The preceding River- or E-class destroyers of 1903 had made 25.5 knots (47.2km/h; 29.3mph) on the 7,000ihp (5,200kW) provided by triple expansion steam engines and coal-firedboilers, although HMSEden was powered by steam turbines.[1] In November 1904, the First Sea Lord"Jackie" Fisher proposed that the next class of destroyers should make at least 33 knots (61km/h) and should use oil-fired boilers and steam turbines as a means of achieving this.[2] This resulted in a larger ship to provide the required doubling of installed power over their predecessors, but also pushed the design to the limits of capability of contemporary technology. As a result, the Tribals were severely compromised and a somewhat retrograde step after the successful River class; they were lightly built and proved to be fragile in service.[citation needed] More alarmingly however, they were only provided with 90tons of bunkerage, and with high fuel consumption resulting from a high power output of 12,500shp (9,300kW), they were highly uneconomical and had a severely limited radius of action; Afridi and Amazon once used 9.5tons of oil each simply to raise steam for a three-mile (5km) return journey to a fuel depot.
Design details were left to the individual builders, as was Royal Navy practice at the time for destroyers. As a result, no two were alike[3][4] and there was considerable heterogeneity of detail and appearance, Most noticeably the number of funnels varied from three, in Cossack and Ghurka, to six in Viking; the latter, with two single and two pairs of funnels becoming the only six-funneled destroyer ever built. With a light mainmast aft, they were the first British destroyers to have two masts.
The first five ships were designed with the armament of three QF 12-pounder guns, an improvement from the single 12-pounder and five 6-pounder guns that the River class was completed with, while the number of torpedoes remained at two 18-inch (457mm) tubes.[5][6] From the sixth ship (Saracen) onwards, however, the armament was again increased, to a pair of BL 4-inch (102mm) guns, with one gun mounted forward and another on the quarterdeck.[7] From October 1908, the first five ships were modified by adding another pair of 12 pounder guns.[8]
The shift towards the larger Tribals also created a requirement for a complementary class of smaller "Coastal" destroyers giving rise to the Cricket class of small TBD, of which 36 were built between 1905 and 1908. The result of this experiment was not ideal and for the following class of destroyers (the 'G', or Beagle, class) the Admiralty reverted to a single, more uniform design for the 1908-9 programme.
Ships
Seven ships to the Admiralty specification were originally envisaged, but only five vessels were ordered and built under the 1905-06 Programme, all to their builders' own designs.
In October 1916, it was proposed on 8 November 1916 that the two undamaged 'ends' might be joined together, which was completed at Chatham Royal Dockyard 7 June 1917 by joining the undamaged fore section of Zulu and the rear section of Nubian respectively. The resulting destroyer was commissioned on 7 June 1917 as Zubian, which was sold for scrapping 1919.
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.
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 Beagle class was a class of sixteen destroyers of the Royal Navy, all ordered under the 1908-1909 programme and launched in 1909 and 1910. The Beagles served during World War I, particularly during the Dardanelles Campaign of 1915.
The first HMS Zulu was a Tribal class destroyer launched 16 September 1909 at Hawthorn Leslie Shipyard and commissioned in March 1910. She was mined during the First World War, on 27 October 1916 off Dover in a minefield lain by the Imperial German submarine UC-1. Her stern was blown off and sank, but the forward section remained afloat. It was towed into port and attached to the stern of Nubian, which had been torpedoed, to form a new destroyer named HMS Zubian.
HMS Ghurka was a Tribal-class destroyer built in 1907 for the Royal Navy. She served as part of the Dover Patrol during the First World War, playing a part in the sinking of the German submarine U-8 in 1915, and was sunk by a German mine in 1917.
The M class, more properly known as the Admiralty M class, were a class of 85 destroyers built for the Royal Navy of United Kingdom that saw service during World War I. All ships were built to an identical – Admiralty – design, hence the class name. 18 other vessels which were officially included within the 'M' class were built to variant designs by three specialist builders – 10 by Yarrow, 6 by Thornycroft, and 2 by Hawthorn Leslie; these are covered in other articles.
