Difference between revisions of ""W" Class Destroyer (1917)"

From The Dreadnought Project
Jump to: navigation, search
(Use new footers for ship classes)
(→‎Directors)
 
(46 intermediate revisions by 2 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
−
A total of some 22 [[Destroyer|destroyers]] of the '''"W" Class''' were completed in 1917-1918.  Late in the war, an additional order was placed for a large number of [[Modified "W" Class Destroyer (1918)|modified "W" class]] destroyers, most of which were cancelled.
+
Twenty-one [[Destroyer|destroyers]] of the '''"W" Class''' were completed in 1917-1918.  They were essentially the same design as the [["V" Class Destroyer (1917)|"V" class]], but incorporated the triple torpedo tube mounts that had not been ready in time for the "V"s.
−
<!--
+
 
−
==Performance==
+
Late in the war, an additional order was placed for a large number of [[Modified "W" Class Destroyer (1918)|Modified "W" class]] destroyers, most of which were cancelled.
 +
 
 +
<div name=fredbot:ships>
 +
{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" border=2 cellpadding=2 cellspacing=0 style="margin: 0 0 1em 0.5em; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse;" align=center;
 +
|-
 +
! colspan=6 align=left|Overview of 21 vessels
 +
|-
 +
| colspan=6 align=left|<small>Citations for this data available on individual ship pages</small>
 +
|-
 +
! align=center | Name
 +
! align=center | Builder
 +
! align=center | Laid Down
 +
! align=center | Launched
 +
! align=center | Completed
 +
! align=center | Fate
 +
|- align=left
 +
| {{Template:UK-Wakeful}}
 +
|[[John Brown & Company]]
 +
|
 +
|6 Oct, 1917
 +
|
 +
|Torpedoed 29 May, 1940
 +
|- align=left
 +
| {{Template:UK-Watchman}}
 +
|[[John Brown & Company]]
 +
|
 +
|2 Nov, 1917
 +
|
 +
| 23 Jul, 1945
 +
|- align=left
 +
| {{Template:UK-Walpole}}
 +
|[[William Doxford & Sons]]
 +
|
 +
|12 Feb, 1918
 +
|
 +
| 8 Feb, 1945
 +
|- align=left
 +
| {{Template:UK-Whitley}}
 +
|[[William Doxford & Sons]]
 +
|
 +
|13 Apr, 1918
 +
|
 +
|Bombed 19 May, 1940
 +
|- align=left
 +
| {{Template:UK-Walker}}
 +
|[[William Denny & Brothers]]
 +
|
 +
|29 Nov, 1917
 +
|
 +
| 15 Mar, 1946
 +
|- align=left
 +
| {{Template:UK-Westcott}}
 +
|[[William Denny & Brothers]]
 +
|
 +
|14 Feb, 1918
 +
|
 +
| 8 Jan, 1946
 +
|- align=left
 +
| {{Template:UK-Walrus}}
 +
|[[Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company]]
 +
|
 +
|27 Dec, 1917
 +
|
 +
|Stranded 12 Feb, 1938
 +
|- align=left
 +
| {{Template:UK-Wolfhound}}
 +
|[[Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company]]
 +
|
 +
|14 Mar, 1918
 +
|
 +
| 18 Feb, 1948
 +
|- align=left
 +
| {{Template:UK-Warwick}}
 +
|[[Hawthorn Leslie & Company]]
 +
|
 +
|28 Dec, 1917
 +
|
 +
|Torpedoed 20 Feb, 1944
 +
|- align=left
 +
| {{Template:UK-Wessex}}
 +
|[[Hawthorn Leslie & Company]]
 +
|
 +
|12 Mar, 1918
 +
|
 +
|Sunk 24 May, 1940
 +
|- align=left
 +
| {{Template:UK-Voyager}}
 +
|[[Alexander Stephen & Sons]]
 +
|
 +
|8 May, 1918
 +
|
 +
|Grounded 23 Sep, 1942
 +
|- align=left
 +
| {{Template:UK-Whirlwind}}
 +
|[[Swan Hunter]]
 +
|
 +
|15 Dec, 1917
 +
|
 +
|Torpedoed 5 Jul, 1940
 +
|- align=left
 +
| {{Template:UK-Wrestler}}
 +
|[[Swan Hunter]]
 +
|
 +
|25 Feb, 1918
 +
|
 +
| 20 Jul, 1944
 +
|- align=left
 +
| {{Template:UK-Winchelsea}}
 +
|[[J. Samuel White]]
 +
|
 +
|15 Dec, 1917
 +
|
 +
| 20 Mar, 1945
 +
|- align=left
 +
| {{Template:UK-Winchester}}
 +
|[[J. Samuel White]]
 +
|
 +
|1 Feb, 1918
 +
|
 +
| 5 Mar, 1946
 +
|- align=left
 +
| {{Template:UK-Westminster}}
 +
|[[Scotts Shipbuilding and Engineering Company]]
 +
|
 +
|1918
 +
|
 +
| 4 Mar, 1947
 +
|- align=left
 +
| {{Template:UK-Windsor}}
 +
|[[Scotts Shipbuilding and Engineering Company]]
 +
|
 +
|21 Jun, 1918
 +
|
 +
| 4 Mar, 1947
 +
|- align=left
 +
| {{Template:UK-Wryneck}}
 +
|[[Palmer Shipbuilding and Iron Company]]
 +
|
 +
|13 May, 1918
 +
|
 +
|Sunk 27 Apr, 1941
 +
|- align=left
 +
| {{Template:UK-Waterhen}}
 +
|[[Palmer Shipbuilding and Iron Company]]
 +
|
 +
|26 Mar, 1918
 +
|
 +
|Foundered 30 Jun, 1941
 +
|- align=left
 +
| {{Template:UK-Wolsey}}
 +
|[[John I. Thornycroft & Company]]
 +
|
 +
|16 Mar, 1918
 +
|
 +
| 4 Mar, 1947
 +
|- align=left
 +
| {{Template:UK-Woolston}}
 +
|[[John I. Thornycroft & Company]]
 +
|
 +
|27 Apr, 1918
 +
|
 +
| 18 Feb, 1947
 +
|}
 +
</div name=fredbot:ships>
  
 
==Armament==
 
==Armament==
  
 
===4-in Guns===
 
===4-in Guns===
 +
* Four 4-in Q.F. Mark V guns on {{Mount|C.P. II|UK}}s{{UKDirectorFiringDestroyers1918|p. 55}}
  
 
===Other Guns===
 
===Other Guns===
−
-->
 
  
 
===Torpedoes===
 
===Torpedoes===
−
<!--
 
−
As in the preceding class, they had two twin 21-in tubes on the centre line (4x2) enjoying 50 degree arcs centered on the beam.<ref>March.  Plate 18/B.</ref>
 
−
-->
 
  
−
===Other Weapons===
+
* Two [[21-in T.R. Mark I Torpedo Tube (UK)|21-in T.R. Mark I tubes]] (2x3){{ARTS1917|p. 210}}
 +
 
 +
This new mounting inaugurated the triple tube format for the Royal Navy, offering destroyers three times the ready torpedo numbers of destroyers designed just six years previously..{{ARTS1917|p. 76, 77}}
 +
 
 +
In mid-1920, it was ordered that [["S" Class Destroyer (1918)|"S"]], [["V" Class Destroyer (1917)|"V"]] and "W" class destroyers should be allocated the {{Torp|21-in Mark IV*|UK}}.{{ARTS1920|pp. 6-7. (G. 10141/20-6.8.1920)}}
  
 
==Fire Control==
 
==Fire Control==
−
<!--
 
−
By 1915, at least, these ships also had fixed voice pipes installed between decks with the last lengths being flexible (one voice pipe for gunnery, one for torpedoes) fitted between bridge and guns, torpedo tubes, and searchlights.  A third voicepipe, entirely flexible, ran from bridge to the forward gun.<ref>''Manual of Gunnery, Vol. III., 1915.'', p. 150.</ref>
 
−
-->
 
  
−
===Instruments===
+
===Mid 1916 Outfit===
 +
Experiments from February with two Grand Fleet destroyers employing [[Dumaresq|dumaresqs]] and [[Vickers Range Clock]]s and voicepipes showed definite advantages over ships using unaided spotting and voicepipes, even when the crews had no special training in the new equipment.  Tests were also conducted to find a rangefinder suitable to the lively and cramped platform that destroyers provided.  This led to an order on 3 April, 1916 that each T.B.D. of "M" class and later should be equipped with:{{UKTH23|p. 31}}{{UKProgressInNavalGunnery1914-1918|p. 35}}
 +
* one [[Waymouth-Cooke Rangefinder|Waymouth-Cooke sextant rangefinder]]
 +
* one [[Vickers Range Clock]]
 +
* one Dumaresq
 +
* range and deflection receivers at each gun
  
−
===Rangefinders===
+
Two ratings, trained before coming aboard, were added to the crew to work the equipment.  The clocks and rangefinders were issued in the following three months, and the dumaresqs a few months later.  The data instruments did not become available in numbers until 1917.  By mid-1917, the whole system was broadly in place in the destroyers of the Grand Fleet and in the [[Harwich Force]].{{UKTH23|pp. 31, 32}}  It seems likely that this class would have followed on the same pattern.{{INF}}
 +
 
 +
In 1918, it was ordered that the ''Scott'' class flotilla leaders and destroyers of "V" and "W" classes should have range and deflection receivers for their 3-in H.A. guns and fire gongs worked off the firing key used for the ships' L.A. weaponry.{{ARTS1918|p. 376. (C.I.O. 11/18, G. 39278/17)}}
  
 
===Directors===
 
===Directors===
−
On 26 April, 1918, ''Wolsey'' had her director tilt tested at Southampton.<ref>''Director Firing for Flotilla Leaders and Destroyers, 1918'', p. 45.</ref>
+
[[File:ARTS1917Plate100.jpg|thumb|480px|'''Firing Circuits'''{{ARTS1917|Plate100}}]]
 +
[[File:ARTS1917Plate101.jpg|thumb|480px|'''Training and Slewing Circuits'''{{ARTS1917|Plate101}}]]
 +
In 1917, it was approved that the "V" class and later destroyers should all receive installations of the [[British Destroyer Director Firing System]],{{ARTS1917|p. 229}} but none of these installations were completed prior to 1918.{{UKProgressInNavalGunnery1914-1918|p. 37}}
 +
 
 +
The ''Director Firing Handbook, 1917'' reports that they were to receive [[Small Type Training Receiver]]s of pattern number 20 on #1, #2 guns, and pattern number 21 on #3 and #4.{{DirectorH|p. 146}}
 +
 
 +
On 26 April, 1918, {{UK-Wolsey}} had her director tilt tested at Southampton.{{UKDirectorFiringDestroyers1918|p. 45}}
 +
 
 +
In 1918, it was ordered that those destroyers with director installations were to additionally receive:{{ARTS1918|p. 376. (C.I.O. 1081/18, G. 24486/15)}}
 +
* a voice pipe from {{TS}} to director
 +
* a fire gong at director worked from existing push in {{TS}}
 +
* a fire gong push on fore bridge to be added, wired in parallel to that in the T.S.
 +
* the repeat receivers on the fore bridge were to be positioned so as to be visible to the director sightsetter.
 +
 
 +
===Rangefinders===
 +
By 1921, all four-gun destroyers mounted a 1m [[F.T. 27]] RF on a [[M.H. 37]] mounting or a 9ft [[F.Q. 2]] on an [[M.Q. 12]] mount on their fore bridge.{{HRFs1921|p. 168}}
  
