"V" Class Destroyer (1917)
A total of 25 destroyers of the "V" Class were completed in 1917-1918.
Design
The bridge replaced the conventional canvas screens with steel plates to better resist heavy seas. This required the dumaresq and Line of Sight Indicator to be duplicated to port and starboard pairs. The chart table jutted out from the bridge, and a director was fitted. A panel with torpedo control instruments was also sited on the bridge.[1]
Performance
The ships' capacity for 365 tons of fuel, delivered the following endurance.[2]
Knots | Tons / hour | Endurance (hours) |
radius (nm) |
---|---|---|---|
14 | 1.7 | 206 | 2,884 |
16 | 2.0 | 175 | 2,800 |
18 | 2.5 | 140 | 2,520 |
20 | 3.6 | 97 | 1,940 |
22 | 4.5 | 80 | 1,760 |
24 | 5.5 | 63 | 1,512 |
26 | 6.8 | 50 | 1,300 |
28 | 8.5 | 40 | 1,120 |
30 | 10.5 | 33 | 990 |
Machinery
Generators
In 1916, it was stated that "new destroyers" have two 26.25 kw dynamos arranged in parallel.[3] It is likely that this applied to this class.
Armament
4-in Guns
- Four 4-in Q.F. Mark V guns with 30 degree elevation and 120 rounds per gun. Range and deflection receivers were Barr and Stroud, and not F.T.P..[4]
Other Guns
- One 3-in H.A. 20 cwt Mark III with 100 rounds.[5]
Torpedoes
Two twin 21-in tubes on the centre line enjoying 50 degree arcs centered on the beam.[6]
Other Weapons
Fire Control
Instruments
Rangefinders
Directors
Torpedo Control
Alterations
A 9-foot rangefinder and two hydraulic releases for depth charges were added to the bridge at some point.[7] After the war, the twin torpedo tubes were replaced with triple mounts as in the "W" class vessels.[8]
By November 1918, those ships operating with the Twentieth Destroyer Flotilla (Vanoc, Vanquisher and Venturous) were fitted to carry 44 mines, apparently of the "H" and "M" variety. Those with the Eleventh Flotilla were also equipped, but with "M" type sinkers: Vivacious with 40 mines and Versatile, Vittoria, Vortigern and Vancouver with 74. Venetia and Vesper serving with the |Thirteenth Flotilla and Velox at Dover also could carry 74 "M" sinkers. The torpedo tubes and guns removed when the mines were shipped could be placed back aboard with enough notice.[9]
See Also
Footnotes
- ↑ March, Edgar J. British Destroyers, p. 206.
- ↑ Battlecruiser Force Signal Orders (1 August, 1918), ADM 137/2135
- ↑ Annual Report of the Torpedo School', 1916', p. 120.
- ↑ March, Edgar J. British Destroyers, pp. 205-206.
- ↑ March, Edgar J. British Destroyers, pp. 205-206.
- ↑ March. Plate 25/A.
- ↑ March, Edgar J. British Destroyers, p. 206.
- ↑ March, Edgar J. British Destroyers, p. 207.
- ↑ Admiralty. Annual Report of the Torpedo School Mining Appendix, 1917-1918, p. 11. Plate 7.
Bibliography