| E and F-class destroyer | |
|---|---|
 Electra | |
| Class overview | |
| Operators: |
 Royal Navy Royal Canadian Navy Hellenic Navy Dominican Navy |
| Preceded by: | C and D class |
| Succeeded by: | G and H class |
| Subclasses: | E, F |
| In commission: | 21 April 1932 - April 1956 |
| Completed: | 18 |
| Lost: | 9 + 1 expended |
| Retired: | 8 |
| General characteristics as per Lenton[1] | |
| Type: | E and F destroyer |
| Displacement: |
1,405 long tons (1,428 t) (standard) 1,940 long tons (1,970 t) (deep) |
| Length: | 329 ft (100.3 m) o/a |
| Beam: | 33 ft 3 in (10.13 m) |
| Draught: | 12 ft 6 in (3.81 m) (deep) |
| Installed power: | 36,000 shp (26,800 kW) |
| Propulsion: |
2 × Parsons geared steam turbines 3 × Admiralty 3-drum water tube boilers 2 × shafts |
| Speed: |
35.5 kn (40.9 mph; 65.7 km/h) 31.5 kn (36.2 mph; 58.3 km/h) (deep) |
| Range: |
6,350 nmi (7,310 mi; 11,760 km) at 15 kn (17 mph; 28 km/h) 1,275 nmi (1,467 mi; 2,361 km) at 35.5 kn (40.9 mph; 65.7 km/h) |
| Complement: | 145 |
| Armament: |
4 × QF 4.7-inch (120-mm) Mk. IX L/45 guns |
| General characteristics (Esk and Express as minelayers) | |
| Armament: | 2 × QF 4.7 in (120 mm) Mk. IX L/45 dual purpose guns, 60 × Mk. XVI mines |
| Notes: | Other characteristics as per above |
| General characteristics (flotilla leaders) | |
| Displacement: |
1,495 long tons (1,519 t) (standard) 2,050 long tons (2,080 t) (full load) |
| Length: | 343 ft (104.5 m) o/a |
| Beam: | 33 ft 9 in (10.29 m) |
| Installed power: | 38,000 shp (28,300 kW) |
| Speed: |
36.75 kn (42.29 mph; 68.06 km/h)[2] 32 kn (37 mph; 59 km/h) (deep) |
| Range: |
6,500 nmi (7,500 mi; 12,000 km) at 15 kn (17 mph; 28 km/h) 1,500 nmi (1,700 mi; 2,800 km) at 36 kn (41 mph; 67 km/h) |
| Complement: | 175 |
| Armament: | 5 × QF 4.7 in (120 mm) Mk. IX L/45 dual purpose guns |
| Notes: | Other characteristics as per above |
The E and F class was a class of 18 destroyers of the Royal Navy that served during the Second World War. Three ships were later transferred to the Royal Canadian Navy, one to the Royal Hellenic Navy and one to the Dominican Navy. Launched in 1934, they served in the Second World War. Nine were lost. The E class were ordered under the 1931 construction programme, the F class being of the 1932 programme.
Design[]
For the first time since the A-class of the 1927 programme, the flotilla leaders were built to an enlarged design, being lengthened to incorporate an additional QF 4.7-inch (120-mm) gun between the funnels. The lengthened design resulted in a three boiler room layout to enhance water-tight integrity.[3] The leaders were not fitted for minesweeping or minelaying.
