By the late 1930s, the british had a large
number of destroyers, but many were entering their second decade of
service. The policy of building a destroyer flotilla per year to a near
standard, but slowly evolving design added useful numbers but these were
offset by the wide range of duties allotted to them; many were ill-suited
for their assigned tasks. In cruisers, the Royal Navy appeared up to
strenght, but a high proportion were the small and obsolescent C and D
classes, designed for service in home waters. At the upper end were the
imposing County class ships. The Washington treaties had imposed on
cruisers an individual limit of 10,000 tons standard displacement and an
8-inch maximum gun calabre. At the time, no vessel incorporating such
limits existed but they rapidly assumed the status of standard parameters
within which designers vied internationally to produce an ideal solution.
The three major variables of armerment, speed and protection
were interactive to the extent where an improvement in one could only be
at the expense of another.Untill 1939 British carriers were widely spread
between fleets and rarely worked together.The navy had no more aircraft
left, so inguity and courage had to be the high risk substitute for a
strike in correct strenght.
Ships of the Royal Navy;
Battleships:
Queen Elizabeth class battleship, 5 were built
They were extensively reconstructed between 1924 and 1933.
Their torpedo protection was increased by 'bulging', their twin funnels
were trunked into one massive casing to keep the re-modelled bridge
structure clear of smoke. Anti-aircraft guns were added. The 13,5 in main
battery guns were givin extra elevation for longer range.
Nelson class battleship, 2 were built
With three barrels in each turret, nine guns could be
accommodated for each turret. Armerment and protection were bought to the
expense of speed. The ships limit was 23 knots. She spend eight months
under repair early in the war after being mined. Rodney, along with King
George V, battered the Bismarck.Both were scrapped in 1948/9.
Revenge class battleship, 5 were built
Three of the class were struck by submarine torpedo's during
the war but only the Royal Oak, hit by at least two, was sunk. This
followed a remarkable penetration of the Scapa Flow defences by Prien in
U-47 during October 1939.Their war was spent mostly as escorts to high
value troop convoys and as fire support for ambitious operations.
King George V class battleship, 5 were built
This class of five reverted to a smaller 14-in calibre main
battery because the Londen Navel Conference of 1936 limited the standard
displacement of individual battleships to 35,000 tons. Great Britain
adhered strictly to this tonnage but believed that 14-in guns were the
maximum size that cuold be carried on this class.
Hood class battleship, 1 was built
The afwul lessons of Jutland were learned before the first
unit, the Hood, was laid down, and an extra 5,000 tons of protection was
worked in. Hood had a magnificent profile and , at speed, had a beauty
that has never surpassed. She was sunk by here rival the german Bismarck
Renown class battleship, 2 were built
Completed in 1916, they saw little action. Both were
reconstructed between the wars. Renown had the later reconstruction, in
1936-39, and emerged a modern and powerful unit. As such she gained
considerable fame, mainly as part of the Gibraltar-based Force 'H' Repulse
was torpedoed and sunk by Japanese aircraft in December 1941.
Aircraft Carriers
Ark Royal class aircraft carriers, 1 was built
A top speed of 30 knots was demanded for ease of aircraft
operations and a long endurance to match the latest battleships. Two
hangars, vertically disposed, increased aircraft capacity and elevated the
flightdeck, reducing wetness. The Ark Royal was sunk by a single torpedo
by a U-boat.
Illustrious class aircraft carriers, 6 were built
Illustrious's running mate was Victorous and the thirty
bombers and 6 fighters/dive bombers for which they were designed had
actually increased to 18 Avengers and 36 Wildcats by 1943.Only the first
four were completed to see major action.
Courageous class aircraft carriers, 3 were built
In 1922 Furious was taken in hand again and given a
continuous flightdeck with no island, the uptakes being trunked to the
after end. Her sisters, Courageous and Glorious, were similarly converted
from 1924 but with an island built around a large funnel casing.
Colossus class aircraft carrier, 16 were built
By September 1942 no less than sixteen were on order. The
first to be completed was the Colossus, but not untill December 1944; she
was joined by the Glory, Venerable and Vengeance quickly enough to reach
the Pacific Theatre, able to carry up to 60 aircraft.
Cruisers:
County class cruiser, 14 were built
Their stately appearence disguished the ability to maintain
over 32 knots in a considerable sea. THis was backed by a very respectable
cruising radius. The first group had external bulges, the second group
bennefitting from having internal protection instead.
Town class cruiser, 8 were built
With only a moderate increase in dimensions, they contrived
to mount a main armerment of twelve barrels, compared with the eight of
the preceding leaders. Their protection was also improved. The last three
were of slightly increased displacement, due to a marginally wider beam.
Crown Colony class cruiser, 11 were built
Obvious derivatives of the Southamptons, the Crown class was
significantly shorter, yet retained the same beam. They had vertical
funnels and masts, bearing the same relationships to the Towns as the
improved Didos did to the Didos.
Dido class anti-aircraft cruiser, 13 were built
The dido distuinguished themselves in the Mediterranean
notably at Second Sirte. While large machinary spaces caused rapid loss in
the event of a critical torpedo hit (four were thus sunk) they were also
able to absorb severe punishment.
Leander class cruiser, 8 were built
The leanders had a balanced eight-gun layout and introduced
the very effective eight 4-in anti-aircraft battery that became standard
in succeeding classes. Of the five original group, the Ajax and Achilles
achieved immortality trough their involvement in the action at the River
Plate.
'C' class cruiser, 28 were built
Of the 28 built, thirteen served during World War2. Seven of
these had been converted to anti-aircraft cruisers through a comprehensive
rebuild, exchanging the origianal armerment for eight or ten 4-in high
angle guns and modern directors. They saw much action and it is
interesting that, of the five lost, three were sunk by aircraft.
'E' class cruiser, 2 were built
Enterprise carried a prototype twin 6-in forward, a mounting
used later in the Leanders and Arethusas. Both gained an aircraft and
catapult. SEcond-line units by 1939 the Enterprise was to have her day
when, in company with the cruiser Glasgow, she intercepted no les than ten
enemy destroyers and torpedo boats in the bay of Biscay.
Destroyers:
Tribal class destroyers, 16 were built
They were the only British destroyers ever to mount eight
4.7-in guns, a battery achieved at the expense of the torpedo armerment.
Of this class no less than 12 were lost. Their poor anti-aircraft
armerment may have contributed to the five sunk by air attack.
Submarines:
'T' class submarines, 55 were built
First of this class, Triton, was completed in October 1937
and, while only 2 more had been completed by the outbreak of war, numbers
thereafter rapidly increased. BY 1945, 55 units had been completed and
four were cancelled.
'S' class submarines, 35 were built
Four were built to this limit but had great problems as a
result, a particulary worrying trend being the lack of stability
immediately on surfacing. Eight further boats followed, with an extra six
feet lenght in the pressure hull. These submarines had up to 13 torpedo's
aboard.
'U' class submarines, 71 were built
The first three units were from Vickers Armstrong at Barrow
and, when the admiralty placed on order for twelve more in 1939. A total
of 71 more were built. 13 submarines of this class were lost in the
mediterranean.
In memory of the crew of the Battleship 'HOOD' sunk by
'Bismarck'
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