C-class destroyer (1943)

The C class was a class of 32 destroyers of the Royal Navy that were launched from 1943 to 1945. The class was built in four flotillas of 8 vessels, the "Ca", "Ch", "Co" and "Cr" groups or sub-classes, ordered as the 11th, 12th, 13th and 14th Emergency Flotillas respectively. The sub-class names are derived from the initial 2 letters of the member ships' names, although the "Ca" class were originally ordered with a heterogeneous mix of traditional destroyer names. A fifth flotilla, the "Ce" or 15th Emergency Flotilla, was planned but were cancelled in favour of the Weapon-class destroyers after only the first two ships had been ordered. The pennant numbers were all altered from "R" superior to "D" superior at the close of World War II; this involved some renumbering to avoid duplications.

For other classes of the same name, see C class destroyer.

Class overview
Operators:
Preceded by: W and Z class
Succeeded by: Weapon class
Subclasses: Ca-, Ch-, Co-, Cr-
In commission: 1944 - 1972
Planned: 34
Completed: 32
Cancelled: 2
Retired: 31
Preserved: 1
General characteristics Ca class[1]
Type: Destroyer
Displacement:
Length:
  • 362 ft 9 in (110.57 m) o/a
  • 339 ft 6 in (103.48 m) pp
Beam: 35 ft 9 in (10.90 m)
Draught: 10 ft (3.05 m)
Propulsion:
  • 2 Admiralty 3-drum boilers,
  • Parsons single-reduction geared steam turbines,
  • 40,000 shp (30 MW), 2 shafts
Speed:
  • 36 kn (67 km/h; 41 mph)
  • 32 kn (59 km/h; 37 mph) (full load)
Range:
  • 4,675 nautical miles (8,658 km; 5,380 mi) at 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph)
  • 1,400 nautical miles (2,600 km; 1,600 mi) at 32 knots (59 km/h; 37 mph)
Complement: 186 (222 as leader)
Armament:
General characteristics (Ch-, Co- & Cr- class)[3]
Displacement:
  • 1,900 long tons (1,930 t) standard
  • 2,535 long tons (2,576 t) full load
Draught: 10 ft 6 in (3.20 m)
Armament:
  • 4 × QF 4.5-inch (113-mm) L/45 Mk IV guns on mounts CP Mk.V
  • 2 × Bofors 40 mm L/60 guns on twin mount "Hazemeyer" Mk.IV;
  • 2 × single 2-pounder
  • 2 × 20 mm Oerlikon cannon[4]
Notes: Other characteristics as per Ca- class

Design

They were built as part of the War Emergency Programme, based on the hull and machinery of the pre-war J class, incorporating whatever advances in armament and naval radar were available at the time. Some of the class were completed in time for wartime service. All ships used the Fuze Keeping Clock High Angle Fire Control Computer.[5]

The "Ca" flotilla were generally repeats of the preceding Z class, and as such had a main gun armament of four QF 4.5 in (114 mm) Mk IV guns on Mk V mounts, which could elevate to 55 degrees to give an anti-aircraft capability. Close-in anti-aircraft armament generally consisted of two 40mm Bofors guns in a twin stabilized Hazemayer mount, supplemented by four single 2-pounder "pom-pom" anti aircraft guns on power operated mounts. Caprice differed in having a quadruple 2-pounder "pom-pom" instead of the Hazemayer Bofors mount, while Cassandra had eight Oerlikon 20 mm cannon instead of the single pom-poms. Torpedo armament consisted of eight 21 in (533 mm) torpedoes in two quadruple mounts, while 70 depth charges could be carried.[2][6]

The succeeding "Ch", "Co" and "Cr" flotillas were fitted with the new Mk VI HA/LA Director instead of the Mk I Type K director of the Z and Ca classes, while remote power control (RPC) gunlaying equipment was fitted. The additional weight of the new fire control equipment and the powered mountings for the 4.5 inch guns[lower-alpha 1] meant that only one quadruple torpedo mount was fitted, and the depth charge armament was reduced to 35 depth charges.[8] Most of the ships were fitted with a single Hazemayer Bofors mount, although some of the later ships instead had the lighter and simpler Mk V twin Bofors mount. This was normally supplemented by two power operated single pom-pom mounts and two 20 mm Oerlikon cannon.[9][10] They also introduced the all-welded hull into Royal Navy destroyer construction, beginning in Contest, with the "Cr" flotilla all being of all-welded construction.[9] Late delivery of the Mk VI directors delayed completion such that all but one of the "Ch"s, "Co"s or "Cr"s entered service after the end of the Second World War.[11] Only Comet was commissioned before VJ Day, in June 1945, albeit too late to see action.

Caprice was the last destroyer built for the Royal Navy to be fitted with the ubiquitous quadruple QF 2 pounder "pom-pom" mounting Mark VII.

