"C" Class Destroyer (1896)

Forty of the 30 Knotters built for the Royal Navy that entered service in the years following 1897 had three funnels. They were designated as the "C" Class destroyers on 30 August 1912.

Their average cost was £60,000.

In July, 1918, twenty-eight ships were listed as being in service, serving in local defence forces in Portsmouth and Devonport and in the Irish Sea. By May 1920, thirty-one of the ships were still worth documenting as regards their armament.

Overview of 40 vessels
Citations for this data available on individual ship pages
Name	Builder	Laid Down	Launched	Completed	Fate
Star	Palmer Shipbuilding and Iron Company	23 Mar, 1896	11 Aug, 1896	Sep, 1898
Whiting	Palmer Shipbuilding and Iron Company	13 Apr, 1896	26 Aug, 1896	Jun, 1897	27 Nov, 1919
Bat	Palmer Shipbuilding and Iron Company	28 May, 1896	7 Oct, 1896	Aug, 1897
Chamois	Palmer Shipbuilding and Iron Company	28 May, 1896	9 Nov, 1896	Nov, 1897	Foundered 1904
Crane	Palmer Shipbuilding and Iron Company	2 Aug, 1896	17 Dec, 1896	Apr, 1898
Flying Fish	Palmer Shipbuilding and Iron Company	9 Aug, 1896	4 Mar, 1897	Jun, 1898
Fawn	Palmer Shipbuilding and Iron Company	5 Sep, 1896	13 Apr, 1897	Dec, 1898	Broken up 1919
Flirt	Palmer Shipbuilding and Iron Company	5 Sep, 1896	15 May, 1897	Apr, 1899	Sunk 27 Oct, 1916
Bullfinch	Earle's Shipbuilding	17 Sep, 1896	10 Feb, 1898	Jun, 1901	Broken up 1919
Dove	Earle's Shipbuilding	17 Sep, 1896	21 Mar, 1898	Jul, 1901	Broken up 1920
Violet	William Doxford & Sons	13 Jul, 1896	3 May, 1897	Jun, 1898	Broken up 1920
Sylvia	William Doxford & Sons	13 Jul, 1896	3 Jul, 1897	Jan, 1899	Broken up 1919
Lee	William Doxford & Sons	4 Jan, 1898	27 Jan, 1899	Mar, 1901	Wrecked 1909
Avon	Vickers	17 Feb, 1896	10 Oct, 1896	Feb, 1899	Broken up 1920
Bittern	Vickers	18 Feb, 1896	1 Feb, 1897	Apr, 1897	Collision 1918
Otter	Vickers	9 Jun, 1896	23 Nov, 1896	Mar, 1900	Broken up 1916
Leopard	Vickers	10 Jun, 1896	20 Mar, 1897	Jul, 1899	Broken up 1919
Vixen	Vickers	7 Sep, 1899	29 Mar, 1900	Mar, 1902	Broken up 1921
Brazen	J. & G. Thomson	18 Oct, 1895	3 Jul, 1896	Jul, 1900	Broken up 1919
Electra	J. & G. Thomson	18 Oct, 1895	14 Jul, 1896	Jul, 1900	Broken up 1920
Recruit	J. & G. Thomson	18 Oct, 1895	22 Aug, 1896	Oct, 1900	Torpedoed 1 May, 1915
Vulture	J. & G. Thomson	26 Nov, 1895	22 Mar, 1898	May, 1900	Broken up 1919
Kestrel	J. & G. Thomson	2 Sep, 1896	25 Mar, 1898	Apr, 1900	Broken up 1921
Cheerful	Hawthorn Leslie & Company	7 Sep, 1896	14 Jul, 1897	Feb, 1900	Mined 1917
Mermaid	Hawthorn Leslie & Company	7 Sep, 1896	22 Feb, 1898	Jun, 1899	Broken up 1919
Greyhound	Hawthorn Leslie & Company	18 Jul, 1899	6 Oct, 1900	Jan, 1902	Broken up 1919
Racehorse	Hawthorn Leslie & Company	23 Oct, 1899	8 Nov, 1900	Mar, 1902	Broken up 1920
Roebuck	Hawthorn Leslie & Company	2 Oct, 1899	4 Jan, 1901	Mar, 1902	Broken up 1919
Gipsy	Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company	1 Oct, 1896	9 Mar, 1897	Jul, 1898	1921
Fairy	Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company	19 Oct, 1896	29 May, 1897	Aug, 1898	Foundered 5 Jul, 1920
Osprey	Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company	14 Nov, 1896	17 Apr, 1897	Jul, 1898	Broken up 1919
Leven	Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company	24 Jan, 1898	28 Jun, 1898	Jul, 1899	Broken up 1920
Falcon	Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company	28 Jun, 1899	1899	Dec, 1901	Collision 1 Apr, 1918
Ostrich	Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company	28 Jun, 1899	22 Mar, 1900	Dec, 1901	Broken up 1920
Thorn	John Brown & Company		17 Mar, 1900	Jun, 1901	Broken up 1919
Tiger	John Brown & Company		19 May, 1900	Jun, 1901	Collision 1908
Vigilant	John Brown & Company		16 Aug, 1900	Jun, 1901	Broken up 1920
Albatross	John I. Thornycroft & Company	27 Nov, 1896	19 Jul, 1898	Jul, 1900	Broken up 1920
Viper	C. A. Parsons & Company hull: Hawthorn Leslie & Company	1898	6 Sep, 1899	1900	Stranded 1901
Velox	C. A. Parsons & Company hull: Hawthorn Leslie & Company	10 Apr, 1901	11 Feb, 1902	Feb, 1904	Mined 1915

