Flotilla leader
Flotilla leaders were a special form of destroyer and mostly somewhat larger than the contemporary standard destroyer. Their original purpose was to serve as command ships for destroyer units. Accordingly, they were equipped with expanded rooms and signaling facilities for the commander and his staff.
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In the beginning, existing cruisers were used as the command ships of destroyer associations, but due to the increase in speed of the destroyers they could not follow them in battle. The scout cruisers developed by the Royal Navy , such as the HMS Pathfinder and the following series, also proved to be unsuitable. The HMS Swift , built in 1907, remained a single ship.
During the First World War , the Royal Navy then took over four large destroyers still under construction for Chile as the Faulknor class and developed special flotilla leader classes ( HMS Marksman , Parker and others).
This type was particularly common in the Royal Navy , which had a flotilla leader under construction for every new series of destroyers until the Second World War . After the I-class, this system was abolished and one ship from the current series was adapted and equipped with additional facilities for the flotilla staff (extended guidance options, additional accommodations, etc.). In contrast to the large destroyer , they were not heavily armed, but mostly only one or two guns. Other fleets like the Imperial Japanese Navy preferred light cruisers for the same purpose .
See also
- HMS Swift single ship (in service in 1910);
- Faulknor class , four (1914–1916) of the six destroyers of the Almirante Lynch class ;
- Scott class (Admiralty type leader, 1918/1919), u. a. HMAS Stuart ;
- Shakespeare class (Thornycroft type leader, 1917-1925);
- HMS Codrington (1930);
- HMS Keith (1931);
- HMS Kempenfelt (1932);
- HMS Duncan (1933);
- HMS Exmouth (1934);
- HMS Faulknor (1935);
- HMS Grenville (1936);
- HMS Hardy (1936);
- HMS Inglefield (1937).