The "Ca" flotilla were reconstructed in the late 1950s and early 1960s to be modernised for anti-submarine warfare and to serve as fast fleet escorts. One bank of torpedo tubes and one 4.5 in gun was removed, allowing two Squid triple-barreled anti-submarine mortars to be fitted, while the ships' obsolete gun Mk I Type K director was replaced by a modern Mk 6M director as fitted to Royal Navy frigates, and the remaining 4.5 in guns fitted with RPC. Close in anti-aircraft armament was standardised as a single Mk V twin and two single 40 mm Bofors mounts. The ships were also fitted with new bridges; the post-refit bridge differed between the first four conversions (Cavendish, Carron, Cavalier and Carysfort), with open bridges and the later four (Caprice, Cassandra, Caesar and Cambrian) which were given frigate-type enclosed bridges.[12][13]

The remaining "Ch", "Co" and Cr" ships in the Royal Navy were given a less extensive modernisation, with one 4.5 in gun being replaced by twin Squids, modified fire control and a close in anti aircraft armament of 1 twin and four single Bofors guns. Chieftain, Chaplet and Comet were fitted as minelayers.[14][15]

Engineering

The class were all fitted with two Admiralty 3-drum boilers with a pressure of 300 pounds per square inch (2,100 kPa) at 630 °F (332 °C). All had Parsons single-reduction geared turbines, generating 40,000 shaft horsepower (30,000 kW) at 350 RPM, and driving the two shafts to produce a maximum of 36 knots (67 km/h; 41 mph) (32 knots (59 km/h; 37 mph) under full load condition).[16] All were engined by their builders except Cossack and Constance, which were engined by Parsons.[17] Their bunkers could hold 615 tons of oil fuel, giving them a radius of 4,675 nautical miles (8,658 km; 5,380 mi) at 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph) and 1,400 nautical miles (2,600 km; 1,600 mi) at 32 knots (59 km/h; 37 mph).[1]

Ships

* = flotilla leaders

"Ca" (or 11th Emergency) Flotilla

This flotilla was authorised under the 1941 Programme. The first pair was ordered from Yarrow on 16 February 1942; the other six were ordered on 24 March, a pair each from John Brown, Scotts and Cammell Laird. However, on 12 August 1942 the contract for the last pair was moved from Cammell Laird to White. Their originally-allocated names were altered to new names beginning with "Ca-" in November 1942. The John Brown pair - Caesar and Cavendish - were fitted as Leaders.

On completion they formed the 6th Destroyer Flotilla for service in the Home Fleet. At the end of the war in Europe the flotilla was transferred to the East Indies Fleet and the ships arrived on station between August and November 1945, too late to see service against Japan. They remained in the Indian Ocean until May 1946 when they returned home and paid off into operational reserve.

Name Pennant Builder[6] Laid Down[6] Launched[6] Commissioned[6] Fate
Caprice (ex-Swallow) R01
later D01		 Yarrow, Scotstoun 28 September 1942 16 September 1943 5 April 1944 Modernised by Yarrow 1959. Paid off March 1973.[18]
Scrapped 1979 at Queenborough.[12][18]
Cassandra (ex-Tourmaline) R62
later D10		 Yarrow, Scotstoun 3 January 1943 29 November 1943 28 July 1944 Modernised by Yarrow 1960. Paid off January 1966.[19]
Scrapped at Inverkeithing in 1967.[12][19]
Caesar* (ex-Ranger) R07
later D07		 John Brown, Clydebank 3 April 1943 14 February 1944 5 October 1944 Modernised 1957-60 at Rosyth. Paid off June 1965.[20]
Scrapped 1967 at Blyth.[12][20]
Cavendish* (ex-Sibyl) R15
later D15		 John Brown, Clydebank 19 May 1943 12 April 1944 13 December 1944 Modernised 1956. Laid up 1964.[21]
Scrapped 1967 at Blyth.[12][21]
Cambrian (ex-Spitfire) R85
later D85		 Scotts, Greenock 14 August 1942 10 December 1943 14 July 1944
by John Brown		 Modernised 1963. Paid off December 1968.[22]
Scrapped 1971 at Briton Ferry.[12][22]
Carron (ex-Strenuous) R30
later D30		 Scotts, Greenock 26 November 1942 28 March 1944 6 November 1944 Modernised August 1955 as Training Ship. Paid off March 1963.[20]
Scrapped 1967 at Inverkeithing.[12][20]
Cavalier (ex-Pellew) R73
later D73		 White, Cowes 28 February 1943 7 April 1944 22 November 1944 Modernised 1957. Paid off July 1972.[21]
Sold October 1977 to be preserved as a museum ship,[21]
since 1999 preserved at Chatham Historic Dockyard, Kent.
Carysfort (ex-Pique) R25
later D25		 White, Cowes 12 May 1943 25 July 1944 20 February 1945 Modernised 1956. Paid off February 1969.[21]
Scrapped 1970 at Newport.[21]

"Ch" (or 12th Emergency) Flotilla

Six destroyers, the first of 26 'Intermediate' destroyers to be authorised under the 1942 Programme, were ordered on 24 July 1942, a pair each from Thornycroft, Scotts and Alexander Stephen. The fourth pair was originally intended to be ordered from Vickers Armstrongs, Walker-on-Tyne, but instead were ordered from Denny on 30 July. The Chequers and Childers were fitted as Leaders.

