Neutral Nation - DESTROYER class ==========================================================================




In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, short-range but powerful attackers (originally torpedo boats, later submarines and aircraft).

Before World War II, destroyers were light vessels without the endurance for unattended ocean operations; typically a number of destroyers and a single destroyer tender operated together. During the war, larger and more powerful destroyers capable of independent operation were built,..

The emergence of the destroyer and development up until World War II was related to the invention of the self-propelled torpedo in the 1860s. A navy now had the potential to destroy a superior enemy battle fleet using steam launches to drop torpedoes. Fast boats armed with torpedoes were built and called torpedo boats. By the 1880s, these had evolved into little ships of 50-100 tons, fast enough to evade enemy picket boats, but still weighed a lot.

One response to the torpedo boat threat was the building of faster and more heavily-gunned picket boats called "catchers". At first, the danger to a battle fleet was considered only to exist when at anchor, but as faster and longer range torpedoes were developed, the threat extended to cruising at sea. As catchers were then needed to escort the battle fleet at sea, they needed the same seaworthiness and endurance, and as they necessarily became larger, they became officially designated "torpedo boat destroyers", soon contracted to destroyer in English. The anti-torpedo boat origin of this type of ship is retained in its name in other languages, including French (contre-torpilleur), Italian (cacciatorpediniere), Spanish (cazatorpedero), Polish (kontrtorpedowiec), Czech (torpédoborec), Greek (antitorpiliko,a?t?t??p?????) and so on.

Once destroyers became more than just catchers guarding an anchorage, it was realised that they were also ideal to take over the role of torpedo boats themselves, so they were fitted with torpedo tubes as well as guns. At that time, and even into World War I, the only functions of destroyers was to protect their own battle fleet from enemy torpedo attacks and to make such attacks on the battleships of the enemy. The task of escorting merchant convoys was still in the future.

An important development came in 1884 with HMS Swift, a large torpedo boat with six 47 mm quick-firing guns and three torpedo tubes. While still not fast enough to engage torpedo boats reliably, she at least had the armament to deal with them.

The Japanese Kotaka (Falcon) of 1885, was "the forerunner of torpedo boat destroyers that appeared a decade later". Designed to Japanese specifications and ordered from the London Yarrow shipyards in 1885, she was transported in parts to Japan, where she was assembled and launched in 1887. She was armed with four 1-pounder (37 mm) quick-firing guns and six torpedo tubes, reached 19 knots (35 km/h), and at 203 tons, was the largest torpedo boat yet. In her trials in 1889, Kotaka demonstrated that she could go beyond a role of coastal defense, and was capable of following larger ships on the high seas. The Yarrow shipyards, builder of the parts for the Kotaka, "considered Japan to have effectively invented the destroyer".

Almost immediately after the order of Kotaka was placed, Fernando Villaamil, second officer of the Ministry of the Navy of Spain where he was put in charge of developing the concept of a new ship designed to combat torpedo boats, placed an order for a large torpedo gunboat in November 1885, with the British builder James and George Thompson, of Clydebank, not far from where the Yarrow shipyards would move from London twenty years later. The ship, named Destructor (literally Destroyer), was laid down at the end of the year, launched in 1886, and commissioned in 1887. Her displacement was 380 tons, and she was armed with one 90 mm Hontoria cannon, four 57 mm Nordenfeldt cannon, two 37 mm Hotchkiss guns and 3 Schwartzkopff torpedo tubes. Her complement was 60 men. In terms of gunnery, speed (22.5 knots in trials) and dimensions, the specific design to chase torpedo boats and her high seas capabilities, Destructor is widely considered the first destroyer ever built.

The Spanish Destructor is thought to have influenced the designation and concept of later destroyers developed by the British Navy.

Shortly afterwards, Britain began experiments with the Rattlesnake class 'torpedo boat catcher', a class of 17 large torpedo boats - the first precursors of destroyers to be built as a class, rather than as single ships. On tests, Rattlesnake proved to be marginally faster than torpedo boats, but not fast enough to be decisive.