 
==Torpedo Control==
 
==Torpedo Control==
 +
[[File:ARTS1917Plate82.jpg|thumb|300px|'''Torpedo Control Circuits in "W" class'''{{ARTS1917|p. 210. Plate 82}}]]
 +
[[File:ARTS1917Plate86.jpg|thumb|300px|'''Chadburn's Order and Deflection Equipment'''{{ARTS1917|Plate 86}}]]
 +
 +
The destroyers had sighting positions on both sides of a bridge that had been enlarged from earlier destroyers with firing pushes and keys for sounding buzzers at the tubes.  The [[Chadburn's Torpedo Telegraph]] transmitters for both order and deflection transmitters were situated centrally on a panel on the bridge, between the two sights.  Battery-worked electrical firing and firing gongs augmented this arrangement.{{ARTS1917|pp. 210, 211.  Plate 82}}
  
 
==Alterations==
 
==Alterations==
−
By November 1918, ''Warwick'' and ''Whirlwind'' were operating out of Dover and were equipped to carry 74 "M" type sinker mines.  The torpedo tubes and guns removed when the mines were shipped could be placed back aboard with enough notice.<ref>Admiralty. ''Annual Report of the Torpedo School Mining Appendix, 1917-1918'', p. 11. Plate 7.</ref>
+
By November 1918, {{UK-Warwick}} and {{UK-Whirlwind}} were operating out of Dover and were equipped to carry 74 "M" type sinker mines.  The torpedo tubes and guns removed when the mines were shipped could be placed back aboard with enough notice.{{ARTSMining1917-18|p. 11. Plate 7}}
  
 
==See Also==
 
==See Also==
−
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V_and_W_class_destroyer Wikipedia]
+
{{refbegin}}
 +
{{WP|http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V_and_W_class_destroyer}}
 +
{{refend}}
  
 
==Footnotes==
 
==Footnotes==
Line 42: Line 231:
 
==Bibliography==
 
==Bibliography==
 
{{refbegin}}
 
{{refbegin}}
−
*{{BibUKTHVol4Part34}}
+
*{{UKTHVol4Part34}}
 
*{{March}}
 
*{{March}}
−
*{{BibConways1906-1921}}
+
*{{Conways1906}}
 
{{refend}}
 
{{refend}}
  
Line 68: Line 257:
 
{ship
 
{ship
 
name=Wakeful
 
name=Wakeful
−
pend=
+
pend=F.37 (Jan 1918){{DittColl|p. 73}}
−
builder=
+
builder=[[John Brown & Company]]{{Conways1906|p. 84}}
−
order=
+
order=December, 1916{{Conways1906|p. 84}}
 
laid=
 
laid=
−
launch=1917
+
launch=6 10 1917{{DittColl|p. 73}}
 
comm=
 
comm=
 +
fate=Torpedoed
 +
fate2=by Schnellboot{{DittColl|p. 73}}
 +
fatedate=29 5 1940{{DittColl|p. 73}}
 
}
 
}
  
 
{ship
 
{ship
 
name=Watchman
 
name=Watchman
−
pend=
+
pend=G.23(Jan 1918)<br>G.09 (Apr 1918){{DittColl|p. 73}}
−
builder=
+
builder="
−
order=
+
order="
 
laid=
 
laid=
−
launch=1917
+
launch=2 11 1917{{DittColl|p. 73}}
 
comm=
 
comm=
 +
fatedate=23 7 1945{{DittColl|p. 73}}
 
}
 
}
  
 
{ship
 
{ship
 
name=Walpole
 
name=Walpole
−
pend=
+
pend=F.15 (Sep 1918){{DittColl|p. 73}}
−
builder=
+
builder=[[William Doxford & Sons]]{{Conways1906|p. 84}}
−
order=
+
order="
 
laid=
 
laid=
−
launch=1918
+
launch=12 2 1918{{DittColl|p. 73}}
 
comm=
 
comm=
 +
fatedate=8 2 1945{{DittColl|p. 73}}
 
}
 
}
  
 
{ship
 
{ship
 
name=Whitley
 
name=Whitley
−
pend=
+
pend=F.20 (Nov 1918){{DittColl|p. 73}}
−
builder=
+
builder="
−
order=
+
order="
 
laid=
 
laid=
−
launch=1918
+
launch=13 4 1918{{DittColl|p. 73}}
 
comm=
 
comm=
 +
fate=Bombed
 +
fate2=beached off Belgium{{DittColl|p. 73}}
 +
fatedate=19 5 1940{{DittColl|p. 73}}
 
