane's Fighting Ships of World War I. London: Studio. ISBN 1-85170-378-0.