The first ships to bear the formal designation "Torpedo boat destroyer" (TBD) were the Havock class of two ships of the Royal Navy, developed in 1892 under the newly appointed Third Sea Lord Rear Admiral "Jackie" Fisher, and launched by Yarrows in London in 1893. Havock had a 240 tons displacement, a speed of 27 knots (50 km/h), and was armed with a single 12-pounder (76 mm) gun, three 6-pounders (57 mm), and three 46 cm torpedo tubes. She also had the range and speed to effectively travel with a battle fleet.

The French navy, an extensive user of torpedo boats, built its first destroyer in 1899, with the Durandal-class 'torpilleur d'escadre'.

The United States commissioned its first destroyer, USS Bainbridge, Destroyer No. 1, in 1902 and by 1906 there were 16 destroyers in service with the US Navy.

Destroyer design evolved around the turn of the 20th century in several key ways. The first was the introduction of the steam turbine. The spectacular unauthorised demonstration of the turbine powered Turbinia at the 1897 Spithead Navy Review, which, significantly, was of torpedo boat size, prompted the Royal Navy to order a prototype turbine powered destroyer, HMS Viper of 1899. This was the first turbine warship of any kind and achieved a remarkable 36 knots (67 km/h) on sea trials. By 1910 the turbine had been widely adopted by all navies for their faster ships.

The second development was the replacement of the boat-style turtleback foredeck by a raised forecastle, which provided better sea-keeping as well as more space below deck.

The British experimented with oil propulsion for the Tribal class of 1905 but switched temporarily back to coal for the later Beagle class in 1909. Other navies also adopted oil, for instance the USN with the Paulding class of 1909. In spite of all this variety, destroyers adopted a largely similar pattern. The hull was long and narrow, with a relatively shallow draft. The bow was either raised in a forecastle or covered under a turtleback; underneath this were the crew spaces, extending 1/4 to 1/3 the way along the hull. Aft of the crew spaces was as much engine space as the technology of the time would allow: several boilers and engines or turbines. Above deck, one or more quick-firing guns was mounted in the bows, in front of the bridge; several more were mounted amidships and astern. Two torpedo tube mountings (later on, multiple mountings) were generally found amidships.

Between 1890 and 1914 destroyers became markedly larger: initially 300 tons was a good size, but by the start of the First World War 1000 tons was not unusual. However, construction remained focused on putting the biggest possible engines into a small hull, resulting in a somewhat flimsy construction. Often hulls were built of steel only 1/8in thick.

By 1910 the steam-driven displacement (i.e. non-hydroplaning) torpedo boat had become redundant as a separate type. Germany nevertheless continued to build such torpedo boats until the end of WW1, although these were effectively small coastal destroyers. In fact Germany never distinguished between the two types, giving them pennant numbers in the same series and never giving names to destroyers. Ultimately the term torpedo boat came to be attached to a quite different vessel - the very fast hydroplaning motor driven MTB.

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Motor Torpedo Boat (MTB) was the name given to fast torpedo boats by the Royal Navy, the Royal Norwegian Navy, the Royal Canadian Navy and the United States Navy.

During World War II the US Navy boats were usually called by their hull classification symbol of "PT" (from Patrol, Torpedo) and are covered under PT boat though the class type was still 'motor torpedo boat'. The capitalised term is generally used for the Royal Navy (RN) boats and abbreviated to MTB. German motor torpedo boats of World War II were called S-Boote (Schnellboote German for "fast boats") by the Kriegsmarine and E-boats by the allies. Italian MTBs of this period were known as "Motoscafo Armato Silurante (MAS) translating as "torpedo armed motorboats".

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While capital ship engagements were scarce in World War I, destroyer units were almost continually engaged in raiding and patrol actions. The first shot of the war at sea was fired on 5 August 1914 by a destroyer of the 3rd Flotilla, Lance, in an engagement with the German auxiliary minelayer Königin Luise. The first British naval casualty was Amphion, the light cruiser leading the 3rd Flotilla, which ran into a mine laid by Königin Luise.

