The W and Z 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 differentl ...
of sixteen
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 of the
Royal Navy launched in 1943–1944. They were constructed as two flotillas, with names beginning with "W-" and "Z-", respectively, although, like the preceding , two of the
flotilla leaders were named after historical naval figures (as had been Royal Navy practice during the inter-war years). They were known as the 9th and 10th Emergency Flotilla, respectively and served as
fleet and
convoy escorts in
World War II. None were lost during World War II but
INS ''Eilat'' (originally HMS ''Zealous'') was sunk during the Israel-Egypt conflict in October 1967 by Egyptian missile boats and the ''
El Qaher'' (originally HMS ''Myngs'') of the Egyptian Navy was sunk at Berenice, Egypt on 16 May 1970 by Israeli Air Force aircraft during the
War of Attrition.
Design
Repeats of the preceding U and V-class destroyers, with modified director structures. The Z class were armed with 4.5 inch guns.
[March, p.419.]
Ships
W class
Z class
See also
* The
V and W-class destroyer
The V and W class was an amalgam of six similar classes of destroyer built for the Royal Navy under the 9th, 10th, 13th and 14th of fourteen War Emergency Programmes during the First World War and generally treated as one class. For their t ...
s: World War I destroyer class.
*
Type 15 frigate: postwar full conversion of Wartime Emergency Programme destroyers into first-rate fast
anti-submarine
An anti-submarine weapon (ASW) is any one of a number of devices that are intended to act against a submarine and its crew, to destroy (sink) the vessel or reduce its capability as a weapon of war. In its simplest sense, an anti-submarine weapo ...
frigate
A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat.
The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...
s
References
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External links
{{WWII British ships
Destroyer classes
Ship classes of the Royal Navy