V and W class
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| V and W classes | |
_IWM_SP_699.jpg) The HMS Valentine shortly after its completion |
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| Overview | |
| Type | destroyer |
| units | 67 + 40 construction contracts canceled in 1918 |
| Shipyard |
14 private British shipyards |
| Order | 1916-1918 |
| Keel laying | from May 1916 |
| Launch | from October 1917 |
| period of service |
1917-1945 |
| Technical specifications | |
| displacement | |
| length |
95.1 m (312 ft) overall |
| width |
8.15 m (26.75 ft) |
| Draft |
up to 3.43 m (11.25 ft) |
| crew |
110 to 134 men |
| drive |
3 Yarrow boilers , |
| speed |
34 kn |
| Range |
3500 nm at 15 kn |
| Armament |
4 - 102-mm-L / 45-Mk.V cannons |
| Fuel supply |
370 ts |
The V- and W-Class were a ship class of 67 fleet destroyers of the Royal Navy , which entered service from 1917. It was composed of six subgroups. This developed as the flotilla boats were the last fleet destroyers, which the part of the British Kriegsbauprogramms First World War were delivered. The boats were among the most powerful and advanced destroyers in the world at the time, and all future British destroyers were built on their model.
Most of them were completed during the First World War. Between the wars, the V- and W-class boats were the core of the British destroyer flotillas until they were replaced by newbuildings in the 1930s and assigned to the reserve. The majority of the ships were still there at the beginning of World War II . Since 1938, the Royal Navy has also modernized older units as part of its upgrade program. So she developed the escort boats of the
- WAIR type
even before the war, to which then war modifications as
- Long range escort and
- Short range escort
came. The old boats made an important contribution to the security of the convoy, which was very important for the Allied war effort, and enabled the use of more modern units in the fleet.
Design and construction history
In April 1916 five were flotilla of V class for a Admiralty design ordered that the new fleet destroyers of the S-class should be used. They were a further development of the previous buildings. They largely corresponded in size to the last delivered Parker class flotilla commanders , from whom they took over the guns arranged overlapping at the bow. The three boilers and the two funnels were taken over from the destroyers of the Yarrow M-class , which increased the usable deck area. The drive with geared turbines on two shafts was taken over from the fleet destroyers of the R-Class . The new boats had a relatively thin and tall front chimney and a thicker, short rear chimney. New on the boats was the fire control system and the transfer of the gun between the funnels to a protective deck at the stern, so that two cannons were available at both ends of the ship, which could shoot the same targets relatively unhindered. The five boats built as flotilla leaders had a large bridge and a high foremast. The main mast far back was low and stretched the antennas.
Two boats each were built by Cammell Laird in Birkenhead ( Valentine , Valhalla ) and William Denny in Dumbarton ( Valkyrie , Valorous ). The boats built at Cammell Laird had Parsons turbines ; Valkyrie , Valorous, and the J. Samuel White- built Vampire had Brown Curtis turbines. The Vampire was the only boat in this sub-class to be equipped with White Forster boilers and was a test boat for the new triple torpedo sets.
| V-Leader | Shipyard | Launch | in service | Remodeling before 39 a. D. |
Final fate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HMS Valkyrie (D61) | Denny Bros. | 03/12/1917 | 06/16/1917 | (1936) | 8.1936 for cancellation |
| HMS Valentine (L69) | Cammell Laird | March 24, 1917 | 06/27/1917 | WAIR | May 15, 1940 before Terneuzen dropped |
| HMAS Vampires (D68) | White | 05/21/1917 | 09/22/1917 | 11/11/1933 => RAN | Sunk off Ceylon on April 9th, 1942 |
| HMS Valhalla (D44) | Cammell Laird 2 | 05/22/1917 | 07/31/1917 | (1931) | 12.1931 for demolition |
| HMS Valorous (L00) | Denny 2 | August 5, 1917 | 08/21/1917 | WAIR | 3.1947 for cancellation |
The V-Class
The 23 V-Class boats based on the Admiralty draft (and two based on a Thornycroft draft, see below) were ordered in July 1916, as there were indications that the Germans would soon be putting new, more powerful destroyers into service. The orders were awarded to ten shipyards, of which William Denny and J. Samuel White were also involved in the construction of the V-Flotilla leader boats. Nine of the boats were built so that they could be converted into mine layers within 24 hours. These had mine gates in the stern. During the conversion, they gave both torpedo sets and the lower rear gun ashore and were able to take over 60 mines that were protected by curtains. The possible miners were the Vanoc and Vanquisher built by J. Brown & Co. in Clydebank , the Velox built by Doxford , the Denny boats Vehement and Venturous , the Swan Hunter built Vimiera and Vittoria , Hawthorn Leslie's Versatile and the vortigers from White.