Name Pennant Builder[17] Laid Down[17] Launched[17] Commissioned[17] Fate
Chaplet R52 Thornycroft, Woolston 29 April 1943 18 July 1944 24 August 1945 Laid up 1961. Sold for scrapping 1965.[23]
Charity R29 Thornycroft, Woolston 9 July 1943 30 November 1944 19 November 1945 Transferred to Pakistan Navy as Shah Jehan 16 December 1958,[24] irreparably damaged by Indian Navy warships off Karachi 4 December 1971 and scrapped as a result
Chequers * R61 Scotts, Greenock 4 May 1943 30 October 1944 28 September 1945 Laid up 1964, scrapped 1966.[24]
Chieftain R36 Scotts, Greenock 27 June 1943 26 February 1945 7 March 1946 Scrapped 1961.[24]
Chevron R51 Alex. Stephen, Linthouse 18 March 1943 23 February 1944 23 August 1945 Accommodation ship at Rosyth, scrapped 1969.[23]
Cheviot R90 Alex. Stephen, Linthouse 27 April 1943 2 May 1944 11 December 1945 Harbour training ship at Rosyth 1960. Sold for scrapping 1962.[23]
Childers * R91 Denny, Dumbarton 27 November 1943 27 February 1945 19 December 1945 Laid up 1958. Sold for scrapping 1963.[24]
Chivalrous R21 Denny, Dumbarton 27 November 1943 22 June 1945 13 May 1946 Transferred to Pakistan Navy on 29 June 1954 as Taimur, scrapped 1961.[24]

"Co" (or 13th Emergency) Flotilla

The first four of these destroyers were ordered in August 1942 - Comus and Concord on 7th, Contest on 12th and Consort on 14th. The remaining four destroyers were ordered on 12 September; Constance and Cossack were fitted as Leaders.

Name Pennant Builder[17] Laid Down[17] Launched[17] Commissioned[17] Fate
Comus R43 Thornycroft 21 August 1943 14 March 1945 8 July 1946 Sold for scrapping 1958.[25][26]
Concord (ex-Corso) R63 Thornycroft 18 November 1943 14 May 1945 20 December 1946 Harbour Training Ship Rosyth. Sold for scrapping 1962.[25][26]
Contest R12 (later D48) White 1 November 1943 16 December 1944 9 November 1945 Sold for scrapping 1960[25]
Consort R76 Stephen 26 May 1943 19 October 1944 19 March 1946 Sold for scrapping 1961[27]
Cockade R34 Yarrow 11 March 1943 7 March 1944 29 September 1945 Paid off 1958. Sold for scrapping 1964.[28]
Comet R26 Yarrow 14 June 1943 22 June 1944 6 June 1945 Paid off 1958. Sold for scrapping 1962.[27]
Constance* R71 Vickers Armstrongs, Walker 18 March 1943 22 August 1944 31 December 1945 Sold for scrapping 1956.[27]
Cossack* R57 Vickers Armstrongs, Walker 18 March 1943 10 May 1944 4 September 1945 Sold for scrapping 1961.[28]

"Cr" (or 14th Emergency) Flotilla

All eight destroyers were ordered on 12 September 1942, two each from John Brown, Yarrow, White and Scotts; the John Brown pair - Crescent and Crusader - were fitted as Leaders.

Name Pennant Builder[17] Laid Down[17] Launched[17] Commissioned[17] Fate
Crescent* R16 John Brown 16 August 1943 20 July 1944 21 August 1945 To Canada 1945,[29] extensive modernisation to anti-submarine Destroyer Escort 1952–56. Scrapped 1971.[30]
Crusader* R20 John Brown 15 November 1943 5 October 1944 26 November 1945 To Canada 1945,[29] Scrapped 1964.[31]
Croziers R20 Yarrow 26 October 1943 19 August 1944 30 November 1945 To Norway as Trondheim 1945, sold for scrapping 1961.[29]
Crystal R38 Yarrow 13 January 1944 12 February 1945 6 February 1946 To Norway as Stavanger 1945, scrapped 1967.[29]
Crispin (ex-Craccher) R68 White 1 February 1944 23 June 1945 10 July 1946 To Pakistan as Jahangir 18 March 1958,[32] scrapped 1982.[33]
Creole R82 White 3 August 1944 22 November 1945 14 October 1946 To Pakistan as Alamgir 20 June 1958,[32] scrapped 1982.[33]
Cromwell (ex-Cretan) R35 Scott's 24 November 1943 6 August 1945 16 September 1946 To Norway as Bergen 1946, scrapped 1967.[29]
Crown R46 Scott's 16 January 1944 19 December 1945 17 April 1947 To Norway as Oslo 1945, scrapped 1968.[29]

