Talisman class destroyer

Talisman-class destroyer
Class overview
Name:	Talisman class
Builders:	Hawthorn Leslie and Company
Operators:	Royal Navy
Preceded by:	Thornycroft M class
Succeeded by:	Medea class
In service:	1916-1921
Completed:	4
Lost:	1
Retired:	3
General characteristics
Type:	Destroyer
Displacement:	1,098 long tons (1,116 t)
Length:	309 ft (94.2 m)
Beam:	28 ft 6 in (8.7 m)
Draught:	9 ft 6 in (2.9 m)
Propulsion:	Yarrow-type water-tube boilers Parsons steam turbines 3 shafts 25,000 shp
Speed:	32 knots (36.8 mph; 59.3 km/h)
Range:	238 tons oil
Complement:	102
Armament:	5 x QF 4-inch (101.6 mm) Mark IV guns, single mounting P Mk. IX 2 x twin tubes for 21 in (53.3 cm)torpedoes

The Talisman class were a class of destroyers that were being built for the Turkish Navy at the outbreak of World War I but were taken over in November 1914 and completed for the Royal Navy for wartime service. Originally to have been renamed Napier, Narborough, Offa and Ogre respectively, they were re-allocated "T" names in February 1915.

The Talismans were a private design by Hawthorn Leslie and Company that were longer than but drew less than their Royal Navy contemporaries. Being large, they frequently acted as flotilla leaders. They were heavily armed for their time, shipping five single QF 4 inch (10 cm) guns. An unusual departure from Royal Navy practice in the Talismans, shared only with the ex-Chilean Faulknors and the singleton Swift, was the shipping of two guns side by side on the forecastle. The other guns were carried one between the first and second funnels, one after the searchlight platform and one on a bandstand on the quarterdeck. All the guns had half-shields. The hull form was considered particularly successful and was adopted for the V and W class of 1917, arguably the peak of destroyer development at the time.

Ships

Name	Ship Builder	Laid down	Launched	Completed	Fate
Talisman	Hawthorn Leslie and Company, Newcastle upon Tyne	7 December 1914	15 July 1915	1 January 1916	Sold for breaking up 9 May 1921.
Termagant	Hawthorn Leslie and Company, Newcastle upon Tyne	17 December 1914	26 August 1915	18 March 1916	Sold for breaking up 9 May 1921.
Trident	Hawthorn Leslie and Company, Newcastle upon Tyne	1 July 1915	20 November 1915	24 March 1916	Sold for breaking up 9 May 1921.
Turbulent	Hawthorn Leslie and Company, Newcastle upon Tyne	1915	5 January 1916	May 1916	Sunk by the German battleship Westfalen during Battle of Jutland, 31 May 1916.

References

• Massie, Robert K (2003). Castles of Steel: Britain, Germany, and the Winning of the Great War at Sea. Random House. ISBN 0-345-40878-0. 

Bibliography

• Destroyers of the Royal Navy, 1893-1981, Maurice Cocker, 1983, Ian Allan ISBN 0-7110-1075-7
• Jane's Fighting Ships, 1919, Jane's Publishing