In terms of machinery, both White boats again had White Forster boilers and the Doxford boats as well as Vimiera and Violent from Swan Hunter Parsons turbines.
The boats, which were initially equipped with two twin torpedo sets like their predecessors, received a forward triple torpedo set in 1921. From 1923, the exchange of the rear sets began, except for Vanoc , Velox , Versatile , Vimy and Vortigern .
During the First World War, the Vehement was the only V- and W-class boat to be lost to a mine; In 1919 the losses of Verulam and Vittoria were still to be lamented in the Baltic Sea . At the beginning of the Second World War there were still 16 boats available, five of which were converted into fast escort boats.
| Surname | Shipyard | Launch | in service | Remodeling before 39 a. D. |
Final fate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HMS Vanoc (H33) | J. Brown | 06/14/1917 | 08/15/1917 | Long-range escort | 7.1945 for cancellation |
| HMS Vimiera (L29) | Swan Hunter | 06/22/1917 | 09/19/1917 | WAIR | January 9, 1942 sank after being hit by a mine |
| HMS Vehement (H2A) | Denny 3 | July 6, 1917 | 10.1917 | (1918 †) | August 1, 1918 sank after being hit by a mine |
| HMS Vanquisher (D54) | J. Brown 2 | 08/18/1917 | October 2, 1917 | Long-range escort | 03.1947 for demolition |
| HMS Verdun (L93) | Hawthorn | 08/21/1917 | October 16, 1917 | WAIR | 03.1946 for demolition |
| HMS Violent (D57) | Swan Hunter 2 | 09/01/1917 | 12.1917 | (1937) | March 8, 1937 for demolition |
| HMS Vega (L41) | Doxford | 09/01/1917 | 12/14/1917 | WAIR | 1946 for demolition |
| HMAS Vendetta (D69) | Fairfield | September 3, 1917 | October 4, 1917 | 10.1933 => RAN | 07/02/1948 sunk off Sydney |
| HMS Vectis (D51) | JS White 2 | September 4, 1917 | December 5, 1917 | (1936) | 08/25/1936 for demolition |
| HMS Venturous (D87) | Denny 4 | 09/21/1917 | 11/29/1917 | (1936) | 08/24/1936 for demolition |
| HMS Verulam (F19) | Hawthorn L. 2 | October 3, 1917 | December 5, 1917 | (1919 †) | 09/04/1919 before Seiskari dropped |
| HMS Vortigern (D37) | JS White 3 | October 15, 1917 | 01/25/1918 | By 03/15/1942 S-boat sunk | |
| HMS Venetia (D53) | Fairfield 2 | October 29, 1917 | December 19, 1917 | October 19, 1940 sank after being hit by a mine | |
| HMS Vittoria (F96) | Swan Hunter 3 | October 29, 1917 | March 9, 1918 | (1919 †) | September 1st, 1919 sunk off Seiskari |
| HMS Versatile (D32) | Hawthorn L 3 | 10/31/1917 | 02/11/1918 | Long-range escort | 1946 for demolition |
| HMS Vivacious (D36) | Yarrow | November 3, 1917 | 12/29/1917 | Short range Esc. | 3.1947 for cancellation |
| HMS Velox (D34) | Doxford 2 | 11/17/1917 | 03/14/1918 | Long-range escort | 2.1947 for cancellation |
| HMS Vesper (D55) | Stephen | December 15, 1917 | 02/20/1918 | Long-range escort | 3.1947 for cancellation |
|
HMS Vancouver (G04) 01/04/1928 HMS Vimy (D33) |
Beardmore | 12/28/1917 | March 9, 1918 | Long-range escort | 3.1947 for cancellation |
| HMS Vivien (L33) | Yarrow 2 | 02/16/1918 | 05/28/1918 | WAIR | 2.1947 for cancellation |
| HMS Vidette (D48) | Stephen 2 | 02/28/1918 | 04/18/1918 | Long-range escort | 3.1947 for cancellation |
| HMS Vanessa (D29) | Beardmore 2 | March 16, 1918 | 04/27/1918 | Long-range escort | 3.1947 for cancellation |
| HMS Vanity (L38) | Beardmore 3 | May 3, 1918 | 06/21/1918 | WAIR | 3.1947 for cancellation |
The W class
The 21 W-Class boats based on the Admiralty Draft were all ordered in December 1916. 19 were built as the orders placed at Yarrow were converted into orders for S-class boats ( Tomahawk , Torch ). The ships had only one major difference to the V-Class: there were now enough triple torpedo tube sets available to equip the boats. The main mast of the W boats was usually higher than that of the V boats. As with the V-Class, Thornycroft again received two orders that were manufactured according to the factory design (see below).
