The A class as designated in 1913 was a heterogeneous group of

torpedo boat destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...

s (TBDs) built for the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...

in the mid-1890s. Some 42 vessels were constructed to the individual designs of their builders to meet Admiralty specifications, the only uniting feature being a specified top speed of . In fact the initial six vessels were generally differentiated by a slightly lower speed and were often referred to as "26-knotters" to distinguish them from the following batch of thirty-six vessels; all fifteen surviving "27-knotter" vessels were classified by the Admiralty as the A class in 1913 to provide some system to the naming of HM destroyers. All of the "26-knotters" and most of the "27-knotters" had been lost or scrapped before the 1913 classification (and so - strictly speaking - never survived to become 'A' class), but for convenience all 42 ships are listed below. The number of funnels varied from one to four. All vessels had a distinctive "turtleback"

forecastle The forecastle ( ; contracted as fo'c'sle or fo'c's'le) is the upper deck of a sailing ship forward of the foremast, or, historically, the forward part of a ship with the sailors' living quarters. Related to the latter meaning is the phrase " b ...

that was intended to clear water from the bow, but actually tended to dig the bow in to anything of a sea, resulting in a very wet conning position. They generally displaced around 260 tons and had a length of around . All were powered by triple expansion steam engines and had coal-fired

water-tube boiler A high pressure watertube boiler (also spelled water-tube and water tube) is a type of boiler in which water circulates in tubes heated externally by the fire. Fuel is burned inside the furnace, creating hot gas which boils water in the steam-gene ...

s (although initially, some had "locomotive type"

fire-tube boiler A fire-tube boiler is a type of boiler in which hot gases pass from a fire through one or more tubes running through a sealed container of water. The heat of the gases is transferred through the walls of the tubes by thermal conduction, heating t ...

s in lieu). Armament was generally one QF 12 pounder on a bandstand on the forecastle, up to five QF 6 pounder and 2 single tubes for

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, s ...

es. The six 1892-93 Programme ships initially had a third tube in the bow, fixed to fire straight ahead, but this was found to weigh down the bows and it was possible for the ship to run over its own torpedo when moving at high speed, so these were later removed and this feature was not repeated in later vessels.

Ships

The 26-knotter group

Six ships were ordered under the 1892-93 programme: * destroyer; both built by John I. Thornycroft & Company,

Chiswick Chiswick ( ) is a district of west London, England. It contains Hogarth's House, the former residence of the 18th-century English artist William Hogarth; Chiswick House, a neo-Palladian villa regarded as one of the finest in England; and ...

. ** , launched 25 November 1893, sold for breaking up 10 April 1912. ** , launched 7 February 1894, sunk in collision with ''Arun'' 13 August 1904. *; both built by

Yarrow Shipbuilders Yarrow Shipbuilders Limited (YSL), often styled as simply Yarrows, was a major shipbuilding firm based in the Scotstoun district of Glasgow on the River Clyde. It is now part of BAE Systems Surface Ships, owned by BAE Systems, which has also ...

, Poplar. ** , launched 12 August 1893, sold for breaking up 14 May 1912. ** , launched 3 December 1893, sold for breaking up 12 October 1909. *; both built by Laird Brothers,

Birkenhead Birkenhead (; cy, Penbedw) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England; Historic counties of England, historically, it was part of Cheshire until 1974. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the south bank of the R ...

. ** , launched 9 December 1893, dismantled 1910 and sunk as target 1911. ** , launched 24 January 1894, sold for breaking up 10 April 1912.

The 27-knotter group

Initially six torpedo boat destroyers (the Thornycroft and Yarrow vessels below) were ordered under the 1893-94 Programme, but a series of follow-up orders raised the programme to thirty-six vessels. The initial Estimates contained a sum of about £651,000 for payments on fourteen vessels, but the postponement of the First Class cruiser programme for that year allowed twenty-five destroyers to be ordered in that year, with the balance of eleven vessels funded under the 1894-95 Estimates (but still under the 1893-94 Programme).Lyon, op.cit., p.20. *; all built by John I. Thornycroft & Company, Chiswick. ** , launched 16 October 1894, sold for breaking up 10 October 1911. ** , launched 28 November 1894, lost in collision with SS ''St Patrick'' in the Channel 8 February 1918. ** , launched 27 February 1895, sold for breaking up 26 May 1914. *; all built by Yarrow Shipbuilders Ltd, Poplar. ** , launched 15 September 1894, sold for breaking up 14 May 1912. ** , launched 28 November 1894, sold for breaking up 14 May 1912. ** , launched 16 June 1894, sold for breaking up 9 July 1912. *; all built by Laird Brothers,

** , launched 17 November 1894, sold for breaking up 10 April 1912. ** , launched 1 December 1894, sold for breaking up 11 July 1911. ** , launched 15 December 1894, sold for breaking up 9 July 1912. *; all built by J. Samuel White,

Cowes Cowes () is an English seaport town and civil parish on the Isle of Wight. Cowes is located on the west bank of the estuary of the River Medina, facing the smaller town of East Cowes on the east bank. The two towns are linked by the Cowes ...

