"R" Class Destroyer (1916)

A total of 62 destroyers of the "R" Class were completed in 1916-1917 as part of the War Emergency Programme.

There was a mix of Admiralty design vessels (39) and a diverse set of builder's specials (12 ships). Feedback on the performance of the early units led to the final 11 being adapted into the Modified "R" Class, which had slightly different armament, a bridge placed further aft, and an altered arrangement of boiler rooms that permitted two of the the three funnels to be trunked together.^[1]

Overview of 62 vessels
Citations for this data available on individual ship pages
Name	Builder	Laid Down	Launched	Completed	Fate
Radstock	Swan Hunter		3 Jun, 1916		29 Apr, 1927
Raider	Swan Hunter		17 Jul, 1916		29 Apr, 1927
Romola	John Brown		14 May, 1916		13 Mar, 1930
Rowena	John Brown		1 Jul, 1916		Handed over 21 Jul, 1937
Restless	John Brown		12 Aug, 1916		Handed over 23 Nov, 1936
Rigorous	John Brown		30 Sep, 1916		5 Nov, 1926
Rocket	Denny		2 Jul, 1916		16 Dec, 1926
Rob Roy	Denny		28 Aug, 1916		13 Jul, 1926
Redgauntlet	Denny		23 Nov, 1916		Jul, 1927
Redoubt	Doxford		28 Oct, 1916		13 Jul, 1926
Recruit	Doxford		9 Dec, 1916		Mined 9 Aug, 1917
Sturgeon	A. Stephen		11 Jan, 1917		16 Dec, 1926
Sceptre	A. Stephen		18 Apr, 1917		16 Dec, 1926
Salmon	Harland & Wolff		7 Oct, 1916		Handed over 28 Jan, 1937
Sylph	Harland & Wolff		15 Nov, 1916		16 Dec, 1926
Sarpedon	Hawthorn Leslie		1 Jun, 1916		13 Jul, 1926
Sable	J. S. White		28 Jun, 1916		Aug, 1927
Setter	J. S. White		18 Aug, 1916		Collision 17 May, 1917
Sorceress	Swan Hunter		29 Aug, 1916		29 Apr, 1927
Satyr	Beardmore		27 Dec, 1916		16 Dec, 1926
Sharpshooter	Beardmore		27 Feb, 1917		29 Apr, 1927
Simoom	John Brown		30 Oct, 1916		Torpedoed 23 Jan, 1917
Skate	John Brown		11 Jan, 1917		4 Mar, 1947
Starfish	Hawthorn Leslie		27 Sep, 1916		21 Apr, 1928
Stork	Hawthorn Leslie		15 Nov, 1916		7 Oct, 1927
Skilful	Harland & Wolff		3 Feb, 1917		13 Jul, 1926
Springbok	Harland & Wolff		9 Mar, 1917		16 Dec, 1926
Tancred	Beardmore		30 Jun, 1917		17 May, 1928
Tarpon	John Brown		10 Mar, 1917		4 Aug, 1927
Telemachus	John Brown		21 Apr, 1917		26 Jul, 1927
Tempest	Fairfield		26 Jan, 1917		Handed over 28 Jan, 1937
Tetrarch	Harland & Wolff		20 Apr, 1917		28 Jul, 1934
Tenacious	Harland & Wolff		21 May, 1917		26 Jun, 1928
Thisbe	Hawthorn Leslie		8 Mar, 1917		31 Aug, 1936
Thruster	Hawthorn Leslie/Parsons		10 Jan, 1917		1937
Tormentor	A. Stephen		22 May, 1917		19 Nov, 1929
Tornado	A. Stephen		4 Aug, 1917		Mined 23 Dec, 1917
Torrent	Swan Hunter		26 Nov, 1916		Mined 23 Dec, 1917
Torrid	Swan Hunter		10 Feb, 1917		Handed over 27 Jan, 1937
Rosalind	Thornycroft		14 Oct, 1916		13 Jul, 1926
Radiant	Thornycroft		25 Nov, 1916		21 Jun, 1920
Retriever	Thornycroft		15 Jan, 1917		26 Jul, 1927
Taurus	Thornycroft		10 Mar, 1917		18 Feb, 1930
Teazer	Thornycroft		21 Apr, 1917		6 Feb, 1931
Sabrina	Yarrow		24 Jul, 1916		5 Nov, 1926
Strongbow	Yarrow		30 Sep, 1916		Sunk 17 Oct, 1917
Surprise	Yarrow		25 Nov, 1916		Mined 23 Dec, 1917
Sybille	Yarrow		5 Feb, 1917		5 Nov, 1926
Truculent	Yarrow		24 Mar, 1917		29 Apr, 1927
Tyrant	Yarrow		19 May, 1917		Apr, 1938
Ulleswater	Yarrow		4 Aug, 1917		Torpedoed 15 Aug, 1918
Ulster	Beardmore		10 Oct, 1917		Apr, 1928
Undine	Fairfield		22 Mar, 1917		Apr, 1928
Tower	Swan Hunter		5 Apr, 1917		17 May, 1928
Trenchant	J. S. White		23 Dec, 1917		15 Nov, 1928
Tristram	J. S. White		24 Feb, 1917		9 May, 1921
Tirade	Scott		21 Apr, 1917		15 Nov, 1921
Ursula	Scott		2 Aug, 1917		19 Nov, 1929
Ulysses	Doxford		24 Mar, 1917		Collision 29 Oct, 1918
Umpire	Doxford		9 Jun, 1917		7 Jan, 1930
Urchin	Palmer		7 Jun, 1917		7 Jan, 1930
Ursa	Palmer		23 Jul, 1917		13 Jul, 1926

