Swordfish-class destroyer
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name | Swordfish class |
| Builders | Elswick, Tyne and Wear |
| Operators |  Royal Navy |
| Preceded by | Sturgeon class |
| Succeeded by | Zebra class |
| Built | 1894–1895 |
| In commission | 1895–1912 |
| Completed | 2 |
| Scrapped | 2 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Torpedo boat destroyer |
| Propulsion | Yarrow boilers |
| Speed | 27 knots (50 km/h; 31 mph) |
| Armament |
|
Two Swordfish-class destroyers served with the
Requirement
After ordering six prototype
On 8 December 1893, the Admiralty placed an order for a single 27-knotter destroyer (Swordfish) with Armstrong Mitchell & Co with an order for a second destroyer (Spitfire) following on 7 February 1894.[5] The ships' machinery was to be supplied by Belliss & Co of Birmingham. Eight Yarrow-type water-tube boilers provided steam at a pressure of 200 psi (1,400 kPa), feeding two four-cylinder triple-expansion steam engines and driving two propeller shafts.[6][7] Three widely spaced funnels were fitted, with the middle funnel being fatter than the other two as it handled the uptakes from four boilers rather than two as did the other funnels.[5][8]
Both ships had been sold for scrapping before 1913 when the Admiralty re-classed the surviving 27-knotter destroyers as the A Class.
See also
Citations
Bibliography
- Brooke, Peter (1999). Warships for Export: Armstrong Warships 1867–1927. Gravesend, UK: World Ship Society. ISBN 0-905617-89-4.
- Chesneau, Roger & Kolesnik, Eugene M., eds. (1979). Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-133-5.
- ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.
- 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.
- Lyon, David (2001) [1996]. The First Destroyers. London: Caxton Editions. ISBN 1-84067-3648.
- Manning, Captain T. D. (1979) [1961]. The British Destroyer. Godfrey Cave Associates. ISBN 0-906223-13-X.
- 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.