Destroyers were involved in the skirmishes that prompted the Battle of Heligoland Bight, and filled a range of roles in the Battle of Gallipoli, acting as troops transports and fire support vessels, as well as their fleet-screening role. Over 80 British destroyers and 60 German torpedo-boats took part in the Battle of Jutland, which involved pitched small-boat actions between the main fleets, and several foolhardy attacks by unsupported destroyers on capital ships. Jutland also concluded with a messy night action between the German High Seas Fleet and part of the British destroyer screen.

The threat evolved by World War I with the development of the submarine, or U-boat. The submarine had the potential to hide from gunfire and close underwater to fire torpedoes. Early-war destroyers had the speed and armament to intercept submarines before they submerged, either by gunfire or by ramming. Destroyers also had a shallow enough draft that torpedoes would find it difficult to hit them.

The desire to attack submarines underwater led to rapid destroyer evolution during the war, which were quickly equipped with strengthened bows for ramming, depth charges and hydrophones for identifying submarine targets. The first submarine casualty to a destroyer was the German U-19, rammed by Badger on 29 October 1914. While U-19 was only damaged, the next month Garry successfully sank U-18. The first depth-charge sinking was on 4 December 1916, when UC-19 was sunk by Llewellyn.


The submarine threat meant that many destroyers spent their time on anti-submarine patrol; once Germany adopted unrestricted submarine warfare in January 1917, destroyers were called on to escort merchant convoys. US Navy destroyers were among the first American units to be dispatched upon the American entry to the war, and a squadron of Japanese destroyers even joined Allied patrols in the Mediterranean. Patrol duty was far from safe; of the 67 British destroyers lost in the war, collisions accounted for 18, while 12 were wrecked.

The trend during World War I had been towards larger destroyers with heavier armaments. A number of opportunities to fire at capital ships had been missed during the War, because destroyers had expended all their torpedoes in an initial salvo. The British 'V' & 'W' classes of the late war had sought to address this by mounting six torpedo tubes in two triple mounts, instead of the four or two on earlier models. The 'V'and 'W's set the standard of destroyer building well into the 1920s.

The next major innovation came with the Japanese Fubuki class or 'special type', designed in 1923 and delivered in 1928. The design was initially noted for its powerful armament of six five-inch (127 mm) guns, together with three triple torpedo mounts. The second batch of the class gave the guns high-angle turrets for anti-aircraft warfare, and the 24-inch (60 cm) oxygen fueled 'Long Lance' Type 93 torpedo. The later Ariake class of 1931 further improved the torpedo armament by storing its reload torpedoes close at hand in the superstructure, meaning reloading could be accomplished in 15 minutes.

Most other nations replied with similar larger ships. The US Porter class adopted twin five-inch (127 mm) guns, and the subsequent Mahan class and Gridley class (the latter of 1934) increased the number of torpedo tubes to 12 and 16 respectively.

In the Mediterranean, the Italian navy's building of very fast light cruisers of the Condottieri class prompted the French to produce exceptional destroyer designs. The French had long been keen on large destroyers, with their Chacal class of 1922 displacing over 2000 tons and carrying 130 mm guns; a further three similar classes were produced around 1930. The Le Fantasque class of 1935 took performance to an exceptional level. The class carried five 5.5-inch (140 mm) guns and nine torpedo tubes, but their speed was truly exceptional - reaching 45 knots (83 km/h), which remains the record speed for a steamship. The Italians' own destroyers were almost as swift, most Italian designs of the 1930s being rated for 38 knots (70 km/h), and carrying four or six 120 mm guns as well as torpedoes.

Germany started to build destroyers again during the 1930s as part of Hitler's rearmament programme. The Germans were also fond of large destroyers, but while the initial Type 1934 displaced over 3,000 tons their armament was no better than many smaller classes. The later Type 1936 did, however, adopt heavy 150 mm guns. German destroyers also used innovative high-pressure steam machinery: while this should have helped their efficiency, it more often resulted in mechanical problems.