Performance

The ships' capacity for 300 tons of fuel, delivered the following endurance.^[2]

The Modified "R" delivered much the same endurance. It's actually surprising that someone thought it worthwhile documenting them separately, given the variance between individual ships.

Knots	Tons / hour	Endurance (hours)	radius (nm)
Where Modified "R" differs, data is displayed as "R" / Modified "R"
14	1.7	170	2,380
16	2.0	142	2,272
18	2.6	110	1,980
20	3.4/3.6	80	1,600
22	4.5/4.4	63/64	1,386/1,408
24	5.5/5.8	50	1,200
26	7.2/7.5	40/38	960/988
28	9.0	30	840
30	11.5/11.0	24/26	720/780

Machinery

Generators

In 1916, it was stated that "new destroyers" have two 26.25 kw dynamos arranged in parallel.^[3] It is likely that this applied to this class.

Armament

4-in Guns

Three 4-in Q.F. Mark IV guns on P. IX mountings, as in the preceding "M" class destroyers.

While the 51 "R" class ships had three 4-in Q.F. Mark IV guns on P. IX mountings as in the preceding "M" class destroyers, the eleven modified "R" class ships had three 4-in Q.F. Mark V guns on C.P. II mountings capable of 30 degree elevation, increasing extreme range by 20%.^[4]

Other Guns

By 1920, some or all had one 2-pdr pom-pom for air defence.^[5]

Torpedoes

two double revolving 21-in torpedo tubes on the centreline

These, along with those in Fearless may have been among the first A.W. tubes built with screw plugs to permit the alteration of range and depth and perhaps gyro angle to be adjusted, the stop and charging valve to be access, and the collision head to be filled while the torpedo was in the tube.^[6]^[7]

In 1917, at least some of these ships were using 21-in Mark II*** torpedoes and 21-in Mark II***** torpedoes.^[8]

Other Weapons

Fire Control

Alterations

By November 1918, those ships operating with the Twentieth Destroyer Flotilla, Telemachus, Tarpon and {UK-Venturous}}, were fitted to carry 44 mines. The torpedo tubes and guns removed when the mines were shipped could be placed back aboard with enough notice.^[9]

Footnotes

↑ Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. pp. 76-77, 79-80.
↑ Battlecruiser Force Signal Orders (1 August, 1918), The National Archives. ADM 137/2135
↑ Annual Report of the Torpedo School, 1916. p. 120.
↑ March. British Destroyers. p. 190. N.B.: Technical History and Index, Vol 4, Part 34. pp. 12-13. indicates the mountings were C.P. III.
↑ Technical History and Index, Vol 4, Part 34, p. 16.
↑ Annual Report of the Torpedo School, 1911. p. 48.
↑ Annual Report of the Torpedo School, 1912. p. 36.
↑ Annual Report of the Torpedo School, 1917. p. 61.
↑ Annual Report of the Torpedo School, Mining Appendix, 1917-18. p. 11. Plate 7.

Bibliography

Admiralty, Technical History Section (1920). The Technical History and Index: Alteration in Armaments of H.M. Ships during the War. Vol. 4, Part 34. C.B. 1515 (34) now O.U. 6171/20. At The National Archives, Kew, United Kingdom.
March, Edgar J. (1966). British Destroyers: A History of Development, 1892-1953. London: Seeley Service & Co. Limited. (on Bookfinder.com).
Gray, Randal (editor) (1985). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. London: Conway Maritime Press. (on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk).