The U and V class was a

class Class or The Class may refer to: Common uses not otherwise categorized * Class (biology), a taxonomic rank * Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects * Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used differentl ...

of sixteen

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 ...

s of 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 ...

launched in 1942–1943. They were constructed in two

flotilla A flotilla (from Spanish, meaning a small ''flota'' (fleet) of ships), or naval flotilla, is a formation of small warships that may be part of a larger fleet. Composition A flotilla is usually composed of a homogeneous group of the same class ...

s, each with names beginning with "U-" or "V-" (although there was a return to the pre-war practice of naming the designated

flotilla leader A flotilla leader was a warship of late 19th century and early 20th century navies suitable for commanding a flotilla of destroyers or other small warships, typically a small cruiser or a large destroyer (known as a destroyer leader). The flotil ...

after a famous naval figure from history to honour the lost ships ''Grenville'' and ''Hardy''). The hull was nearly identical to the preceding ships of the S and T classes, but the U and V class ships had different bridge and armament fits. The flotillas constituted the 7th Emergency Flotilla and 8th Emergency Flotilla, built under the War Emergency Programme. These ships used the

Fuze Keeping Clock The Fuze Keeping Clock (FKC) was a simplified version of the Royal Navy's High Angle Control System analogue fire control computer. It first appeared as the FKC MkII in destroyers of the 1938 ,''Tribal Class Destroyers'', Hodges, p. 27 while late ...

HA Fire Control Computer.

Notable actions

Four ships, ''Verulam'', ''Venus'', ''Vigilant'' and ''Virago'', formed part of the 26th Destroyer Flotilla that ambushed and sank the , off

Sumatra Sumatra is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the sixth-largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 (182,812 mi.2), not including adjacent i ...

U class

* , flotilla leader, built by

Swan Hunter Swan Hunter, formerly known as Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson, is a shipbuilding design, engineering, and management company, based in Wallsend, Tyne and Wear, England. At its apex, the company represented the combined forces of three powe ...

, Tyneside, laid down 1 November 1941, launched 12 October 1942, and completed 27 May 1943. * , built by Swan Hunter, laid down 12 November 1941, launched 9 November 1942, and completed 30 June 1943. * , built by

Cammell Laird Cammell Laird is a British shipbuilding company. It was formed from the merger of Laird Brothers of Birkenhead and Johnson Cammell & Co of Sheffield at the turn of the twentieth century. The company also built railway rolling stock until 1929, ...

, Birkenhead, laid down 14 March 1942, launched 22 April 1943, and completed 23 December 1943. * , built by Cammell Laird, laid down 8 September 1942, launched 19 July 1943, and completed 3 March 1944. * , built by

John I. Thornycroft and Company John I. Thornycroft & Company Limited, usually known simply as Thornycroft was a British shipbuilding firm founded by John Isaac Thornycroft in Chiswick in 1866. It moved to Woolston, Southampton, in 1908, merging in 1966 with Vosper & Compan ...

, Woolston, laid down 18 March 1942, launched 1 June 1943, and completed 23 December 1943. * , built by John I. Thornycroft, laid down 2 May 1942, launched 22 July 1943, and completed 1 March 1944. * , built by

Vickers-Armstrongs Vickers-Armstrongs Limited was a British engineering conglomerate formed by the merger of the assets of Vickers Limited and Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Company in 1927. The majority of the company was nationalised in the 1960s and 1970s, w ...

, Barrow, laid down 28 March 1942, launched 8 March 1943, and completed 24 September 1943. * , built by Vickers-Armstrongs, laid down 18 June 1942, launched 19 May 1943, and completed 18 January 1944.

V class

* , built by Fairfields of Glasgow, laid down 12 January 1942, launched 22 February 1943, and completed 28 August 1943. * , built by Fairfields, laid down 26 January 1942, launched 22 April 1943, and completed 10 December 1943. * , built by Swan Hunter, laid down 31 January 1942, launched 22 December 1942, and completed 10 September 1943. * , built by Swan Hunter, laid down 16 February 1942, launched 4 February 1943, and completed 5 November 1943. * , flotilla leader, built by

John Brown & Company John Brown and Company of Clydebank was a Scottish Naval architecture, marine engineering and shipbuilding firm. It built many notable and world-famous ships including , , , , , and the ''Queen Elizabeth 2 (ship), Queen Elizabeth 2''. At its ...

, Clydebank, laid down on 14 May 1942, launched 18 March 1943, and completed 14 August 1943. She was lost on 30 January 1944. * , built by John Brown, laid down 8 October 1942, launched 2 September 1943, and completed 28 February 1944. She was transferred to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

as . * , built by

J. Samuel White J. Samuel White was a British shipbuilding firm based in Cowes, taking its name from John Samuel White (1838–1915). It came to prominence during the Victorian era. During the 20th century it built destroyers and other naval craft for both the ...

, Cowes, laid down 31 October 1942, launched 14 September 1943, and completed 5 March 1944. She was transferred to Canada as . * , built by J. Samuel White, laid down 31 December 1942, launched 15 December 1943, and completed 26 May 1944.

Notable actions

U class

V class

See also

Notes

References

External links