British Destroyers by Friedman Norman

Author:Friedman, Norman
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Seaforth Publishing
Published: 2009-08-29T16:00:00+00:00

In late June 1917, the DNC developed a sketch design for a coal-burning destroyer with S class armament. Despite drawback to combining oil and coal, the DNC submitted a mixed-fired design in hopes of increasing ships’ endurance. On 1150 tons (fully loaded: 275ft × 28ft) the ship would make twenty-six knots on 16,000shp, a fraction of what an oil-burner of similar size would develop. Endurance would be 1600nm at fifteen knots on 205 tons of coal, again much less than that of a comparable oil-burner. Because coal-fired boilers could not be as large as oil-fired boilers, this design envisaged five rather than three boilers. Alternatively, she could have four boilers burning coal but having oil sprayed onto them. This ship would make 14,000shp (twenty-five knots), with 203 tons of coal and sixty-seven tons of oil; endurance would increase to 2000nm. Replacing one coal boiler with an oil-fired boiler would increase power back up to 16,000shp, and reduce displacement to 1120 tons (127 tons of coal, eighty-three tons of oil); endurance would be 1700nm. One incidental effect of using coal fuel was that the ship would have at best the short forecastle of the M class. Her forward gun would be mounted on a raised platform, and there would be no turtleback. Arrangements would generally follow those of the S class, with the twenty-four-inch searchlight on top of the after torpedo tubes. The preliminary design for this ship was submitted on 2 July 1917.

In January 1918, the DNC resubmitted the earlier coal-burner sketch design plus an alternative in which two 4in were mounted on the forecastle. The DNC pointed out that because these destroyers would be used to hunt submarines, smoking became much more important. The E-in-C and the DNC both emphasised that any coal-fired (or mixed-fired) boiler inevitably produced masses of smoke. The idea was dropped.

The ASW destroyer was also revived in January 1918. This time, the DNC offered a mixed steam-diesel plant (two 800bhp diesels and 14,000shp steam turbines) in a ship of about M class dimensions. Because it was impractical to place the diesels between the turbines and the boilers, the DNC adopted the electric drive of the K class steam submarines, the diesels being abaft the turbines (the power plant was that of a K class submarine with an additional diesel). Given the inefficiency of electric drive, the E-in-C estimated that continuous diesel power would be 1000–1200shp, giving a speed of about thirteen knots. Armament would be three 4in guns (Mk V), one pompom, one twin 21in tube, and the usual underwater weapons. As in the 1917 proposal, two of the 4in guns would be superimposed forward. The ship would carry about 230 tons of oil fuel; with diesels that would give a radius of action of an extraordinary 7000nm. However, it would be necessary to keep a full head of steam up, so that the ship could rapidly accelerate. That would reduce endurance at thirteen knots to about 2300nm. Full speed would be twenty-five knots (endurance 730nm).

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