R-class destroyer (1916)

For the R class of destroyers built in 1942, see Q and R-class destroyer.

The first R class were a class of 62 destroyers built between 1916 and 1917 for the Royal Navy. They were an improvement, specifically in the area of fuel economy, of the earlier Admiralty M-class destroyers. The most important difference was that the Admiralty R class had two shafts and geared turbines, compared with the three shafts and direct turbines of the Admiralty M class, but in appearance the R class could be distinguished from its predecessors by having the after 4-inch gun mounted in a bandstand. The Admiralty ordered the first two of this class of ships in May 1915. Another seventeen were ordered in July 1915, a further eight in December 1915, and a final twenty-three in March 1916 (of which eleven were to a slightly modified design).

HMS Skate in 1942
Class overview
Name	R class
Operators	Royal Navy  Royal Thai Navy
Preceded by	Admiralty M class
Succeeded by	Admiralty V class S class
Built	1916–1917
In commission	1916–1957
Completed	62
Lost	8
Preserved	1 (HMS Radiant, transferred to Royal Siamese Navy in 1920 and renamed Phra Ruang, survives as hulk
General characteristics
Type	Destroyer
Displacement	975 long tons (991 t) standard 1,035 long tons (1,052 t) built by Thornycroft 930 long tons (940 t) built by Yarrow
Length	276 ft (84.1 m)
Beam	26 ft 9 in (8.15 m)
Draught	9 ft 10 in (3.00 m)
Propulsion	3 boilers 2 geared Brown Curtis steam turbines, 27,000 shp
Speed	36 knots (41.4 mph; 66.7 km/h)
Range	3,440 nmi (6,370 km) at 15 kn (28 km/h)
Complement	82
Armament	3 × QF 4-inch (101.6 mm) Mark IV guns, mounting P Mk. IX 1 × single 2-pounder (40-mm) "pom-pom" Mk. II anti-aircraft gun 4 × 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes (2×2)

As well as these fifty ships to the standard 'Admiralty' design, twelve more R class were designed and built by the two specialist builders Yarrow Shipbuilders and John I. Thornycroft & Company to their own separate designs. Three were ordered from Thornycroft and four from Yarrow in July 1915, and two from Thornycroft and three from Yarrow in December 1915.

They were the last three-funnelled destroyers ordered by the Royal Navy (although HMS Bristol commissioned in 1973 had three funnels, these were not all on the centreline). All of these ships saw extensive service in World War I. Some saw service as minelayers. Eight R-class ships were sunk during the war and all but two of the surviving ships were scrapped in the 1920s and 1930s. One Admiralty R-class vessel, HMS Skate, survived to see service in World War II as a convoy escort, making her the oldest destroyer to see wartime service with the Royal Navy. A second, HMS Radiant was transferred to the Royal Siamese Navy as Phra Ruang in September 1920.

Ships in class

The ships of this class were ordered under the 5th through 8th War Emergency Programmes through which the government funded the United Kingdom's increased ship production during World War I. The first two prototypes of this class were ordered in May 1915 as part of the 5th War Programme and larger numbers followed, as summarized in the following table:

War Programme	Ordered	Admiralty R	Admiralty Modified R	Thornycroft R	Yarrow R
5	May 1915	2	-	-	-
6	July 1915	17	-	3	4
7	December 1915	8	-	2	-
8	March 1916	12	11	-	3

