The B class as designated in 1913 was a heterogeneous group of torpedo boat destroyers (TBDs) built for the Royal Navy in the late 1890s. They were constructed to the individual designs of their builders to meet Admiralty specifications, the uniting feature being a specified top speed of 30 knots (56km/h) and four funnels, although the funnel spacings differed between ships. All "30 knotter" vessels with four funnels were classified by the Admiralty as the B class in 1913 to provide some system to the naming of HM destroyers. At the same time all "30 knotter" vessels with three funnels were classified by the Admiralty as the Cclass and those with two funnels became the Dclass.
Fourteen vessels were built by Laird Brothers at Birkenhead (in 1903 to become part of Cammell Laird, Birkenhead), seven by Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Company at Hebburn-on-Tyne, and one each by Armstrong Whitworth at Walker-on-Tyne, William Doxford and Sons at Sunderland, and J & G Thomson (later to become John Brown and Company) at Clydebank. All vessels had a distinctive "turtleback" forecastle that was intended to clear water from the bow, but actually tended to dig the bow into anything of a sea, resulting in a very wet conning position.
The last two Palmers boats, built in 1908, were replacements for the River-classGala and the C-class Tiger that had collided and sunk that year. They were generally similar to the River (or E-class) design, but were grouped with the B class as they possessed four funnels and were similarly armed, and made 27 knots (50km/h) on turbines.
Ships
Quailclass (all built by Laird, Birkenhead under the 1894–95 programme)
Quail, launched 24 September 1895, sold for breaking up 23 July 1919.
Sparrowhawk, launched 8 October 1895, wrecked off the Yangtze 17 June 1904.
Thrasher, launched 5 November 1895, sold for breaking up 4 November 1919.
Virago, launched 19 November 1895, sold for breaking up 10 October 1919.
Earnestclass (all built by Laird, Birkenhead under the 1895–96 programme)
Earnest, launched 7 November 1896, sold for breaking up 7 January 1920.
Griffon, launched 21 November 1896, sold for breaking up 7 January 1920.
Locust, launched 5 December 1896, sold for breaking up 6 October 1919.
Panther, launched 21 January 1897, sold for breaking up 7 June 1920.
Seal, launched 6 March 1897, sold for breaking up 17 March 1921.
Wolf, launched 2 June 1897, sold for breaking up 1 July 1921.
Express (built by Laird, Birkenhead as a steam-turbine powered "special" – under the 1896–97 programme)
Express, launched 11 December 1897, sold for breaking up 17 March 1920.
Orwell (built by Laird, Birkenhead under the 1897–98 programme)
Orwell, launched 29 September 1898, sold for breaking up 1 July 1920.
Livelyclass (both built by Laird, Birkenhead under the 1899–1900 programme)
Lively, launched 14 July 1900, sold for breaking up 1 July 1921.
Sprightly, launched 25 August 1900, sold for breaking up 1 July 1921.
Success (built by Doxford, Sunderland under the 1899–1900 programme)
Success, launched 21 March 1901, wrecked off Fife Ness 27 December 1914, becoming the first wartime destroyer loss.
Palmers 4-funnelled group (built by Palmers, Jarrow, Spiteful ordered under the 1897–98 programme, three purchased under the 1899–1900 Estimates and the Kangaroo purchased under a supplementary programme for 1900–01)
Spiteful, launched 11 January 1899, sold for breaking up 14 September 1920.
Peterel, launched 30 March 1899, sold for breaking up 30 August 1919.
Myrmidon, launched 26 May 1900, rammed and sunk by SS Hambourn in the English Channel, 26 March 1917.
Syren, launched 20 December 1900, sold for breaking up 14 September 1920.
Kangaroo, launched 29 December 1899 and purchased in July 1901, sold for breaking up 23 March 1920.
Arab (built by J & G Thomson, Clydebank as a high-speed "special" under the 1896–97 programme)
Arab, launched 9 February 1901, sold for breaking up 23 July 1919.
Cobra (built by Armstrong Whitworth, Elswick as a steam-turbine powered "special")
Cobra, launched 28 June 1899 and purchased 8 May 1900, wrecked while on delivery voyage 19 September 1901.
Palmers final group (steam turbine powered)
Albacore, launched 9 October 1906 and purchased 3 May 1909, sold for breaking up 1 August 1919.
Bonetta, launched 14 January 1907 and purchased 3 May 1909, sold for breaking up 7 June 1920.
Chesneau, Roger & Kolesnik, Eugene M., eds. (1979). Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN0-85177-133-5.
Dittmar, F.J.; Colledge, J. J. (1972). British Warships 1914–1919. Shepperton, UK: Ian Allan. ISBN0-7110-0380-7.
Friedman, Norman (2009). British Destroyers: From Earliest Days to the Second World War. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN978-1-84832-049-9.
Gardiner, Robert & Gray, Randal, eds. (1985). Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN0-85177-245-5.
Lyon, David (2001) [1996]. The First Destroyers. London: Caxton Editions. ISBN1-84067-364-8.
Manning, T. D. (1961). The British Destroyer. London: Putnam & Co. OCLC6470051.
March, Edgar J. (1966). British Destroyers: A History of Development, 1892–1953; Drawn by Admiralty Permission From Official Records & Returns, Ships' Covers & Building Plans. London: Seeley Service. OCLC164893555.
HMS Kangaroo was a B-class torpedo boat destroyer of the British Royal Navy. She served with the Dover Patrol in the First World War.