| Surname | Shipyard | Launch | in service | Remodeling before 39 a. D. |
Final fate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HMS Wakeful (H88) | J. Brown 3 | 10/6/1917 | 11/16/1917 | Sunk on May 29, 1940 at Nieuwpoort | |
| HMS Watchman (D26) | J. Brown 4 | November 2nd, 1917 | 01/26/1918 | LongrangeEscort | 7.1947 for cancellation |
| HMS Walker (D27) | Denny 5 | 11/29/1917 | 02/12/1918 | LongrangeEscort | 3.1946 for cancellation |
| HMS Whirlwind (D30) | Swan Hunter 4 | December 15, 1917 | 03/15/1918 | Sunk July 15, 1940 | |
| HMS Winchelsea (D46) | White 4 | December 15, 1917 | 04/20/1918 | LongrangeEscort | 3.1947 for cancellation |
| HMS Walrus (D24) | Fairfield 3 | December 27, 1917 | March 8, 1918 | (1938) | Stranded February 12, 1938 |
| HMS Warwick (D25) | Hawthorn L. 4 | 12/28/1917 | 03/18/1918 | LongrangeEscort | Sunk by submarine on February 20, 1944 |
| HMS Winchester (L55) | White 5 | February 1, 1918 | 05/24/1918 | WAIR | 3.1946 for cancellation |
| HMS Walpole (D41) | Doxford 3 | 02/12/1918 | August 7, 1918 | ShortRangeEsc. | 1.1945 total loss |
| HMS Westcott (D47) | Denny 6 | 02/14/1918 | April 2, 1918 | ShortRangeEsc. | 1.1946 for cancellation |
| HMS Westminster (L40) | Scotts | 02/25/1918 | 04/18/1918 | WAIR | 3.1947 for cancellation |
| HMS Wrestler (D35) | Swan Hunter 5 | 02/25/1918 | 05/15/1918 | LongrangeEscort | June 6, 1944 total write-off |
| HMS Wessex (L41) | Hawthorn L. 5 | 03/12/1918 | 05/11/1918 | WAIR | Sunk off Calais on May 24, 1940 |
| HMS Wolfhound (L56) | Fairfield 4 | 03/14/1918 | 04/27/1918 | WAIR | 2.1948 for cancellation |
| HMAS Waterhen (D22) | Palmers | 03/26/1918 | 04/17/1918 | 11.1933 => RAN | Sunk June 30, 1941 off Libya |
| HMS Whitley (L23) | Doxford 4 | 04/13/1918 | 09/23/1918 | WAIR | Sunk on 19 May 1940 off Ostend |
| HMAS Voyager (D31) | Stephen 3 | May 8, 1918 | 06/24/1918 | 11.1933 => RAN | Sunk off Timor on September 23, 1942 |
| HMS Wryneck (L04) | Palmers 2 | 05/13/1918 | 11/11/1918 | WAIR | Sunk on April 27, 1941 off Crete |
| HMS Windsor (D42) | Scott's 2nd | 06/21/1918 | 08/28/1918 | ShortRangeEsc. | 3.1947 sold for demolition |
The modified W-Class
In 1918 two more series of the W-Class were ordered according to the Admiralty Draft in January and April 1918, which comprised 14 and 38 new builds. However, only seven boats of each series were actually completed, five of which had a name beginning with V. Some of the unfinished jobs were started, but canceled in 1918 because the war ended. These boats, known as the modified W-Class, were given the new 120 mm L / 45 Mk.I cannon, in contrast to the previous structures. This armament, similar to that of the standard post-war structures, later led to the waiver of modifications based on the WAIR variant.