Admiralty R-class destroyers

Name	Pennant	Builder	Laid down	Launched	Commissioned	Disposed	Status	Ref
5th War Programme order in May 1915 (2 ships)
Radstock	D94, H64, G76, G79, G81	Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson	6 September 1915	8 June 1916	20 September 1916	29 April 1927	Sold for scrap	[citation needed]
Raider	D95, G41, G81, G82, G86	Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson	October 1915	17 July 1916	October 1916	29 April 1927	Sold for scrap	[citation needed]
6th War Programme order in July 1915 (17 ships)
Romola	G15, G18, G53, G83	John Brown & Company, Clydebank	25 August 1915	14 May 1916	17 August 1916	13 March 1930	Scrapped	[citation needed]
Rowena	D84, F45, H85, G81, G90	John Brown & Company, Clydebank	25 August 1915	1 July 1916	29 September 1916	27 January 1937	Scrapped	[citation needed]
Restless	G85, G88	John Brown & Company, Clydebank	22 September 1915	12 August 1916	21 October 1916	23 November 1936	Scrapped	[citation needed]
Rigorous	G86, G90	John Brown & Company, Clydebank	22 September 1915	30 September 1916	30 November 1916	5 November 1926	Scrapped	[citation needed]
Rocket	G43, G82, G88, H76	William Denny and Brothers, Dumbarton	28 September 1915	2 July 1916	7 October 1916	16 December 1926	Scrapped	[citation needed]
Rob Roy		William Denny and Brothers, Dumbarton	15 October 1915	29 August 1916	15 December 1916	13 July 1926	Scrapped	[citation needed]
Redgauntlet	F51, F58, F97, FA4	William Denny and Brothers, Dumbarton	28 September 1915	23 November 1916	7 February 1917	July 1927	Scrapped	[citation needed]
Redoubt	F56, F57	William Doxford & Sons, Sunderland		28 October 1916		13 July 1926	Scrapped	[citation needed]
Recruit		William Doxford & Sons, Sunderland		9 December 1916	April 1917	9 August 1917	Sunk by submarine	[1]
Sable	G44, G91, H93	J. Samuel White, Cowes		26 June 1916	30 November 1916	August 1927	Scrapped	[citation needed]
Setter	F55, G98	J. Samuel White, Cowes		18 August 1916	12 February 1917	17 May 1917	Sunk after collision	[citation needed]
Salmon (renamed Sable)	F18, G93, G94, H36, H58	Harland and Wolff, Govan	27 August 1915	7 October 1916	20 December 1916	28 January 1937	Sold for scrap	[citation needed]
Sylph	D93, F54, F68, G69, H0A	Harland and Wolff, Govan	30 August 1916	15 November 1916	10 February 1917	16 December 1926	Sold for scrap	[citation needed]
Sarpedon	F15, G14, G19, G21, G82	R. & W. Hawthorn, Leslie and Company, Hebburn on Tyne	27 September 1915	1 June 1916	2 September 1916	23 July 1926	Sold for scrap	[citation needed]
Sorceress	G68, G93, G94, H66	Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson, Wallsend-on-Tyne	13 November 1915	29 August 1916	4 December 1916	29 April 1927	Sold for scrap	[citation needed]
Sturgeon	F47, F49, G17	Alexander Stephen and Sons, Linthouse, Govan	10 November 1915	11 January 1917	26 February 1917	16 December 1926	Sold for scrap	[citation needed]
Sceptre	F60, F79	Alexander Stephen and Sons, Linthouse, Govan	10 November 1915	18 April 1917	26 May 1917	1926	Sold for scrap	[citation needed]
7th War Programme order in December 1915 (8 ships)
Satyr	F51, F59, G52, H78	William Beardmore and Company, Dalmuir	April 1916	27 December 1916	2 February 1917	16 December 1926	Sold for scrap	[citation needed]
Sharpshooter	F48, F61	William Beardmore and Company, Dalmuir	May 1916	27 February 1917	2 April 1917	29 April 1927	Sold for scrap	[citation needed]
Simoom		John Brown & Company, Clydebank	23 May 1916	30 October 1916	22 December 1916	23 January 1917	Sunk by torpedo boat	[citation needed]
Skate		John Brown & Company, Clydebank	12 January 1916	11 January 1917	19 February 1917	1947	Sold for scrap	[citation needed]
Skilful		Harland and Wolff, Govan		3 February 1917		13 July 1926	Sold for scrap	[citation needed]
Springbok		Harland and Wolff, Govan	27 January 1916	9 March 1917	30 April 1917	16 December 1926	Sold for scrap	[citation needed]
Starfish	F60, F64, G50, H70		R. & W. Hawthorn, Leslie and Company, Hebburn on Tyne	27 September 1916		21 April 1928	Sold for scrap	[citation needed]
Stork	F65, F66, G60, H90	R. & W. Hawthorn, Leslie and Company, Hebburn on Tyne	10 April 1916	25 November 1916	1 February 1917	7 October 1927	Sold for scrap	[citation needed]
8th War Programme order in March 1916 (12 ships)
Tancred	F12, F85, G07, G08, G79, H67	William Beardmore and Company, Dalmuir	5 November 1916	30 June 1917	1 September 1917	17 May 1928	Sold for scrap	[citation needed]
Tarpon	F22, F65, F72, F79, H97	John Brown & Company, Clydebank	12 April 1916	10 March 1917	April 1917	4 August 1927	Sold for scrap	[citation needed]
Telemachus	F23, F66, F81, F86, H98	John Brown & Company, Clydebank	12 April 1916	21 April 1917	June 1917	July 1927	Sold for scrap	[citation needed]
Tempest		Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company		26 January 1917	April 1917	January 1937	Sold for scrap	[citation needed]
Tenacious	F96, G02, G61, H1A	Harland and Wolff, Govan; J. Samuel White, Cowes	25 July 1916	21 March 1917	12 August 1917	26 June 1928	Sold for scrap	[citation needed]
Tetrarch	F74, F87, G54, H59	Harland and Wolff, Govan; J. Samuel White, Cowes	26 July 1916	20 April 1917	2 June 1917	28 July 1934	Sold for scrap	[citation needed]
Thisbe	F75, F82, G80, H72	R. & W. Hawthorn, Leslie and Company, Hebburn on Tyne	June 1916	8 March 1917	6 June 1917	31 August 1936	Sold for scrap	[citation needed]
Thruster	F74, F76, G81, H73	R. & W. Hawthorn, Leslie and Company, Hebburn on Tyne	2 June 1916	10 January 1917	30 March 1917	16 March 1937	Sold for scrap	[citation needed]
Tormentor		Alexander Stephen and Sons, Linthouse, Govan		22 May 1917		19 November 1929	Sold for scrap; sunk in transit	[citation needed]
Tornado		Alexander Stephen and Sons, Linthouse, Govan		4 August 1917	November 1917	23 December 1917	Sunk by mines	[citation needed]
Torrent		Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson, Wallsend-on-Tyne		26 November 1916	February 1917	23 December 1917	Sunk by mines	[citation needed]
Torrid		Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson, Wallsend-on-Tyne	19 July 1916	10 February 1917	5 May 1917	27 January 1937	Sunk by mines	[citation needed]