Radio

In 1907 it was decided that Velox alone would be among 42 destroyers (primarily Tribals and Rivers) and Swift to receive radio equipment fixed to the "D" tune of 700 feet wavelength for transmission and with a Mark II receiver tunable to 8,300 feet. One P.O. telegraphist would be allowed each ship. She had her mast fitted with a 12 foot yard 60 feet above the water and received the aft end of the aerial via a pair of 20 foot long spars fitted aft. Her W/T office was placed on the upper deck underneath the bridge.

The short wavelength meant the sets worked less well during the day than at night, and tests between Portsmouth and Portland showed strength 8 by night and 6 by day. Practical tests with Usk showed the following strengths over 50 miles of water:

Wave length	Signal Strengths from/to
	Large Ship	Scout	T.B.D.
D	-/6	-/6	6/6
R	8/-	6/-	-/-
S	7/-	6/-	-/-
T	7/-	5/-	-/-
U	6/-	5/-	-/-

In mid-1914, when Flirt was in Portsmouth Royal Dockyard, it was decided that an extension of her docking should be provided so she may be given a wireless system.

Guns

As had been done since the 27 knotters within the "B" class, the ships mounted:

• One 12-pdr 12 cwt on a P. I mounting. The gun recoiled 12 inches and the mounting and its sights were capable of 30 degree elevations (9500 yards).
• Five Q.F. 6-pdr on Mark I* mountings recoiling 5 inches. The mounting could elevate 30 degrees, but the sight only 25 degrees (4000 yards). By 1920, two 6-pdrs had been removed.

In late-1913, the 12-pdr mountings were equipped with percussion firing gear.

By 1920, those remaining had also been fitted with a Q.F. 6-pdr on Mark IV H.A. mounting.

Torpedoes

Two 18-in single torpedo tubes on the centre line.

In 1905-06, it was decreed that Avon, Cheerful, Bittern and Fairy were to have their 10 cubic foot air compressors replaced by 20 cubic foot models to be able to pump to 2,500 psi. In 1906-07, Falcon, Gipsy, Leopard, Leven, Osprey, Mermaid, Ostrich, Otter, Vixen and Albatross were to receive the same.

From 1907, the decision was made to standardise the "A" through "D"s with torpedoes set for short range, allotting them the Mark IV S.R..

Fire Control

The Technical History and Index indicates that destroyers prior to the Acorn class relied on a visual system for transmitting fire control information.

By mid-1918, these destroyers were among several earlier classes for which "alarm circuits" were to be fitted.

See Also

• Wikipedia

Bibliography

• Chesneau, Robert; Kolesnik, Eugene (editors) (1979). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. London: Conway Maritime Press. (on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk).
• Lyon, David (1996). The First Destroyers. London: Chatham Publishing. (on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk).
• March, Edgar J. (1966). British Destroyers: A History of Development, 1892-1953. London: Seeley Service & Co. Limited. (on Bookfinder.com).
• Admiralty, Technical History Section (1920). The Technical History and Index: Alteration in Armaments of H.M. Ships during the War. Vol. 4, Part 34. C.B. 1515 (34) now O.U. 6171/20. At The National Archives, Kew, United Kingdom.