The River-class destroyer was a class of torpedo boat destroyer built for the Royal Navy at the turn of the 20th century, and which saw extensive service in World War I. The class introduced new features to destroyer design, placing a greater emphasis on seakeeping and endurance and less on a high maximum speed in good weather. All the ships were named after British and Irish rivers, and as such were the first Royal Navy destroyer class to be named systematically.
The C class as designated in 1913 was a heterogeneous group of torpedo boat destroyers (TBDs) built for the Royal Navy in the late-1890s. They were constructed to the individual designs of their builders to meet Admiralty specifications. The uniting feature of the class was a top speed of 30 knots, a "turtleback" forecastle and that they all had three funnels. The funnels were spaced equidistantly and were of equal height, but the central one was thicker.
The Admiralty type leader, sometimes known as the Scott class, were a class of eight destroyer leaders designed and built for the Royal Navy towards the end of World War I. They were named after Scottish historical leaders. The function of a leader was to carry the flag staff of a destroyer flotilla, therefore they were enlarged to carry additional crew, offices and signalling equipment, allowing a fifth gun to be carried. These ships were contemporary with the Thornycroft type leader, distinguishable by their two narrow funnels of equal height, the Thornycroft designs latter having characteristic broad, slab-sided funnels.
The A class as designated in 1913 was a heterogeneous group of torpedo boat destroyers (TBDs) built for the Royal Navy in the mid-1890s. Some 42 vessels were constructed to the individual designs of their builders to meet Admiralty specifications, the only uniting feature being a specified top speed of 27 knots (50 km/h). In fact the initial six vessels were generally differentiated by a slightly lower speed and were often referred to as "26-knotters" to distinguish them from the following batch of thirty-six vessels; all fifteen surviving "27-knotter" vessels were classified by the Admiralty as the A class in 1913 to provide some system to the naming of HM destroyers. All of the "26-knotters" and most of the "27-knotters" had been lost or scrapped before the 1913 classification, but for convenience all 42 ships are listed below. The number of funnels varied from one to four. All vessels had a distinctive "turtleback" forecastle that was intended to clear water from the bow, but actually tended to dig the bow in to anything of a sea, resulting in a very wet conning position.
The Marksman class were a class of flotilla leaders built for the Royal Navy. Two each were ordered in the naval programmes of 1913–14 and 1914–15 with a further three being ordered under the Emergency War Programme and all saw service during World War I.
HMS Spiteful was a Spiteful-class torpedo boat destroyer built at Jarrow, England, by Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Company for the Royal Navy and launched in 1899. Specified to be able to steam at 30 knots, she spent her entire career serving in the seas around the British Isles.
HMS Quail was a B-class torpedo boat destroyer of the British Royal Navy. She was launched by Laird Brothers, Birkenhead, on 24 September 1895. She served in home waters and the West Indies for several years, her robust structure proved by surviving at least one heavy collision. She served during the Great War, and was sold off after the hostilities end, on 23 July 1919. She gave her name to the four strong group of Quail-class destroyers.
HMS Thrasher was a "thirty-knotter" torpedo boat destroyer of the British Royal Navy. She was completed by Laird, Son & Company, Birkenhead, in 1897. One of four Quail-class destroyers, she served in the First World War, sinking the German submarine UC-39 in 1917, and was sold off after hostilities ended.
HMS Virago was a B-class torpedo boat destroyer of the British Royal Navy. She was completed by Laird Brothers, Birkenhead, in 1897. One of four Quail-class destroyers she served during the Great War and was sold off after hostilities ended.
HMS Express was a B-class torpedo boat destroyer of the British Royal Navy. She was completed by Laird, Son & Company, Birkenhead, in 1896. Like many contemporary British destroyers, she was a "builder's special", designed to Admiralty specifications but built to the builder's own design.
HMS Wolf was a B-class torpedo boat destroyer of the British Royal Navy. She was completed by Laird, Son & Company, Birkenhead, in 1897.
HMS Seal was a B-class torpedo boat destroyer of the British Royal Navy. She was completed by Laird, Son & Company, Birkenhead, in 1897.
HMS Locust was a B-class torpedo boat destroyer of the British Royal Navy. She was launched by Laird, Son & Company, Birkenhead, on 5 December 1896. She served in the Mediterranean between 1902 and 1906, and was used for patrol and escort duties during the First World War
HMS Griffon was a B-class torpedo boat destroyer of the British Royal Navy. She was completed by Laird, Son & Company, Birkenhead, in 1896.
HMS Earnest was an "thirty-knotter" torpedo boat destroyer of the British Royal Navy. She was built by Laird, Son & Company at their Birkenhead shipyard as one of six Earnest-class destroyers ordered as part of the Royal Navy's 1895–1896 construction programme, which were later classified as members of the B-class. Earnest was launched on 7 November 1896 and was completed in November 1897.
HMS Lively was a B-class torpedo boat destroyer of the British Royal Navy. She was built speculatively by Laird, Son & Company, Birkenhead, pre-empting further orders for vessels of this type, and was bought by the navy in 1901.
HMS Orwell was a B-class torpedo boat destroyer of the British Royal Navy. She was built by Laird, Son & Company, and served from 1900 until 1920.
HMS Peterel was one of two Spiteful-class destroyers to serve with the Royal Navy. She was built by Palmers, was 215 feet long and the 6,200 H.P. produced by her Reed boilers gave her a top speed of 30 knots. She was armed, as was standard, with a twelve pounder and two torpedo tubes. She served in home waters throughout the Great War and was sold off in 1919.
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