Admiralty Modified R-class destroyers

The remaining eleven ships ordered in March 1916 were of the Admiralty Modified R class with a slightly increased breadth of 27 ft, a draught of 11 ft, and a tonnage of 1,085. These ships had two funnels.

Name	Pennant	Builder	Laid down	Launched	Commissioned	Disposed	Status	Ref
8th War Programme order in March 1916 (11 ships)
Trenchant	G78, G96	J. Samuel White, Cowes		23 December 1916	30 April 1917	15 November 1928	Sold for scrap	[citation needed]
Tristram	F11, F25, F89	J. Samuel White, Cowes	23 September 1916	24 February 1917	30 June 1917	9 May 1921	Sold for scrap	[citation needed]
Tirade	F07, F81, G80, HA7	Scotts Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, Greenock	1 May 1916	21 April 1917	30 June 1917	15 November 1921	Sold for scrap	[citation needed]
Tower		Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson, Wallsend-on-Tyne	September 1916	5 April 1917		17 May 1928	Sold for scrap	[citation needed]
Ulster	F01, F17, F91, H09	William Beardmore and Company, Dalmuir		10 October 1917	21 November 1917	21 April 1928	Sold for scrap	[citation needed]
Ulysses		William Doxford & Sons, Sunderland		24 March 1917		29 October 1918	Sunk following collision	[citation needed]
Umpire	F02, F26, F94, H10	William Doxford & Sons, Sunderland		9 June 1917	August 1917	7 January 1930	Sold for scrap	[citation needed]
Undine	F03, G79, G97, H61	Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company	23 September 1916	22 March 1917	26 May 1917	28 September 1927	Sold for scrap; sunk in transit	[citation needed]
Urchin	F04, F99, H62	Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Company		7 June 1917	August 1917	7 January 1930	Sold for scrap	[citation needed]
Ursa	F05, F10, H63	Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Company		23 July 1917	16 October 1917	13 July 1926	Sold for scrap	[citation needed]
Ursula	F01, F84, F88, H11	Scotts Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, Greenock	22 September 1916	21 April 1917	26 September 1917	19 November 1929	Sold for scrap	[citation needed]

