The ''Acasta'' class (in September 1913 re-designated the K class) was a

class Class or The Class may refer to: Common uses not otherwise categorized * Class (biology), a taxonomic rank * Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects * Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used differently ...

of twenty

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 ...

s built for the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...

under the Naval Programme of 1911 - 1912 that saw service during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. They were the last class of Royal Navy destroyers to have mixed names with no systematic theme (see

naming conventions for destroyers of the Royal Navy In the Royal Navy there have been a variety of naming conventions for destroyers. Origins Destroyers were originally developed as a defence against torpedo boats, and the first torpedo boat destroyer (TBD) in the Royal Navy was of 1893. From ...

for more information.) When the class was designated as "K", names beginning with that letter were allocated to the ships but never used.No class of ships were designated as J class.Friedman 2009, p. 129. The class saw extensive wartime service and seven were lost, including four at the

Battle of Jutland The Battle of Jutland (german: Skagerrakschlacht, the Battle of the Skagerrak) was a naval battle fought between Britain's Royal Navy Grand Fleet, under Admiral Sir John Jellicoe, and the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet, under Vice ...

Design

The ''Acasta''s were larger and heavier armed than the preceding H and I classes ( and , respectively), displacing about 25% more and with the mixed calibre armament replaced with a uniform fit of QF 4-inch guns, which the ''Acasta''s introduced. Previous weapons had been of the breech-loading ( BL) type. The 4-in guns were shipped one on the

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 " ...

and one at the stern, as in the ''Acheron'' class, while the third was variously sited on the centreline between the two torpedo tubes or abaft both.March. ''British Destroyers'', pp. 125, 129, 130. All ships had three funnels, the foremost being tall and narrow, the second short and wide and the third level with the second but narrower. The foremost torpedo tube was sited between the second and third funnels, a distinctive feature of this class. There were twelve 'standard' vessels built to a common Admiralty design, and eight builders' specials that (except for ''Garland'') had a shorter, less beamy hull; five of the latter were from Thornycroft with (one of Thornycroft's ships, , was planned to

diesel Diesel may refer to: * Diesel engine, an internal combustion engine where ignition is caused by compression * Diesel fuel, a liquid fuel used in diesel engines * Diesel locomotive, a railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engi ...

cruising motors, but these were not ready in time and ''Hardy'' was completed with Thornycroft's standard machinery).Friedman 2009, pp. 126–129. One by

Parsons Parsons may refer to: Places In the United States: * Parsons, Kansas, a city * Parsons, Missouri, an unincorporated community * Parsons, Tennessee, a city * Parsons, West Virginia, a town * Camp Parsons, a Boy Scout camp in the state of Washingt ...

() had semi-geared turbinesFriedman 2009, p. 127. giving a speed of on trials, with a seventh from

Fairfields Fairfields is a district and civil parish that covers a large new development area on the western flank of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. As the first tier of Local Government, the parish council is responsible for the people who liv ...

had a clipper bow. The eighth 'special' was by William Denny, Dumbarton, which was built using

longitudinal framing Longitudinal framing (also called the Isherwood system after British naval architect Sir Joseph Isherwood, who patented it in 1906) is a method of ship construction in which large, widely spaced transverse frames are used in conjunction with li ...

rather than conventional transverse framing. While ''Ardent'' novel construction seems to have been a success, no more destroyers were built for the Royal Navy using longitudinal framing until the J-class destroyers in the 1930s.Brown 2010, pp. 70–71.

Service

At the outbreak of World War I until mid-1916, the ''Acasta''s were serving in the

Grand Fleet The Grand Fleet was the main battlefleet of the Royal Navy during the First World War. It was established in August 1914 and disbanded in April 1919. Its main base was Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands. History Formed in August 1914 from the F ...

as the

4th Destroyer Flotilla The British 4th Destroyer Flotilla , or Fourth Destroyer Flotilla, was a naval formation of the Royal Navy from August 1909 to July 1951. History In 1907 the Home Fleet had a large formation of destroyers called the Home Fleet Flotilla of destr ...

, with as leader. By the time of the

the leader was the , with ''Ardent'', ''Fortune'', ''Shark'' and ''Sparrowhawk'' lost in the course of the battle and ''Acasta'' was so badly damaged that she had to be practically rebuilt. After Jutland the remainder of the flotilla moved to the

Humber The Humber is a large tidal estuary on the east coast of Northern England. It is formed at Trent Falls, Faxfleet, by the confluence of the tidal rivers Ouse and Trent. From there to the North Sea, it forms part of the boundary between ...

and then to

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most d ...

by the end of 1916, before dispersing, some ships to the

6th Destroyer Flotilla The British 6th Destroyer Flotilla, or Sixth Destroyer Flotilla, was a military formation of the Royal Navy from 1911 to 1939 and again from 1947 to 1951 History The flotilla was formed in 1911 at Portsmouth, with its first commander, Captain Mo ...

and the

Dover Patrol The Dover Patrol and later known as the Dover Patrol Force was a Royal Navy command of the First World War, notable for its involvement in the Zeebrugge Raid on 22 April 1918. The Dover Patrol formed a discrete unit of the Royal Navy based at Dove ...

and the remainder to Devonport. All survivors of the war were sold out of service for scrapping by 1921.

Ships

Admiralty K class

K-class Builders' specials

File:HMS Acasta, Acasta-class destroyer - IWM Q 75130.jpg, HMS ''Acasta'' File:HMS Ambuscade.jpg, HMS ''Ambuscade'' File:HMS Ardent (1913).jpg, HMS ''Ardent'' File:HMS Contest.jpg, HMS ''Contest'' File:HMS Hardy (1913).jpg, HMS ''Hardy'' at speed File:HMS Midge, Acasta-class destroyer - IWM Q 75123.jpg, HMS ''Midge'' File:HMSSpitfireJutlanddamage.jpg, HMS ''Spitfire'' showing damage sustained at Jutland File:HMS Unity, Acasta-class destroyer - IWM Q 75117.jpg, HMS ''Unity'' File:HMS Victor, Acasta-class destroyer. - IWM Q 75116.jpg, ''Victor''

Notes

References

Bibliography

* Brown, David K., ''The Grand Fleet: Warship Design and Development 1906–1922''. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing, 2010. . * Maurice Cocker, ''Destroyers of the Royal Navy, 1893-1981'', 1983, Ian Allan * Friedman, Norman, ''British Destroyers: From Earliest Days to the Second World War'', Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing, 2009. .

External links

{{WWI British ships Destroyer classes Ship classes of the Royal Navy World War I destroyers of the United Kingdom