"B" Class Destroyer (1895)

The four-funneled subset of the destroyers originally termed the 30 Knotters, the destroyers of the "B" Class entered service between 1897 and 1898.

They were designated the "B" class on 30 August 1912.^[1]

By May 1920, twenty of the ships were still worth documenting as regards their armament.^[2]

Machinery

The ships were used to compare oil firing and coal firing to see what new technology and methods could yield. Surly was fitted with both Holden and Rusden & Eeles oil-fired boilers, but trials in 1898-99 produced a lot of smoke and firing only 82% as efficient as with coal. The boilers were update in 1901, but results were not dramatically improved. In 1902, Kermode and Orde systems were tried, and the Kermode system proved the better, now producing evaporation 14% better than was possible with coal.Template:BrownTheGrandFleet

Between September, 1905 and January 1905, Surly's oil-firing was compared to Peterel's coal-firing. The vital win was that Surly required just three men rather than six men in her boiler room, but in four different tests, she seemed superior in speed and in fuel consumption by weight, though there was variation and sometimes Peterel had a minor edge.Template:BrownTheGrandFleet

Guns

Like the 27 knotters within the "A" 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).^[2]
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.^[3]^[2]

By 1920, those remaining had also been fitted with a QF 6-pdr on Mark IV HA mounting.^[2]

Torpedoes

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

In 1905-06, it was decreed that Kangaroo and Myrmidon were to have their 10 cubic foot air compressors replaced by a 20 cubic foot model to be able to pump to 2,500 psi. In 1906-07, Peterel and Spiteful were to receive the same.^[4]

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..^[5]

Other Weapons

Searchlights

Fire Control

Visual fire control system.^[2]

Torpedo Control

Footnotes

↑ Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships, 1906-1921, p. 18.
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 ^2.2 ^2.3 ^2.4 Technical History and Index Vol. 4, Part 34, p. 15.
↑ Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships, 1860-1905, p. 93.
↑ Annual Report of the Torpedo School, 1904. p. 75.
↑ Annual Report of the Torpedo School, 1907. p. 32.

Bibliography

Template:BibConways1860-1905
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.