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

class Class, Classes, 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 d ...

of twenty

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...

s built for the

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

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. 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 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 () was a naval battle between Britain's Royal Navy Grand Fleet, under Admiral John Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe, Sir John Jellicoe, and the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet, under Vice-Admiral Reinhard Scheer, durin ...

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 (ship), 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 t ...

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

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with (one of Thornycroft's ships, , was planned to diesel 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 () had semi-geared turbinesFriedman 2009, p. 127. giving a speed of on trials, with a seventh from Fairfields had a clipper bow. The eighth 'special' was by William Denny, Dumbarton, which was built using longitudinal framing 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 as the 4th Destroyer Flotilla, 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

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and then to

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by the end of 1916, before dispersing, some ships to the 6th Destroyer Flotilla 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 Dov ...

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