Ships[]
E class[]
| Ship | Pennant number | Builder | Laid down | Launched | Completed | Fate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Echo | H.23 | William Denny & Brothers, Dumbarton | 20 March 1933 | 16 February 1934 | 22 October 1934 | Transferred to the Royal Hellenic Navy as Navarinon, 1944 |
| Eclipse | H.08 | William Denny & Brothers, Dumbarton | 22 March 1933 | 12 April 1934 | 29 November 1934 | Sunk by a mine off Kalymnos, Greece, 24 October 1943 |
| Electra | H.27 | Hawthorn Leslie & Company, Hebburn | 15 March 1933 | 15 February 1934 | 13 September 1934 | Sunk by the Japanese light cruiser Jintsu in the Battle of the Java Sea, 27 February 1942 |
| Encounter | H.10 | Hawthorn Leslie & Company, Hebburn | 15 March 1933 | 29 March 1934 | 2 November 1934 | Scuttled after being severely damaged by the Japanese heavy cruisers Ashigara and Myōkō in the Battle of the Java Sea, 1 March 1942 |
| Escapade | H.17 | Scotts Shipbuilding & Engineering Company, Greenock | 30 March 1933 | 30 January 1934 | 30 August 1934 | Sold to G & W Brunton, Grangemouth for breaking up, August 1947 |
| Escort | H.66 | Scotts Shipbuilding & Engineering Company, Greenock | 30 March 1933 | 29 March 1934 | 30 October 1934 | Torpedoed by the Italian submarine Guglielmo Marconi, 8 July 1940; sank while under tow, 11 July 1940 |
| Esk | H.15 | Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson, Wallsend | 24 March 1933 | 19 March 1934 | 28 September 1934 | Sunk by a mine near Texel, the Netherlands, 31 August 1940 |
| Express | H.61 | Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson, Wallsend | 24 March 1933 | 29 May 1934 | 2 November 1934 | Transferred to the Royal Canadian Navy as HMCS Gatineau, 1943 |
| Exmouth (flotilla leader) | H.02 | HM Dockyard, Portsmouth | 15 May 1933 | 7 February 1934 | 9 November 1934 | Sunk by U-22 in the Moray Firth, 21 January 1940 |
F class[]
| Ship | Pennant number | Builder | Laid down | Launched | Commissioned | Fate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fame | H.78 | Parsons Marine Steam Turbine Company, Wallsend (hull subcontracted to Vickers Armstrong, Barrow-in-Furness) | 5 July 1933 | 28 June 1934 | 26 April 1935 | Transferred to the Dominican Republic as Generalisimo, February 1949 |
| Fearless | H.67 | Cammell Laird & Company, Birkenhead | 17 March 1933 | 12 May 1934 | 22 December 1934 | Torpedoed by Italian aircraft in the Mediterranean, 12 July 1941; scuttled, 23 July 1941 |
| Firedrake | H.79 | Parsons Marine Steam Turbine Company, Wallsend (hull subcontracted to Vickers Armstrong, Walker) | 5 July 1933 | 28 June 1934 | 30 May 1935 | Sunk by U-211 on 16 December 1942 |
| Foresight | H.68 | Cammell Laird & Company, Birkenhead | 21 July 1933 | 29 June 1934 | 15 May 1935 | Torpedoed by Italian planes, 12 August 1942; scuttled the same day |
| Forester | H.74 | J. Samuel White & Company, Cowes | 15 May 1933 | 28 June 1934 | 29 March 1935 | Sold, 22 January 1946; scrapped at Rosyth, June 1947 |
| Fortune | H.70 | John Brown & Company, Clydebank | 25 July 1933 | 29 August 1934 | 27 April 1935 | Transferred to the Royal Canadian Navy as HMCS Saskatchewan, 31 May 1943 |
| Foxhound | H.69 | John Brown & Company, Clydebank | 21 August 1933 | 12 October 1934 | 6 June 1935 | Transferred to the Royal Canadian Navy as HMCS Qu'Appelle, 8 February 1944 |
| Fury | H.76 | J. Samuel White & Company, Cowes | 19 May 1933 | 10 September 1934 | 18 May 1935 | Mined and damaged beyond repair off Normandy, 21 June 1944; scrapped, 18 September 1944 |
| Faulknor (flotilla leader) | H.62 | Yarrow & Company, Scotstoun | 31 July 1933 | 12 June 1934 | 24 May 1935 | Sold, 22 January 1946; scrapped at Milford Haven, April 1946 |
Notes[]
- ↑ British and Empire Warships of the Second World War, H. T. Lenton, Greenhill Books, ISBN 1-85367-277-7
- ↑ Conway’s All the World’s Fighting Ships, 1922—1946. — P. 39.
- ↑ Destroyers of World War Two, M. J. Whitley, 1988, Cassell Publishing ISBN 1-85409-521-8
References[]
- English, John (1993). Amazon to Ivanhoe:British Standard Destroyers of the 1930s. Kendal, England: World Ship Society. ISBN 0-905617-64-9.
- Whitley, M. J. (1988). Destroyers of World War 2. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-326-1.
- Conway’s All the World’s Fighting Ships, 1922—1946. — London: Conway Maritime Press, 1980. — ISBN 0-85177-146-7
External links[]
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The original article can be found at E and F-class destroyer and the edit history here.