I-class destroyer
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The I-class destroyers were a group of nine
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, including a
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 ...
, 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 ...
during the 1930s. Four similar ships were ordered by the
Turkish Navy The Turkish Naval Forces ( tr, ), or Turkish Navy ( tr, ) is the naval warfare service branch of the Turkish Armed Forces. The modern naval traditions and customs of the Turkish Navy can be traced back to 10 July 1920, when it was establi ...
, of which two were purchased for the Royal Navy, bringing the number of these ships British service to 11—although three of the original ships had been lost by the time ''Inconstant'' and ''Ithuriel'' were commissioned. The I-class served in
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 ...
and six were lost, with a seventh ship being written off.


Design

The I-class were a repeat of the preceding H class, except that they had ten torpedo tubes (two banks of five) instead of eight. They incorporated the new bridge and wheelhouse layout as tested in and (except the flotilla leader ''Inglefield''). ''Inglefield'' also had a larger tripod foremast, her sisters having pole masts. The extra weight of the torpedo tubes and the fitting of minesweeps and depth charge gear (previous vessels carried one or the other) on the same hull as the H class, caused a loss of stability, needing
ballast Ballast is material that is used to provide stability to a vehicle or structure. Ballast, other than cargo, may be placed in a vehicle, often a ship or the gondola of a balloon or airship, to provide stability. A compartment within a boat, ship, ...
when bunker levels were low. All ships were fitted for
minesweeping Minesweeping is the practice of the removal of explosive naval mines, usually by a specially designed ship called a minesweeper using various measures to either capture or detonate the mines, but sometimes also with an aircraft made for that ...
and with
depth charge A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon. It is intended to destroy a submarine by being dropped into the water nearby and detonating, subjecting the target to a powerful and destructive Shock factor, hydraulic shock. Most depth ...
s and
Asdic Sonar (sound navigation and ranging or sonic navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigate, measure distances (ranging), communicate with or detect objects on or ...
for
anti-submarine An anti-submarine weapon (ASW) is any one of a number of devices that are intended to act against a submarine and its crew, to destroy (sink) the vessel or reduce its capability as a weapon of war. In its simplest sense, an anti-submarine weapo ...
(A/S) work and were capable of conversion to
minelayer A minelayer is any warship, submarine or military aircraft deploying explosive mines. Since World War I the term "minelayer" refers specifically to a naval ship used for deploying naval mines. "Mine planting" was the term for installing controll ...
s. For this, they landed 'A' and 'Y' 4.7 inch guns, the torpedo tubes and their minesweeps, allowing carriage of up to 60 mines but only four ships were used like this (see below).


Turkish ships

The Turkish I-class ships were of a similar design to their British counterparts but shipped only eight torpedoes (two banks of four) like the British H class.


Wartime modifications

Early war modifications involved replacing the after bank of torpedoes with a QF 12-pounder (3 inch/76 mm)
anti-aircraft Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...
(AA) gun, cutting down the after funnel and mainmast to improve its field of fire and adding a pair of QF 20 mm Oerlikon guns in the bridge wings. Radar Type 286, a metric wavelength surface-warning set, was added as it became available and the ineffective multiple
Vickers machine gun The Vickers machine gun or Vickers gun is a Water cooling, water-cooled .303 British (7.7 mm) machine gun produced by Vickers Limited, originally for the British Army. The gun was operated by a three-man crew but typically required more me ...
s were replaced with Oerlikons; the central tube was deleted from the torpedo launchers to lessen topweight. ''Icarus'' lost 'Y' gun to stow extra depth charges (for a total load of 110) and their mortars. Surviving ships received a third pair of Oerlikons, added abreast the searchlight position and the 12-pounder was deleted to increase depth charge stowage. In some ships, 'A' gun was replaced with a
Hedgehog A hedgehog is a spiny mammal of the subfamily Erinaceinae, in the eulipotyphlan family Erinaceidae. There are seventeen species of hedgehog in five genera found throughout parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa, and in New Zealand by introducti ...
forward-throwing A/S weapon but this alteration seems to have been reversed at a later stage. ''Ilex'', ''Intrepid'', ''Impulsive'' and ''Isis'' had 'B' gun removed and two QF 6-pounder 10 cwt (2.25 inch/57 mm L/47) guns were added on the twin mounting Mark I* along with a Hedgehog, the former for anti-
E boat E-boat was the Western Allies' designation for the fast attack craft (German: ''Schnellboot'', or ''S-Boot'', meaning "fast boat") of the Kriegsmarine during World War II; ''E-boat'' could refer to a patrol craft from an armed motorboat to a la ...
work. ''Inglefield'' later had the second bank of torpedo tubes re-instated but like her sisters, the central tube was removed. A AA gun was added in lieu of 'X' gun and she had six Oerlikons. Type 291 radar was later added at the foremast head as well as
Huff-Duff High-frequency direction finding, usually known by its abbreviation HF/DF or nickname huff-duff, is a type of radio direction finder (RDF) introduced in World War II. High frequency (HF) refers to a radio band that can effectively communicate ov ...
in some ships. The ex-Turkish ships were modified along similar lines to their I-class sisters. ''Inconstant'' later received Type 270 radar, a centimetric wavelength target-indication set, in lieu of the director and rangefinder on the bridge. Again, eventually six Oerlikons were carried.


Ships


Turkish ships

Four ships were ordered for the
Turkish Navy The Turkish Naval Forces ( tr, ), or Turkish Navy ( tr, ) is the naval warfare service branch of the Turkish Armed Forces. The modern naval traditions and customs of the Turkish Navy can be traced back to 10 July 1920, when it was establi ...
in 1938. Upon the outbreak of war, two were purchased by the British but two were delivered to Turkey in 1942 as the ''Sultanhisar'' and the ''Demirhisar''.


Notes


Bibliography

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External links

{{WWII British ships Destroyer classes