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Revision as of 23:31, 27 September 2011
A total of thirty six destroyers of the River Class entered service between 1904 and 1909.
They were designated the "E" class in 1912.[1] Eden, Stour and Test alone had turbine propulsion.
Contents
Armament
Guns
Originally carried the same armament dating back to the "B" class:
- 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 QF 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.[2]
From 1906, the 6-pdrs had been replaced by three 12-pdr 8 cwt guns.[3] Sometime during the war, some of the ships landed two of these 8 cwt weapons to offset the weight of depth charges.[4]
By 1920, the 29 remaining ships had also been fitted with a QF 12-pdr 8 cwt on a converted HA mounting.[2]
Torpedoes
Two single 18-in tubes.
Arrangements were made in 1909 to equip the ships with chocks (for 21-inch Mark I or Mark II torpedoes, curiously) or fixed loading trays (for 18-inch torpedoes) for deck storage of a spare torpedo per tube in time of war. This may have forecast hopes to switch to 21-inch torpedoes, as Waveney was testing an experimental 21-inch tube (weight: 2744 pounds), derrick and winch that same year before transferring the equipment to Rocket, the then-tender to Vernon.[6]
In 1916, the torpedo in use was the 18-in Mark VII.[7]
Other Weapons
During the war, along with "A" to D" classes, these ships were given depth charges. A pair of 12-pdr 8cwt guns were landed in some cases to maintain stability.[8]
Searchlights
The River class were the last British destroyers to use a single searchlight.[9]
Fire Control
By 1915, at least, these ships 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.[10]
The Technical History and Index indicates that destroyers prior to the Acorn class relied on a visual system for transmitting fire control information.[2]
Instruments
Rangefinders
Directors
Torpedo Control
Some of the ships were equipped with Fore Bridge Firing Gear, either upon completion or prior to 1911.[11]
See Also
Footnotes
- ↑ Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships, 1860-1905, p. 99.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Technical History and Index Vol. 4, Part 34, p. 15.
- ↑ Technical History and Index Vol. 4, Part 34, p. 10.
- ↑ Technical History and Index Vol. 4, Part 34, p. 14.
- ↑ Annual Report of the Torpedo School, 1909, Plate 15.
- ↑ Annual Report of the Torpedo School, 1909, p. 32.
- ↑ Annual Report of the Torpedo School, 1916, p. 87.
- ↑ Technical History and Index Vol. 4, Part 34, p. 14.
- ↑ Manual of Gunnery, Vol. III., 1915., p. 161.
- ↑ Manual of Gunnery, Vol. III., 1915., p. 150.
- ↑ Annual Report of the Torpedo School, 1916, p. 31.
Bibliography