The boats of the 2nd order, unlike all other boats of the V and W class, had a thicker front chimney and a thin one behind it, as in these boats the larger boiler room was equipped with two boilers and there was only one boiler behind in the second boiler room. As a result of this change, these seven boats lost their typical appearance of the class with a long, very thin chimney at the front and then a thicker, short chimney. The change in the boiler rooms later did not allow a conversion to long-range escorts according to the standard plans.
| Surname | Shipyard | Launch | in service | modification | Final fate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HMS Venomous (D75) | J. Brown 5 | December 21, 1918 | 08/24/1919 | ShortR.Esc. | 3.1947 for cancellation |
| HMS Verity (D63) | J. Brown 6 | 03/19/1919 | 09/11/1919 | LongrangeEscort | 3.1947 for cancellation |
| HMS Vansittard (D64) | Beardmore 4 | 04/17/1919 | 10/22/1919 | LongrangeEscort | 2.1946 for cancellation |
| HMS Volunteer (D46) | Denny 7 | 04/17/1919 | 10/27/1919 | LongrangeEscort | 3.1947 for cancellation |
| HMS Wanderer (D74) | Fairfield 5 | May 1, 1919 | 09/01/1919 | LongrangeEscort | 1.1946 for cancellation |
| HMS Whitehall (D77) | Swan Hunter 6 Completion: Chatham Dockyard |
09/11/1919 | 09/09/1924 | LongrangeEscort | 10.1945 for cancellation |
| HMS Wren (D88) | Yarrow 3 Completion: Plymouth Dockyard |
11/11/1919 | 01/21/1923 | Sunk by the Luftwaffe on July 27, 1940 | |
| 2nd order | |||||
| HMS Whitshed (D77) | Swan Hunter 7 | January 31, 1919 | 05/29/1919 | ShortR.Esc. | 2.1947 for cancellation |
| HMS Witherington (D76) | White 5 | 04/16/1919 | 09/10/1919 | ShortR.Esc. | 3.1946 for cancellation |
| HMS Wivern (D66) | White 6 | 04/16/1919 | December 23, 1919 | ShortR.Esc. | 2.1947 for cancellation |
| HMS Veteran (D72) | J. Brown 7 | 04/26/1919 | 10/30/1919 | ShortR.Esc. | Sunk by U 404 on September 26, 1942 |
| HMS Wild Swan (D62) | Swan Hunter 8 | 05/17/1919 | 10/10/1919 | Sunk June 17, 1942 | |
| HMS Wolverine (D78) | White 7 | 07/17/1919 | 06/23/1920 | ShortR.Esc. | 1.1946 for cancellation |
| HMS Worcester (D96) | White 8 Completion: Portsmouth Naval Shipyard |
October 24, 1919 | 09/20/1922 | ShortR.Esc. | December 23, 1943 total loss after a mine hit |
The Thornycroft boats to the classes
The destroyer builder John I. Thornycroft & Company Limited was a contractor for flotilla commanders for the V and W classes, six of which were completed as Shakespeare classes . Of the three sub-types of fleet destroyers of the class, however, she also built two boats each, slightly different from the Admiralty's design. The V-boats were ordered on July 30, 1916, the two W-boats on December 9, 1916. Compared to the boats according to the standard plan, the Thornycroft boats had more freeboard, a shorter main mast and the flattened chimneys typical of Thornycroft. The two V-boats had a guaranteed speed of 35 knots, the W-boats of 36 knots.