}
 
}
  
 
{ship
 
{ship
 
name=Walker
 
name=Walker
−
pend=
+
pend=G.22 (Jan 1918)<br>G.08 (Apr 1918){{DittColl|p. 73}}
−
builder=
+
builder=[[William Denny & Brothers]]{{Conways1906|p. 84}}
−
order=
+
order="
 
laid=
 
laid=
−
launch=1917
+
launch=29 11 1917{{DittColl|p. 73}}
 
comm=
 
comm=
 +
fatedate=15 3 1946{{DittColl|p. 73}}
 
}
 
}
  
 
{ship
 
{ship
 
name=Westcott
 
name=Westcott
−
pend=
+
pend=F.03 (Apr 1918){{DittColl|p. 73}}
−
builder=
+
builder="
−
order=
+
order="
 
laid=
 
laid=
−
launch=1918
+
launch=14 2 1918{{DittColl|p. 73}}
 
comm=
 
comm=
 +
fatedate=8 1 1946{{DittColl|p. 73}}
 
}
 
}
  
 
{ship
 
{ship
 
name=Walrus
 
name=Walrus
−
pend=
+
pend=G.17 (Apr 1918){{DittColl|p. 73}}
−
builder=
+
builder=[[Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company]]{{Conways1906|p. 84}}
−
order=
+
order="
 
laid=
 
laid=
−
launch=1917
+
launch=27 12 1917{{DittColl|p. 73}}
 
comm=
 
comm=
 +
fate=Stranded
 +
fate2=Sold & scrapped{{DittColl|p. 73}}
 +
fatedate=12 2 38{{DittColl|p. 73}}
 
}
 
}
  
 
{ship
 
{ship
 
name=Wolfhound
 
name=Wolfhound
−
pend=
+
pend=F.18 (Apr 1918){{DittColl|p. 73}}
−
builder=
+
builder="
−
order=
+
order="
 
laid=
 
laid=
−
launch=1918
+
launch=14 3 1918{{DittColl|p. 73}}
 
comm=
 
comm=
 +
fatedate=18 2 1948{{DittColl|p. 73}}
 
}
 
}
  
 
{ship
 
{ship
 
name=Warwick
 
name=Warwick
−
pend=
+
pend=H.38 (Apr 1918)<br>''none'' (Sep 1918){{DittColl|p. 73}}
−
builder=
+
builder=[[Hawthorn Leslie & Company]]{{Conways1906|p. 84}}
−
order=
+
order="
 
laid=
 
laid=
−
launch=1917
+
launch=28 12 1917{{DittColl|p. 73}}
 
comm=
 
comm=
 +
fate=Torpedoed
 +
fate2=by U-413{{DittColl|p. 73}}
 +
fatedate=20 2 1944{{DittColl|p. 73}}
 
}
 
}
  
 
{ship
 
{ship
 
name=Wessex
 
name=Wessex
−
pend=
+
pend=F.32 (Jun 1918){{DittColl|p. 73}}
−
builder=
+
builder="
−
order=
+
order="
 
laid=
 
laid=
−
launch=1918
+
launch=12 3 1918{{DittColl|p. 73}}
 
comm=
 
comm=
 +
fate=Sunk
 +
fate2=Air attack off Calais{{DittColl|p. 73}}
 +
fatedate=24 5 1940{{DittColl|p. 73}}
 
}
 
}
  
 
{ship
 
{ship
 
name=Voyager
 
name=Voyager
−
pend=
+
pend=G.36 (Jun 1918){{DittColl|p. 73}}
−
builder=
+
builder=[[Alexander Stephen & Sons]]{{Conways1906|p. 84}}
−
order=
+
order="
 
laid=
 
laid=
−
launch=1918
+
launch=8 5 1918{{DittColl|p. 73}}
 
comm=
 
comm=
 +
fate=Grounded
 +
fate2=Destroyed by crew
 +
fatedate=23 9 1942{{DittColl|p. 73}}
 