Thornycroft R-class ships

Name	Pennant	Builder	Laid down	Launched	Commissioned	Disposed	Status	Ref
6th War Programme order in July 1915 (3 ships)
Rosalind	D87, G64, G89, G95	John I. Thornycroft & Company, Woolston	October 1915	14 October 1916	December 1916	13 July 1926	Sold for scrap	[citation needed]
Radiant		John I. Thornycroft & Company, Woolston		25 November 1916	February 1917	21 June 1920	Sold to Thailand as Phra Ruang	[citation needed]
Retriever		John I. Thornycroft & Company, Woolston		15 January 1917		26 July 1927	Sold for scrap	[citation needed]
7th War Programme order in December 1915 (2 ships)
Taurus	D82, F39, F70, F71, H30	John I. Thornycroft & Company, Woolston	March 1916	10 March 1917	May 1917	18 February 1930	Sold for scrap	[citation needed]
Teazer	D83, F40, F71, F93, H17	John I. Thornycroft & Company, Woolston	March 1916	21 April 1917	July 1917	6 February 1931	Sold for scrap	[citation needed]

Only a single R-class destroyer was passed on from the Royal Navy for service in another service:

Name	Former name	Operator	Service entry	Service exit	Status	Ref
Phra Ruang	ex-Radiant	Royal Thai Navy	September 1920	1957	Stricken	[citation needed]

Yarrow R-class ships

These seven ships built by Yarrow Shipbuilders were sometimes classified as the Yarrow Later M-class destroyer. These ships had two funnels.

Name	Pennant	Builder	Laid down	Launched	Commissioned	Disposed	Status	Ref
6th War Programme order in July 1915 (4 ships)
Sabrina		Yarrow Shipbuilders	August 1915	24 July 1916	September 1916	5 November 1926	Sold for scrap	[citation needed]
Strongbow		Yarrow Shipbuilders		30 September 1916	November 1916	17 October 1917	Sunk by cruisers	[citation needed]
Surprise		Yarrow Shipbuilders		25 November 1916	February 1917	23 December 1917	Sunk by mines	[citation needed]
Sybille		Yarrow Shipbuilders	August 1915	5 February 1917	February 1917	5 November 1926	Sold for scrap	[citation needed]
8th War Programme order in March 1916 (3 ships)
Truculent		Yarrow Shipbuilders	March 1916	24 March 1917	May 1917	29 April 1927	Sold for scrap	[citation needed]
Tyrant		Yarrow Shipbuilders	March 1916	19 May 1917	July 1917	April 1938	Sold for scrap	[citation needed]
Ulleswater		Yarrow Shipbuilders	1916	4 August 1917		15 August 1918	Sunk by submarine	[citation needed]

See also

• List of destroyer classes of the Royal Navy

References

1. Kemp, Paul (1999). The Admiralty Regrets: British Warship Losses of the 20th Century. Sutton Publishing Ltd. p. 55. ISBN 0-7509-1567-6. OCLC 46471901.

Bibliography

• Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.
• British Destroyers: A History of Development, 1892–1953 Drawn by Admiralty Permission from Official Records and Returns, Ships' Covers and Building Plans, Edgar J. March 1966, Seeley, Service & Co OCLC 468636240.
• Destroyers of the Royal Navy, 1893–1981, Maurice Cocker, 1983, Ian Allan ISBN 0-7110-1075-7
• British Destroyers, From Earliest Days to the Second World War Norman Friedman, 2009, ISBN 978-1-84832-049-9

External links