Once German and Japanese armament became clear, the British and American navies consciously focused on smaller, more numerous units. The British built a series of destroyers the A Class to I Class which were about 1400 tons standard displacement, had four 4.7-inch (119 mm) guns and eight torpedo tubes; the American Benson class of 1938 similar in size, but carried five 5-inch (127 mm) guns and ten torpedo tubes. The British realising the need for heavier gun armament built the Tribal class of 1936 (sometimes called "Afridi" after one of two lead ships). These ships displaced 1850 tons and were armed with eight 4.7-inch (119 mm) guns in four twin turrets and four torpedo tubes. These were followed by the J Class and L class destroyers with six 4.7-inch (119 mm) guns in twin turrets and 8 torpedo tubes

Anti-submarine sensors included sonar (or ASDIC), although training in their use was indifferent. Anti-sub weapons changed little, and ahead-throwing weapons, a need recognized in WWI, had made no progress.

During the 1920s and 1930s destroyers were often deployed to areas of diplomatic tension or humanitarian disaster. British and American destroyers were common on the Chinese coast, even supplying landing parties to protect colonial interests.

By World War II the threat had evolved once again. Submarines were more effective, and aircraft had become important weapons of naval warfare; once again the fleet destroyers were ill-equipped for combatting these new targets. They were fitted with new anti-aircraft guns, radar, and forward-launched ASW weapons, in addition to their existing light guns, depth charges, and torpedoes. By this time the destroyers had become large, multi-purpose vessels, expensive targets in their own right rather than expendable vessels for the protection of others; moreover, they were one of the most sunk kinds of ships even though they were mass produced. This led to the introduction of smaller and cheaper specialized anti-submarine warships called corvettes and frigates by the Royal Navy and destroyer escorts by the USN. These ships had the size and displacement of the original torpedo boat destroyers the contemporary destroyer had evolved from.

The destroyer during World War II continued in the role as an all-purpose ship ready to fight off attacks from the air, on the surface, or from below the sea. They could be called upon to give fire support to troops, deliver mail and people to other ships, rescue pilots who had been forced down at sea, and to serve as the distant early warning eyes of the fleet in hostile waters. Destroyers did not have the glamour of a battleship or an aircraft carrier but without them the aircraft carrier and battleship would be helpless against enemy submarines. They were all-purpose ships whose support of general fleet operations was vital. No aircraft carrier or battleship ever proceeded into enemy waters without an escort of destroyers.

The war in the Atlantic saw the destroyer perform many varied tasks from hunting and destroying submarines to rescuing downed airmen. These "greyhounds of the sea" were also on hand for the landings in North Africa, Sicily and Europe, using their guns to knock out shore batteries, to keep the skies clear of enemy aircraft, and to guard landing craft.

Relatively little consideration was given to anti-submarine warfare or convoy escort in the years between the world wars for a number of reasons. Some military experts believed that the next war would be fought entirely in the air; others felt that improved acoustic detection devices would make submarines easy to locate and destroy. When war erupted in Europe in September of 1939 the British Navy was ill-equipped for combating German submarines. Fortunately for the British, the German Navy had only 57 operational U-boats and would require more than a year to build up a viable force of submarines. (The Germans also would employ large surface warships, battleships and cruisers, and heavily armed merchant ships disguised as Allied freighters in the merchant-raider role.)

The United States was able to profit from the British Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) from 1939 to 1941 and had time before entering the conflict to begin massive ship construction programs. During the years 1942 to 1945 the nation's shipyards built some 1,300 small ASW ships (between 100 and 200 feet in length) arid more than 600 large ASW ships (approximately 300 feet long), and converted hundreds of yachts and trawlers to fight submarines. These yards also built several hundred destroyers and more than 100 escort or "jeep" aircraft carriers that were highly effective in the ASW role.

The most important ASW ships probably were the so-called Destroyer Escorts (designated DE). These ships essentially were small destroyers fitted with about half the power plant of a regular destroyer (giving the DE a speed of about 20 knots compared with almost 35 knots for a war-built destroyer). The DE carried fewer guns and torpedo tubes than a destroyer but had the same general anti-submarine capabilities as the larger ship.

The DE was fitted with acoustic detection equipment (referred to as sonar for SOund Navigation And Ranging) and ASW weapons. Initially the DE carried only depth charges, rolled off the stern and fired from side launchers. The depth charges were made more streamlined, being given almost a bomb shape so they would sink to their exploding depth more rapidly.