"Ce" (or 15th Emergency) Flotilla

Two ships of this putative flotilla, the last of the 26 "Intermediate"-type destroyers authorised under the 1942 Programme, were ordered on 3 February 1942 from White. These two ships were to be named Centaur and Celt. However, with the decision to introduce a fresh design of Intermediate destroyer (which became the Weapon-class destroyer design), the White orders were amended to the new design and the names of the two ships were altered to Tomahawk and Sword respectively. Tomahawk was subsequently renamed again, becoming Scorpion, while Sword was finally cancelled on 15 October 1945.

  • HMS Cavalier, Britain's only remaining World War II destroyer, preserved as a museum ship at Chatham Historic Dockyard.
  • HMS Charity, Korea, 1952.

See also

References

Notes
  1. The new director weighed 10 t compared with 6 t for the Mk I Type K, while adding RPC to the 4.5 in mounts increased weight by 1.7 t per mount.[7]

Footnotes
  1. Lenton 1970, p. 39.
  2. Gardiner and Chesneau 1980, p. 43.
  3. Lenton 2000, p. 45.
  4. Gardiner and Chesneau 1995, pp. 43–44.
  5. Destroyer Weapons of WW2, Hodges/Friedman, ISBN 0-85177-137-8
  6. Whitley 2000, p. 136.
  7. Hodges and Friedman 1979, pp. 86, 88.
  8. Whitley 2000, pp. 136, 138.
  9. Whitley p138.
  10. Gardiner and Chesneau 1980, p. 44.
  11. Lenton 1970, p. 43.
  12. Gardiner and Chumbley 1995, p. 506.
  13. Hodges and Friedman 1979, p. 85.
  14. Gardiner and Chumbley 1995, p. 490.
  15. Hodges and Friedman 1979, p. 92.
  16. Lenton 1970, pp. 39, 45, 49.
  17. Whitley 2000, pp. 136–137.
  18. Critchley 1982, p. 86.
  19. Critchley 1982, p. 87.
  20. Critchley 1982, p. 90.
  21. Critchley 1982, p. 92.
  22. Critchley 1982, p. 88.
  23. Critchley 1982, p. 94.
  24. Critchley 1982, p. 98.
  25. Critchley 1982, p. 102.
  26. Lenton 1970, p. 44.
  27. Critchley 1982, p. 101.
  28. Critchley 1982, p. 100.
  29. Lenton 1970, p. 48.
  30. Gardiner and Chumbley 1995, p. 44.
  31. Gardiner and Chumbley 1995, p. 41.
  32. Critchley 1982, p. 105.
  33. Gardiner and Chumbley 1995, p. 299.

Publications
  • Maurice Cocker, Destroyers of the Royal Navy, 1893-1981, Ian Allan: London, 1981. ISBN 0-7110-1075-7
  • Mike Critchley, British Warships Since 1945: Part 3: Destroyers, Maritime Books: Liskeard, UK, 1982. ISBN 0-9506323-9-2.
  • Norman Friedman, British Destroyers & Frigates: The Second World War and After, Chatham Publishing, ISBN 1-86176-137-6
  • Robert Gardiner and Roger Chesneau, Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946, Conway Maritime Press: London, 1980. ISBN 0-85177-146-7
  • Robert Gardiner and Stephen Chumbley, Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1947–1995, Naval Institute Press: Annapolis, Maryland, USA, 1995. ISBN 1-55750-132-7.
  • David Hobbs, C Class Destroyers, Maritime Books: Liskeard, UK, 2012. ISBN 1904459498
  • Peter Hodges and Norman Friedman, Destroyer Weapons of World War 2, Naval Institute Press: Annapolis Maryland, USA, 1979. ISBN 0-87021-929-4.
  • H. T. Lenton, British and Empire Warships of the Second World War, Greenhill Books, ISBN 1-85367-277-7
  • H. T. Lenton, Navies of the Second World War: British Fleet & Escort Destroyers Volume Two, Macdonald: London, 1970. ISBN 0-356-03122-5
  • George Moore, Building for Victory: The Warship Building Programmes of the Royal Navy 1939 - 1945, World Ship Society, ISBN 0-9543310-1-X
  • M.J. Whitley, Destroyers of World War Two: An International Encyclopedia, Cassell and Co.: London, 2000. ISBN 1-85409-521-8.
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