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The ''Dryad''-class torpedo gunboat was the last class of
torpedo gunboat In late 19th-century naval terminology, torpedo gunboats were a form of gunboat armed with torpedoes and designed for hunting and destroying smaller torpedo boats. By the end of the 1890s torpedo gunboats were superseded by their more successful c ...
built for the
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
. This type of vessel was rapidly replaced by the faster
torpedo boat destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in 1 ...
, and all of the class were converted to minesweepers during World War I, with the exception of ''Hazard'', which became a submarine depot ship.


Design

Ordered under the Naval Defence Act of 1889, which established the "Two-Power Standard", the ships were contemporary with the first torpedo boat destroyers, a type which subsequently superseded the torpedo gunboats. With a length overall of , a beam of and a displacement of 1,070 tons, these torpedo gunboats were not small ships by the standard of the time; they were larger than the majority of World War I destroyers.


Machinery

They were equipped with two sets of vertical triple-expansion steam engines, with two locomotive-type boilers, driving through twin screws. This layout produced giving them a speed of ; ''Halcyon'' was uprated to produce 6000 ihp, giving her a speed of approximately . They carried between 100 and 160 tons of coal and were manned by 120 sailors and officers.


Armament

The armament when built comprised two QF guns, four 6-pounder guns and a single 5-barrelled Nordenfelt machine gun. ''Hussar'' as built mounted only one QF 4.7-inch gun, two 12-pounders and one 6-pounder. The primary weapon was five 18-inch (450-mm) torpedo tubes,British "18 inch" torpedoes were 17.72 inches (45.0 cm) in diameter with two reloads. On conversion to minesweepers in 1914 two of the five torpedoes were removed.


Ships


See also

*
Naval warfare of World War I Naval warfare in World War I was mainly characterized by blockade. The Allies of World War I, Allied Powers, with their larger fleets and surrounding position, largely succeeded in their blockade of Germany and the other Central Powers, whilst th ...
*
ARA Patria ARA ''Patria'' was a torpedo cruiser which served in the Argentine Navy between 1894 and 1927. It was a modified which were in service with the Royal Navy during the same period. History The ''Patria'' was ordered from the British shipbuild ...


Notes


References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dryad class torpedo gunboat Ship classes of the Royal Navy Torpedo gunboat classes Dryad