Still, depth charges had two principal disadvantages: First, they required the attacking ship to overrun the submarine, meaning that for a few moments the ship's own propeller and movement sounds would blank out the U-boat noises; second, the depth charges, pre-set to explode at the submarine's estimated depth, would always explode and this further masked any submarine sounds. Under these circumstances there were several minutes when the submarine could not be heard and unless it sustained damage from the exploding pattern of depth charges could use the opportunity to evade pursuers.

To overcome these limitations the ahead-throwing hedgehog was developed. This weapon fired 24 relatively small, rocket-like projectiles into the water some 250 yards ahead of the escort ship. The projectiles entered the water in a large, circular pattern and plummeted through the depths, exploding only upon contact with a submarine hull. Although the 31-pound explosive charge was smaller than a depth charge, it could still inflict significant damage on a submarine. The weapon was dubbed "hedgehog" because the launcher spigots which held the projectiles were somewhat akin to the protruding quills of a porcupine or hedgehog.

When armed with the hedgehog, the destroyer or destroyer escort could keep sonar contact with the submarine throughout the attack, without the ship's detection equipment being impaired by the ship's own noises or exploding depth charges. Also, there was no need to estimate the submarine's depth because the projectiles exploded upon contact.

Another technological development that became a key in ASW during World War II was radar (for RAdio Detection And Ranging). Radar transmits radio waves in narrow beams to detect objects in darkness or fog and at greater distances in clear weather than the human eye can see. Escort ships were provided with radar to enable them to detect U-boats on the surface at night and in fog or their periscopes when submerged.

Fitted with depth charges, the ahead-firing hedgehog, and radar as well as sonar, the destroyer escort was a most-important member of allied ASW forces in World War II. Other components of allied ASW forces included land-based aircraft and blimps, escort or "jeep" aircraft carriers and their planes, destroyers, and the many types of smaller ASW ships and craft; Allied submarines also had a limited role in anti-submarine operations.

The first 50 destroyer escorts were ordered in November 1941 -- just prior to U.S. entry into World War II -- with Lend Lease funds. This meant that the Congress had appropriated money for building the ships for transfer to Britain. However, by the time the first ships were launched in June of 1942, the United States was in the war and only six of those original 50 DEs went to the Royal Navy, the others commissioned for U.S. service.

Contracts were quickly placed for hundreds of additional destroyer escorts as the battle against German U-boats in the Atlantic was given top priority for the Allies. Without safe Allied use of the Atlantic shipping lanes Britain could not survive, and there could be no Allied troop landings on Axis-held portions of Africa or Europe.

Seventeen U.S. shipyards participated in the DE construction program, and they built more than 500 DE-type ships before the end of the war. These ships saw action in virtually every area of the con-flict with almost one hundred being modified to serve as high-speed transports, each carrying up to 160 commandos, underwater swimmers (frogmen), or amphibious landing control personnel. Other DEs were transferred to the British, French, and Brazilian navies to help in the war.

The hundreds of escort ships that fought under the U.S. flag attacked German, Italian, and Japanese submarines. Sometimes the DEs were part of merchant convoy escorts; at other times they protected amphibious landing forces; and sometimes they teamed up with escort aircraft carriers to form "hunter-killer" teams that sought out enemy submarines. Perhaps the most remarkable DE was the ENGLAND, under Commander W. B. Pendleton, which sank five Japanese submarines and provided a major assist in sinking another within a hectic 12-day period in 1944. This is a one-ship record for ASW successes rivaled only by the six German U-boat sinkage attributed to ships successively commanded by Captain Donald Macintyre, Royal Navy. In all, the U.S. escort ships were credited with the sinking of 48 German, two Italian, and 68 Japanese submarines.

Although intended primarily as anti-submarine ships, the DEs were pitted against intense air attacks, especially in the Pacific War-including Japanese suicide planes or kamikazes, and against the largest battleship ever built.