In January 1918 Thornycroft also received the order for two boats of the improved W-class with 120-mm cannons. They had the changed boiler room division of the second order of the official draft with the large boiler room for two boilers in front and the small boiler room for a steam boiler behind, which was externally evident from the thick chimney in front and the thin chimney in the back. Another distinguishing feature of the Thornycroft boats were the 2-pdr anti-aircraft guns placed one behind the other amidships between the funnels.
The Witch's completion was delayed by the end of the war and she was eventually towed to Devonport for completion at the naval shipyard.
| Surname | group | Launch | in service | modification | Final fate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HMS Viceroy (L21) | Thornycroft-V- | 11/17/1917 | January 8, 1918 | WAIR | 6.1948 for cancellation |
| HMS Viscount (D92) | 12/29/1917 | 4.03.1918 | LongrangeEscort | 3.1945 for cancellation | |
| HMS Wolsey (L02) | Thornycroft-W- | March 16, 1918 | May 1, 1918 | WAIR | 3.1947 for cancellation |
| HMS Woolston (L49) | 04/27/1918 | 06/18/1918 | WAIR | 2.1947 for cancellation | |
| HMS Wishart (D67) | Thornycroft-mod.-W- | 07/18/1919 | 05/28/1920 | ShortR.Esc. | 3.1945 for cancellation |
| HMS Witch (D89) | Completion Devonport | 11/11/1919 | 3.1924 | ShortR.Esc. | 7.1946 for cancellation |
Renewed war use
In 1939 there were still 54 V- and W-class boats in the Royal Navy (RN); four other boats served with the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) since 1933 . 16 of the boats (the modified W-class) of the RN had 120 mm guns like the standard destroyers of the post-war period. The remaining boats should be converted into fast escorts.
Modifications to the pre-war program
This so-called “wair” conversion had already started on some boats and three such conversions had been completed before the start of the war. Next to the former flotilla HMS Wallace of the Shakespeare class the conversion was Whitley and the Valorous completed.
The loss of the walrus
The Walrus was lost on February 12, 1938 when it was moved from the reserve in Rosyth to the reconstruction at the state shipyard in Chatham . During the transfer in tow, there was a storm on the North Sea in which the tow rope broke. The four-man destroyer drifted onto the coast in Filey Bay north of Scarborough . The four men on board were able to save themselves on land with one of the boats. The destroyer, which was to be the first to be rebuilt, was badly damaged and repairing it did not seem economical, so it was sold for demolition.
Scope of the renovation
.jpg)
During these wair conversions, almost all the superstructures of the affected boats were removed and new superstructures were built. The armament was also completely removed and replaced by two 4-inch twin anti-aircraft guns with an associated fire control system. As light anti-aircraft weapons, the boats received two quadruple Vickers machine guns side by side on an elevated position behind the funnels and in front of the rear deckhouse, which were soon replaced by 20-mm Oerlikons . In addition there was a strong depth charge armament. The originally planned conversion of 36 boats was not carried out because shortly after the start of the war the trade war shifted mainly to the Central Atlantic outside the attack possibilities of the German Air Force and the 4-inch twin guns were not available to the desired extent and then preferably in new buildings like the escort destroyers of the Hunt class or the sloops of the Black Swan class were built.
By December 1940, a total of 15 V- and W-class boats had been converted by British naval shipyards. The shipyard in Chatham converted most of the boats, but even the naval shipyards in Gibraltar and Malta carried out conversions.
Four of these boats were lost in the war
- HMS Valentine (L69) sunk in the Scheldt by German bombers on May 15, 1940 ;
- HMS Whitley (L23) sunk by Stukas off Nieuwpoort on May 19, 1940 ;
- HMS Wryneck (L04), April 27, 1941 sunk by Stukas during the evacuation of British troops from Greece;
- HMS Vimiera (L29), 9 January 1942, sank with the entire crew after a mine hit in the Thames estuary
In 1940 not only were the two aforementioned Fast Escorts Valentine and Whitley lost, but also five other V and W class boats.