}
 
}
  
 
{ship
 
{ship
 
name=Whirlwind
 
name=Whirlwind
−
pend=
+
pend=H.41 (Apr 1918)<br>D.25 (Sep 1918){{DittColl|p. 73}}
−
builder=
+
builder=[[Swan Hunter]]{{Conways1906|p. 84}}
−
order=
+
order="
 
laid=
 
laid=
−
launch=1917
+
launch=15 12 1917{{DittColl|p. 73}}
 
comm=
 
comm=
 +
fate=Torpedoed
 +
fate2=by U-34, SW of Ireland
 +
fatedate=5 7 1940{{DittColl|p. 73}}
 
}
 
}
  
 
{ship
 
{ship
 
name=Wrestler
 
name=Wrestler
−
pend=
+
pend=G.31 (Jun 1918){{DittColl|p. 73}}
−
builder=
+
builder="
−
order=
+
order="
 
laid=
 
laid=
−
launch=1918
+
launch=25 2 1918{{DittColl|p. 73}}
 
comm=
 
comm=
 +
fatedate=20 7 1944{{DittColl|p. 73}}
 
}
 
}
  
 
{ship
 
{ship
 
name=Winchelsea
 
name=Winchelsea
−
pend=
+
pend=F.40 (Apr 1918){{DittColl|p. 73}}
−
builder=
+
builder=[[J. Samuel White]]{{Conways1906|p. 84}}
−
order=
+
order="
 
laid=
 
laid=
−
launch=1917
+
launch=15 12 1917{{DittColl|p. 73}}
 
comm=
 
comm=
 +
fatedate=20 3 1945{DittColl|p. 73}}
 
}
 
}
  
 
{ship
 
{ship
 
name=Winchester
 
name=Winchester
−
pend=
+
pend=G.43 (Apr 1918){{DittColl|p. 73}}
−
builder=
+
builder="
−
order=
+
order="
 
laid=
 
laid=
−
launch=1918
+
launch=1 2 1918{{DittColl|p. 73}}
 
comm=
 
comm=
 +
fatedate=5 3 1946{{DittColl|p. 73}}
 
}
 
}
  
 
{ship
 
{ship
 
name=Westminster
 
name=Westminster
−
pend=
+
pend=F.02 (Apr 1918){{DittColl|p. 73}}
−
builder=
+
builder=[[Scotts Shipbuilding and Engineering Company]]{{Conways1906|p. 84}}
−
order=
+
order="
 
laid=
 
laid=
−
launch=1918
+
launch=1918{{DittColl|p. 73}}
 
comm=
 
comm=
 +
fatedate=4 3 1947{{DittColl|p. 73}}
 
}
 
}
  
 
{ship
 
{ship
 
name=Windsor
 
name=Windsor
−
pend=
+
pend=F.12 (Sep 1918){{DittColl|p. 73}}
−
builder=
+
builder="
−
order=
+
order="
 
laid=
 
laid=
−
launch=1918
+
launch=21 6 1918{{DittColl|p. 73}}
 
comm=
 
comm=
 +
fatedate=4 3 1947{{DittColl|p. 73}}
 
}
 
}
  
 
{ship
 
{ship
 
name=Wryneck
 
name=Wryneck
−
pend=
+
pend=G.05 (Nov 1918){{DittColl|p. 73}}
−
builder=
+
builder=[[Palmer Shipbuilding and Iron Company]]{{Conways1906|p. 84}}
−
order=
+
order="
 
laid=
 
laid=
−
launch=1918
+
launch=13 5 1918{{DittColl|p. 73}}
 
comm=
 
comm=
 +
fate=Sunk
 +
fate2=Air attack off Greece{{DittColl|p. 73}}
 +
fatedate=27 4 1941{{DittColl|p. 73}}
 