** , launched 13 December 1894, sold for breaking up 20 May 1920. ** , launched 9 February 1895, sold for breaking up 9 July 1912. ** , launched 27 February 1895, sold for breaking up 20 May 1920. *; both built by Hanna, Donald & Wilson, Paisley. ** , launched 20 March 1895, sold for breaking up 20 May 1920. ** , launched 10 May 1895, sold for breaking up 20 May 1920. *; all built by Fairfields,

Govan Govan ( ; Cumbric?: ''Gwovan'?''; Scots: ''Gouan''; Scottish Gaelic: ''Baile a' Ghobhainn'') is a district, parish, and former burgh now part of south-west City of Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated west of Glasgow city centre, on the south b ...

** , launched 9 March 1895, sold for breaking up 1916 at Hong Kong. ** , launched 27 March 1895, sold for breaking up 1912 at Hong Kong. ** , launched 28 December 1895, sold for breaking up 10 April 1912. *; both built by

William Doxford & Sons William Doxford & Sons Ltd, often referred to simply as Doxford, was a British shipbuilding and marine engineering company. History William Doxford founded the company in 1840. From 1870 it was based in Pallion, Sunderland, on the River Wea ...

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

. ** , launched 16 December 1895, sold for breaking up 11 July 1911. ** , launched 18 September 1895, sold for breaking up 10 April 1912. *; all built by Palmers,

Jarrow Jarrow ( or ) is a town in South Tyneside in the county of Tyne and Wear, England. It is east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is situated on the south bank of the River Tyne, about from the east coast. It is home to the southern portal of the ...

. ** , launched 12 March 1895, sold for breaking up 1914 at Hong Kong. ** , launched 10 April 1895, sunk, probably by mine, 30 June 1915. ** , launched 19 September 1895, sold for breaking up 29 April 1920. *; all built by Hawthorn,

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is a ...

. ** , launched 9 August 1895, sold for breaking up 7 June 1920. ** , launched 4 October 1895, sold for breaking up 29 July 1920. ** , launched 28 May 1895, sold for breaking up 20 July 1920. *; all built by J & G Thomson (later to become John Brown and Company),

Clydebank Clydebank ( gd, Bruach Chluaidh) is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland. Situated on the north bank of the River Clyde, it borders the village of Old Kilpatrick (with Bowling and Milton beyond) to the west, and the Yoker and Drumchapel areas ...

. ** , launched 14 August 1894, sold for breaking up 10 April 1912. ** , launched 22 September 1894, sold for breaking up 11 July 1911. ** , launched 10 November 1894, sold for breaking up 23 March 1920. *; both built by

Earle's Earle's Shipbuilding was an engineering company that was based in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England from 1845 to 1932. Earle Brothers The company was started in Hull in 1845 by two brothers, Charles and William Earle. The firm was made u ...

Kingston upon Hull Kingston upon Hull, usually abbreviated to Hull, is a port city and unitary authorities of England, unitary authority in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber Estuary, inland from ...

. ** , launched 15 January 1895, sold for breaking up 14 May 1912. ** , launched 30 January 1895, sold for breaking up 14 May 1912. *; all built by Naval Construction and Armament Company (later to become Vickers and eventually

Vickers-Armstrongs Vickers-Armstrongs Limited was a British engineering conglomerate formed by the merger of the assets of Vickers Limited and Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Company in 1927. The majority of the company was nationalised in the 1960s and 1970s, w ...

Barrow in Furness Barrow-in-Furness is a port town in Cumbria, England. Historically in Lancashire, it was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1867 and merged with Dalton-in-Furness Urban District in 1974 to form the Borough of Barrow-in-Furness. In 2023 the ...

. ** , launched 21 July 1894, sold for breaking up 14 May 1912. ** , launched 26 January 1895, sold for breaking up 15 May 1912. ** , launched 13 March 1895, sold for breaking up 9 April 1907. *; both built by Armstrong Mitchell and Company (later part of Vickers-Armstrongs), Elswick,

** , launched 7 June 1895, sold for breaking up 11 October 1910. ** , launched 27 February 1895, sold for breaking up 10 April 1912. * ''Zebra'' class; built by

Thames Iron Works The Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company, Limited was a shipyard and iron works straddling the mouth of Bow Creek at its confluence with the River Thames, at Leamouth Wharf (often referred to as Blackwall) on the west side and at Canning ...

, Bow Creek ** , launched 13 December 1895, sold for breaking up 30 July 1914.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * *

External links

* {{WWI British ships Destroyer classes Ship classes of the Royal Navy