War conversions
The development of the war showed the need for specialized submarine hunters who could secure the convoys against attacks by German submarines on the Atlantic. This first led to an optimization of the armament against this threat. The old destroyers gave up their stern gun (in the "Y" position) in order to bring more depth charges to the stern, and the rear torpedo set was also replaced on many boats by a 76 mm anti-aircraft gun. This gun did not prove itself and was often replaced again. The front torpedo set was often preserved and used to launch the "One Ton Depth Charge".
From 1942, the bow gun (in the “A” position) on some of the boats used on the North Sea and Channel coasts was replaced by a 57 mm 6 pdr double turret developed for coastal defense, which should improve the defense against speedboats ( Walpole , Windsor , Whitshed , Wivern alongside three Scott- class boats ). The weapon had proven itself in repelling an Italian speedboat attack on Malta. Boats equipped in this way were also known as "East Coast Escorts" .
From 1943 the Hedgehog volley launcher was introduced in this position on Atlantic boats. These boats were then referred to as "short-range escorts" .
From early 1941 to mid-1944 about 20 boats of the V and W class were long-distance chasers ( Long Range Escort rebuilt). This modification included the removal of a boiler and the associated front chimney. This reduced the speed to a maximum of 25 knots. The vacated space was used in the lower area as an additional bunker room and the upper part received urgently needed crew rooms for the considerably stronger crews for the intensive and longer security missions. Furthermore, from 1943 on, the nose gun was exchanged for a " Hedgehog " water bomb launcher . The converted boats only had two cannons in the raised positions "B" and "X". The torpedo tubes were also removed and replaced with roll-off devices and launchers for depth charges, and the anti-aircraft guns were modernized and reinforced. All conversions received the modern tracking devices. Unlike the WAIR conversions, some of these standardized conversions were also carried out by British private shipyards.
The final fate of the boats
During World War II, the Royal Navy lost 14 boats in combat operations. In addition, some boats were badly damaged and their complete restoration was not carried out. With the end of the war in Europe and after the first support from the liberated states, the boats were no longer used and they were all sold for demolition and scrapped until 1948.
The boats of the Australian Navy
After the outbreak of war, the Australian destroyer flotilla with its leader Stuart and the destroyers Vampire , Vendetta , Voyager and Waterhen moved via Singapore to the Mediterranean, where the five boats formed the 19th destroyer flotilla in Malta in early 1940. German propaganda derided the Australians' contribution as "scrap iron flotilla". The Australians adopted the name scrap iron flotilla as an honorary title. The first war loss of the Australian Navy occurred on June 30, 1941 with the Waterhen , which was seriously damaged by German aircraft while supplying the enclosed Tobruk . Further losses followed in 1942 with the Vampire , which in December 1941 had rescued many survivors of the HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse in December 1941 , together with the carrier HMS Hermes off Ceylon and the Voyager off Timor in helping refugees and defenders.
Only the vendetta survived the war. In 1942, shortly before the Japanese occupation, she was still able to leave Singapore in tow. From 1943 to 1945 she was used as an escort vehicle between Australia and New Guinea .
literature
- Bodo Herzog: 60 years of German submarines 1906-1966. JF Lehmanns Verlag, Munich 1968.
- Jürgen Rohwer , Gerhard Hümmelchen : Chronicle of the naval war 1939-1945. Manfred Pawlak VerlagsGmbH, Herrsching 1968, ISBN 3-88199-0097 .
- Alexander Bredt (Ed.): WEYERS Taschenbuch der Kriegsflotten 1941/1942. Lehmanns Verlag, Munich / Berlin 1941.
- MJ Whitley: Destroyers of World War 2 . Cassell Publishing, 1988, ISBN 1-85409-521-8 .
Web links
- SERVICE HISTORIES of ROYAL NAVY WARSHIPS in WORLD WAR 2 and OTHER RESEARCHES Mission stories of 64 boats
- Royal Australian Navy webpage for HMAS Vampire (I)
- scrap iron flotilla
- Wakeful class
- Wanderer Class
- Escort V + W Class
- "V & W" class destroyers with side tears of the tags
- Color profile of the Waterhen
- V&W Class
- The RN's WWII DD to DDE Conversion Program