The D class as they were known from 1913 was a fairly homogeneous group of torpedo boat destroyers (TBDs) built for the Royal Navy in the mid-1890s. They were all constructed to the individual designs of their builder, John I. Thornycroft & Company of Chiswick, to meet Admiralty specifications. The uniting feature of the class was a top speed of 30 knots and they all had two funnels.
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 (56 km/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.
The Acorn class was a class of twenty destroyers of the Royal Navy all built under the 1909-1910 Programme, and completed between 1910 and 1911. The Acorns served during World War I.
HMS Afridi was a Tribal-class destroyer of the Royal Navy launched in 1907 and sold for scrap in 1919. During the First World War she served in the North Sea and the English Channel with the 6th Destroyer Flotilla and as part of the Dover Patrol.
HMS Viking was a Tribal-class destroyer of the Royal Navy launched in 1909 and sold for scrap in 1919. She was the only destroyer ever to have six funnels.
HMS Mohawk was a Tribal-class destroyer of the Royal Navy launched in 1907 and sold for scrap in 1919.
HMS Maori was one of five ships of the third batch of Tribal-class destroyers built for the Royal Navy in the first decade of the twentieth century. Completed in 1909, she spent her career in British waters. During the First World War, she served in the North Sea and the English Channel with the 6th Destroyer Flotilla. She struck a mine in the North Sea on 7 May 1915 off Zeebrugge, Belgium, and sank.
HMS Cossack was a Tribal-class destroyer of the Royal Navy launched in 1907 and sold in 1919.
HMS Tartar was a Tribal-class destroyer of the Royal Navy launched in 1907 and sold in 1921. During the First World War she served in the North Sea and the English Channel with the 6th Destroyer Flotilla.
HMS Zephyr was one of two Fervent-class destroyers which served with the Royal Navy. She was launched on 10 May 1895 from Hanna, Donald & Wilson at Paisley, Scotland. She served in home waters, and was sold in 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.
HMS Trenchant was a modified Admiralty R-class destroyer which served with the Royal Navy. The vessel was the first of the modified design. Launched in 1916, the ship operated with the Grand Fleet during the First World War. The vessel was involved in escorting convoys and attacking German submarines. After the war, Trenchant was attacked by Republican forces during the Irish War of Independence but suffered little damage. The vessel was retired and sold to be broken up on 15 November 1928. The subsequent S-class are sometimes called Modified Trenchant class.
HMS Marmion was a Admiralty M-class destroyer which served with the Royal Navy during World War I. Launched in May 1915, the ship served as part of the Grand Fleet on exercises and escort duty. For much of the war, it was commanded by William Leveson-Gower, the future uncle to Elizabeth II. While involved in convoy escort duty off the Shetland Islands on 21 October 1917, the vessel was accidentally struck by Tirade in bad weather and sank. There were no survivors.
HMS Sarpedon was an R-class destroyer which served with the Royal Navy. The R class were a development of the preceding M-class, but differed in having geared turbines and other design changes. Launched in June 1916, the vessel escorted convoys that sailed between Scotland and Scandinavia in the First World War. After the war, the ship was allocated to local defence at Nore. However, in 1923, the Navy decided to retire many of the older vessels and Sarpedon was retired and was sold to be broken up on 23 June 1926.
HMS Trusty was an S-class destroyer that served with the Royal Navy. The vessel was the third of the name. Launched in November 1918 just before the Armistice that ended the First World War, Trusty joined the Home Fleet the following year. However, the destroyer did remain in service long and was transferred to the Reserve Fleet in 1920. The vessel remained in reserve until 25 September 1936, although in a deteriorating condition. On that day, Trusty was sold to be broken up as part of a deal for the liner Majestic.
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