The War Emergency Programme destroyers were

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 built for the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

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 ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

World War I emergency programmes

The 323 destroyers ordered during the First World War belonged to several different classes and were the subject of 14 separate War Programmes between 1914 and 1918. 40 of these were cancelled at the end of the war. The total excludes destroyers building in UK for other navies which were purchased for the Royal Navy following the outbreak of war.

World War II emergency programme

The 112 destroyers built during the Second World War were based on the hull and machinery of the earlier

J-, K- and N-class destroyer The J, K and N class consisted of 24 destroyers built for the Royal Navy beginning in 1938. They were a return to a smaller vessel, with a heavier torpedo armament, after the that emphasised guns over torpedoes. The ships were built in three fl ...

s of the 1930s. Each of the fourteen flotillas produced consisted of eight destroyers. Due to supply problems and the persistent failure by the Royal Navy to develop a suitable dual-purpose weapon for destroyers, they were fitted with whatever armament was available. Advances in radar and weaponry were incorporated as they came available. As a result, they were a relatively heterogeneous class incorporating many wartime advances, but ultimately based on a hull that was too small and with an armament too light to be true first-rate vessels equivalent of their contemporaries. As such they are often described as "utility" destroyers. It was not until the of 1944 that the Royal Navy returned to building larger destroyers. Many vessels were transferred to friendly navies. The 15th Emergency Flotilla, which would have had ships with names starting Ce was cancelled in favour of building the

Weapon-class destroyer The Weapon class was a ship class, class of destroyers built for the United Kingdom, British Royal Navy towards the end of World War II. They were the smaller counterpart to the (which followed them) and were the first new destroyer designs f ...

s. The two ships, ''Centaur'' and ''Celt'' , being built became ''Tomahawk'' and ''Sword.''

Design changes

* The P, and 3 ships of the O, flotilla were fitted with 4-inch guns with a new design of tall gunshield. As a result, they carried only the Rangefinder-Director Mark II(W) for fire control. * From the Q and R class onwards a transom stern was incorporated. * From the S and T class onwards the bow was revised to a design based on that of the , to improve sea-keeping. * From the Q and R class the main gun calibre returned to 4.7 inches. * From the R flotilla onwards the officer's accommodation was forwards, instead of aft as was traditional Royal Navy practice * The S flotilla altered the position of the searchlight between the torpedo tubes with the medium anti-aircraft position abaft the funnel. This more logical arrangement gave the anti-aircraft gun improved arcs of fire in the forward field. * The S class introduced the new mounting CP Mark XXII for the 4.7-inch guns. This could readily be distinguished from the older mounting CP Mark XVIII of the O, Q and R by its sharply raked face, allowing increased elevation. * S-class incorporated the new 4.5-inch gun Mark III, in a prototype twin dual-purpose turret BD Mark IV forward and 4.5-inch gun Mark IV in single mountings CP Mark V aft. The former would be introduced in the Battle-class destroyer. * The T flotilla introduced the lattice foremast, to support the ever-increasing weight of masthead electronics. * The W flotilla introduced the dual-purpose Director Mark III(W), replacing the low-angle Destroyer DCT and High-Angle Rangefinder-Director Mark II(W) in use since the Q and R class. * The Z flotilla introduced the new dual-purpose Director Mark I Type K and the 4.5-inch gun in single mountings CP Mark V as trialled in ''Savage''. These mountings were based on the CP Mark XXII used in the later 4.7-inch gunned ships; there was no obvious difference. * The Ch- flotilla introduced the dual-purpose Director Mark VI with full remote-power control (RPC) for gunlaying. One set of torpedo tubes was removed to counter the increased topweight. * All 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 ...

High Angle Fire Control Computer.Destroyer Weapons of WW2, Hodges/Friedman,

Notes

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * {{War Emergency Programme destroyers Destroyer classes

World War I emergency programmes

World War II emergency programme

Design changes

See also

Notes

Bibliography