List of destroyer classes of the Royal Navy

This is a list of destroyer classes of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom, organised chronologically by entry into service.

Torpedo boat destroyers

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In 1913, the surviving members of the large heterogeneous array of older 27-knot and 30-knot torpedo boat destroyer types (all six of the original 26-knot ships had been disposed of by the end of 1912) were organised into the A, B, C and D classes according to their design speed and the number of funnels they possessed. All were of a "turtle-back" design and, excepting a few "builder's specials", powered by reciprocating engines. It should be stressed that these A to D class designations did not exist before 1913, and only applied to those "turtle-backed" destroyers surviving to that time.

Conventional destroyers

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In 1913, lettered names were given to all Royal Navy destroyers, previously known after the first ship of that class. The River or E class of 1913 were the first destroyers of the Royal Navy with a high forecastles instead of "turtleback" bow making this the first class with a more recognizable modern configuration.

Inter-war standard classes

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World War II War Emergency Programme destroyers

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The following were ordered as part of the War Emergency Programme classes:

Post-war all-gun design

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Guided-missile destroyers[1]

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  • County class: 8 ships (4 Batch I, 4 Batch II), 1961–1967
  • Type 82: 1 ship (Bristol, 1969) built to trial technology. Eight originally planned to operate with cancelled CVA-01 aircraft carriers.
  • Type 42: 14 ships (6 Sheffield, 4 Exeter, 4 Manchester), 1971–1983
  • Type 43: project cancelled at feasibility stage in 1981 Defence White Paper
  • Type 44: Subclass of Type 43 with better anti-submarine capability.
  • Type 45: 6 ships, all commissioned between 2009 and 2013
  • Type 83: Planned to replace Type 45 in 2030s.

See also

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Citations

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  1. ^ Friedman 2008, pp. 179–195

Bibliography

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  • Friedman, Norman (2008). British Destroyers & Frigates: The Second World War and After. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-015-4.
  • Friedman, Norman (2009). British Destroyers From Earliest Days to the Second World War. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-59114-081-8.