}
 
}
  
 
{ship
 
{ship
 
name=Waterhen
 
name=Waterhen
−
pend=
+
pend=G.28 (Sep 1918){{DittColl|p. 73}}
−
builder=
+
builder="
−
order=
+
order="
 
laid=
 
laid=
−
launch=1918
+
launch=26 3 1918{{DittColl|p. 73}}
−
comm=
+
−
}
+
−
 
+
−
{ship
+
−
name=Walker
+
−
pend=
+
−
builder=
+
−
order=
+
−
laid=
+
−
launch=1918
+
 
comm=
 
comm=
 +
fate=Foundered
 +
fate2=Due to bomb damage{{DittColl|p. 73}}
 +
fatedate=30 6 1941{{DittColl|p. 73}}
 
}
 
}
  
Line 273: Line 489:
 
{ship
 
{ship
 
name=Wolsey
 
name=Wolsey
−
pend=
+
pend=G.40 (Jun 1918){{DittColl|p. 74}}
−
builder=
+
builder=[[John I. Thornycroft & Company]]{{DittColl|p. 74}}
−
order=
+
order=December, 1916{{Conways1906|p. 84}}
 
laid=
 
laid=
−
launch=1918
+
launch=16 3 1918{{DittColl|p. 74}}
 
comm=
 
comm=
 +
fatedate=4 3 1947{{DittColl|p. 74}}
 
}
 
}
  
 
{ship
 
{ship
 
name=Woolston
 
name=Woolston
−
pend=
+
pend=F.08 (Jun 1918){{DittColl|p. 74}}
−
builder=
+
builder="
−
order=
+
order="
 
laid=
 
laid=
−
launch=1918
+
launch=27 4 1918{{DittColl|p. 74}}
 
comm=
 
comm=
 +
fatedate=18 2 1947{{DittColl|p. 74}}
 
}
 
}
  
Line 294: Line 512:
  
 
data -->
 
data -->
 +
 +
[[Category:Featured Ship Classes]]

Latest revision as of 08:26, 27 March 2020

Twenty-one destroyers of the "W" Class were completed in 1917-1918. They were essentially the same design as the "V" class, but incorporated the triple torpedo tube mounts that had not been ready in time for the "V"s.

Late in the war, an additional order was placed for a large number of Modified "W" class destroyers, most of which were cancelled.

Armament

4-in Guns

Other Guns

Torpedoes

This new mounting inaugurated the triple tube format for the Royal Navy, offering destroyers three times the ready torpedo numbers of destroyers designed just six years previously..[3]

In mid-1920, it was ordered that "S", "V" and "W" class destroyers should be allocated the 21-in Mark IV* torpedo.[4]

Fire Control

Mid 1916 Outfit

Experiments from February with two Grand Fleet destroyers employing dumaresqs and Vickers Range Clocks and voicepipes showed definite advantages over ships using unaided spotting and voicepipes, even when the crews had no special training in the new equipment. Tests were also conducted to find a rangefinder suitable to the lively and cramped platform that destroyers provided. This led to an order on 3 April, 1916 that each T.B.D. of "M" class and later should be equipped with:[5][6]

Two ratings, trained before coming aboard, were added to the crew to work the equipment. The clocks and rangefinders were issued in the following three months, and the dumaresqs a few months later. The data instruments did not become available in numbers until 1917. By mid-1917, the whole system was broadly in place in the destroyers of the Grand Fleet and in the Harwich Force.[7] It seems likely that this class would have followed on the same pattern.[Inference]

In 1918, it was ordered that the Scott class flotilla leaders and destroyers of "V" and "W" classes should have range and deflection receivers for their 3-in H.A. guns and fire gongs worked off the firing key used for the ships' L.A. weaponry.[8]

Directors

Firing Circuits[9]
Training and Slewing Circuits[10]

In 1917, it was approved that the "V" class and later destroyers should all receive installations of the British Destroyer Director Firing System,[11] but none of these installations were completed prior to 1918.[12]