The only DE-versus-battleship came in October of 1944 off the eastern coast of the Philippines when several groups of escort aircraft carriers were providing air support for U.S. landings on the island of Leyte. The "jeep" carriers were being screened by destroyers and destroyer escorts. Suddenly and without warning, the characteristic pagoda masts of Japanese battleships and cruisers appeared over the horizon. The Japanese force, including the 67,000-ton battleship YAMATO, the largest warship afloat, had evaded air patrols and was bearing down to attack the U.S. transports beyond the escort carriers. The several destroyers and escort ships turned toward the Japanese to protect the fleeing carriers (whose planes were armed for attack-ing enemy troops ashore, and did not have armor-piercing bombs or torpedoes needed to sink warships). In the furious melee that followed the Japanese battleships and cruisers were turned back by the ferocity of the U.S. counterattacks. Two of the U.S. destroyers and one DE, half the U.S. screening force, were sunk as was one of the escort carriers, and several U.S. ships were damaged.


At the start of World War II, the Royal Navy operated a range of destroyer classes. Some of these were legacies of World War I (including those acquired from the United States), some were designed during the inter-war years and the rest were the result of wartime experience and conditions. British-built and -designed vessels were also supplied to and built by allied navies, primarily the Australian and Canadian.

British destroyer flotillas were formed from single classes, with a slightly adapted flotilla leader; the aim had been to produce a flotilla each year. As a broad summary, British destroyers developed from the successful V and W class destroyers of World War I, increasing in complexity until World War II. The Royal Navy then needed new ships quickly to increase numbers, replace losses and exploit experience and so design became simplified and cheaper to produce, with greater anti-aircraft and anti-submarine power (War Emergency Programme).

British destroyer design had developed with incremental changes in the inter-war years, apart from the larger Tribal class destroyer which was not repeated. In 1937, there was a radical change in destroyer design with the production of the more complex J, K and N classes and the modified Ls and Ms. It was deemed to be a successful design, but was discontinued in favour of the a simpler War Emergency Programme design.

Later in the war, the Battle class destroyer was developed, with a greatly enhanced anti-aircraft capability.

At the outbreak of the Second World War, the German Navy, the Kriegsmarine, had 21 destroyers (Ger: Zerstörer). These had all been built in the 1930s, making them modern vessels. A further 19 were brought into service during the war.

German destroyer classes were generally known by the year of their design. Because of their size, use and weaponry, some vessels classified as "fleet torpedo boats", Flottentorpedoboot, are also described.

Class general characteristics are taken from the first of each class, and may differ slightly for individual ships, particularly when they were refitted. Some ships had significant changes to armament compared to others within their class.

In World War II, the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) had at its disposal destroyers that included some of the most formidable warships of their type. This, with the power of the Long Lance torpedoes, came as a nasty surprise to the allies. These were the result of a radical redesign in the mid-1920s and an emphasis on technology and night fighting expertise. Development from one class to the next was not, however, a smooth progress. Aside from the usual refinements that stem from operating experience, serious design faults came to light and naval treaties imposed restrictions on unit and total displacement tonnage. As a result, the early "Special Type" destroyers required significant changes and the performance and armament of subsequent classes was reduced. Naval treaties were later abrogated in 1937 and destroyer development continued without regard to limits.

Generally speaking, the IJN requirements gave rise to warships that were substantially larger than their European equivalents. In the early war years, their advantages were aggressively exploited against the, often second rate and poorly coordinated (as at the disastrous Battle of the Java Sea), allied ships stationed in the region. The Japanese did not, however, install technology to match their opponents and destroyer numbers were eroded steadily. In recognition that quantity was as important as quality in some roles, design policy was, therefore, modified to produce units that were easier to build and operate. Despite this, Japan's destroyer force was halved by the end of the war.


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NB: The above text has been collected / excerpted / edited / mangled / tangled / re-compiled / etc ... from the following online sources :

Neutral - DESTROYER class - wikipedia article #1

Neutral - DESTROYER class - wikipedia article #2

British - DESTROYER class - wikipedia article #3

German - DESTROYER class - wikipedia article #4

Japanese - DESTROYER class - wikipedia article #5

WWII - DESTROYER class - www.globalsecurity.org article #1

WWII - DESTROYER class - www.globalsecurity.org article #2