The Director Firing Handbook, 1917 reports that they were to receive Small Type Training Receivers of pattern number 20 on #1, #2 guns, and pattern number 21 on #3 and #4.[13]

On 26 April, 1918, Wolsey had her director tilt tested at Southampton.[14]

In 1918, it was ordered that those destroyers with director installations were to additionally receive:[15]

  • a voice pipe from T.S. to director
  • a fire gong at director worked from existing push in T.S.
  • a fire gong push on fore bridge to be added, wired in parallel to that in the T.S.
  • the repeat receivers on the fore bridge were to be positioned so as to be visible to the director sightsetter.

Rangefinders

By 1921, all four-gun destroyers mounted a 1m F.T. 27 RF on a M.H. 37 mounting or a 9ft F.Q. 2 on an M.Q. 12 mount on their fore bridge.[16]

Torpedo Control

Torpedo Control Circuits in "W" class[17]
Chadburn's Order and Deflection Equipment[18]

The destroyers had sighting positions on both sides of a bridge that had been enlarged from earlier destroyers with firing pushes and keys for sounding buzzers at the tubes. The Chadburn's Torpedo Telegraph transmitters for both order and deflection transmitters were situated centrally on a panel on the bridge, between the two sights. Battery-worked electrical firing and firing gongs augmented this arrangement.[19]

Alterations

By November 1918, Warwick and Whirlwind were operating out of Dover and were equipped to carry 74 "M" type sinker mines. The torpedo tubes and guns removed when the mines were shipped could be placed back aboard with enough notice.[20]

See Also

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Director Firing For Flotilla Leaders and Destroyers. p. 55.
  2. ↑ Annual Report of the Torpedo School, 1917. p. 210.
  3. ↑ Annual Report of the Torpedo School, 1917. p. 76, 77.
  4. ↑ Annual Report of the Torpedo School, 1920. pp. 6-7. (G. 10141/20-6.8.1920).
  5. ↑ The Technical History and Index, Vol. 3, Part 23. p. 31.
  6. ↑ Progress in Naval Gunnery, 1914-1918. p. 35.
  7. ↑ The Technical History and Index, Vol. 3, Part 23. pp. 31, 32.
  8. ↑ Annual Report of the Torpedo School, 1918. p. 376. (C.I.O. 11/18, G. 39278/17).
  9. ↑ Annual Report of the Torpedo School, 1917. Plate100.
  10. ↑ Annual Report of the Torpedo School, 1917. Plate101.
  11. ↑ Annual Report of the Torpedo School, 1917. p. 229.
  12. ↑ Progress in Naval Gunnery, 1914-1918. p. 37.
  13. ↑ The Director Firing Handbook. p. 146.
  14. ↑ Director Firing For Flotilla Leaders and Destroyers. p. 45.
  15. ↑ Annual Report of the Torpedo School, 1918. p. 376. (C.I.O. 1081/18, G. 24486/15).
  16. ↑ Handbook for Naval Range-Finders and Mountings, Book I. p. 168.
  17. ↑ Annual Report of the Torpedo School, 1917. p. 210. Plate 82.
  18. ↑ Annual Report of the Torpedo School, 1917. Plate 86.
  19. ↑ Annual Report of the Torpedo School, 1917. pp. 210, 211. Plate 82.
  20. ↑ Annual Report of the Torpedo School, Mining Appendix, 1917-18. p. 11. Plate 7.

Bibliography


"W" Class Destroyer
Admiralty Design
Wakeful Watchman Walpole Whitley Walker
Westcott Walrus Wolfhound Warwick Wessex
Voyager Whirlwind Wrestler Winchelsea Winchester
  Westminster Windsor Wryneck Waterhen  
Thornycroft Specials
  Wolsey Woolston  
<– "V" Class Destroyers (UK) "S" Class –>
Retrieved from "http://www.dreadnoughtproject.org/tfs/index.php?title=%22W%22_Class_Destroyer_(1917)&oldid=298588"