The first R class were a class of 62 destroyers built between 1916 and 1917 for the Royal Navy. They were an improvement, specifically in the area of fuel economy, of the earlier destroyers. The most important difference was that the Admiralty R class had two shafts and geared turbines, compared with the three shafts and direct turbines of the Admiralty M class, but in appearance the R class could be distinguished from its predecessors by having the after 4-inch gun mounted in a bandstand. The Admiralty ordered the first two of this class of ships in May 1915. Another seventeen were ordered in July 1915, a further eight in December 1915, and a final twenty-three in March 1916 (of which eleven were to a slightly modified design).
As well as these fifty ships to the standard 'Admiralty' design, twelve more R class were designed and built by the two specialist builders Yarrow Shipbuilders and John I. Thornycroft & Company to their own separate designs. Three were ordered from Thornycroft and four from Yarrow in July 1915, and two from Thornycroft and three from Yarrow in December 1915.
They were the last three-funnelled destroyers ordered by the Royal Navy (although commissioned in 1973 had three funnels, these were not all on the centreline). All of these ships saw extensive service in World War I. Some saw service as minelayers. Eight R-class ships were sunk during the war and all but two of the surviving ships were scrapped in the 1920s and 1930s. One Admiralty R-class vessel, , survived to see service in World War II as a convoy escort, making her the oldest destroyer to see wartime service with the Royal Navy. A second, was transferred to the Royal Siamese Navy as Phra Ruang in September 1920.
Ships in class The ships of this class were ordered under the 5th through 8th War Emergency Programmes through which the government funded the United Kingdom's increased ship production during World War I. The first two prototypes of this class were ordered in May 1915 as part of the 5th War Programme and larger numbers followed, as summarized in the following table:
War Programme Ordered Admiralty R Admiralty Modified R Thornycroft R Yarrow R 5 May 1915 2 - - - 6 July 1915 17 - 3 4 7 December 1915 8 - 2 - 8 March 1916 12 11 - 3
Admiralty R-class destroyers
Name Pennant Builder Laid down Launched Commissioned Disposed Status Ref 5th War Programme order in May 1915 (2 ships)D94, H64, G76, G79, G81Swan Hunter & Wigham RichardsonSold for scrapD95, G41, G81, G82, G86Swan Hunter & Wigham RichardsonSold for scrap 6th War Programme order in July 1915 (17 ships)G15, G18, G53, G83John Brown & Company, ClydebankScrappedD84, F45, H85, G81, G90John Brown & Company, ClydebankScrappedG85, G88John Brown & Company, ClydebankScrappedG86, G90John Brown & Company, ClydebankScrappedG43, G82, G88, H76William Denny and Brothers, DumbartonScrappedWilliam Denny and Brothers, DumbartonScrappedF51, F58, F97, FA4William Denny and Brothers, DumbartonScrappedF56, F57William Doxford & Sons, SunderlandScrappedWilliam Doxford & Sons, SunderlandSunk by submarineG44, G91, H93J. Samuel White, CowesScrappedF55, G98J. Samuel White, CowesSunk after collision (renamed Sable)F18, G93, G94, H36, H58Harland and Wolff, GovanSold for scrapD93, F54, F68, G69, H0AHarland and Wolff, GovanSold for scrapF15, G14, G19, G21, G82R. & W. Hawthorn, Leslie and Company, Hebburn on TyneSold for scrapG68, G93, G94, H66Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson, Wallsend-on-TyneSold for scrapF47, F49, G17Alexander Stephen and Sons, Linthouse, GovanSold for scrapF60, F79Alexander Stephen and Sons, Linthouse, GovanSold for scrap 7th War Programme order in December 1915 (8 ships)F51, F59, G52, H78William Beardmore and Company, DalmuirSold for scrapF48, F61William Beardmore and Company, DalmuirSold for scrapJohn Brown & Company, ClydebankSunk by torpedo boatJohn Brown & Company, ClydebankSold for scrapHarland and Wolff, GovanSold for scrapHarland and Wolff, GovanSold for scrapF60, F64, G50, H70R. & W. Hawthorn, Leslie and Company, Hebburn on TyneSold for scrapF65, F66, G60, H90R. & W. Hawthorn, Leslie and Company, Hebburn on TyneSold for scrap 8th War Programme order in March 1916 (12 ships)F12, F85, G07, G08, G79, H67William Beardmore and Company, DalmuirSold for scrapF22, F65, F72, F79, H97John Brown & Company, ClydebankSold for scrapF23, F66, F81, F86, H98John Brown & Company, ClydebankSold for scrapFairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering CompanySold for scrapF96, G02, G61, H1AHarland and Wolff, Govan; J. Samuel White, CowesSold for scrapF74, F87, G54, H59Harland and Wolff, Govan; J. Samuel White, CowesSold for scrapF75, F82, G80, H72R. & W. Hawthorn, Leslie and Company, Hebburn on TyneSold for scrapF74, F76, G81, H73R. & W. Hawthorn, Leslie and Company, Hebburn on TyneSold for scrapAlexander Stephen and Sons, Linthouse, GovanSold for scrap; sunk in transitAlexander Stephen and Sons, Linthouse, GovanSunk by minesSwan Hunter & Wigham Richardson, Wallsend-on-TyneSunk by minesSwan Hunter & Wigham Richardson, Wallsend-on-TyneSunk by mines
Admiralty Modified R-class destroyers The remaining eleven ships ordered in March 1916 were of the Admiralty Modified R class with a slightly increased breadth of 27 ft, a draught of 11 ft, and a tonnage of 1,085. These ships had two funnels.
Name Pennant Builder Laid down Launched Commissioned Disposed Status Ref 8th War Programme order in March 1916 (11 ships)G78, G96J. Samuel White, CowesSold for scrapF11, F25, F89J. Samuel White, CowesSold for scrapF07, F81, G80, HA7Scotts Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, GreenockSold for scrapSwan Hunter & Wigham Richardson, Wallsend-on-TyneSold for scrapF01, F17, F91, H09William Beardmore and Company, DalmuirSold for scrapWilliam Doxford & Sons, SunderlandSunk following collisionF02, F26, F94, H10William Doxford & Sons, SunderlandSold for scrapF03, G79, G97, H61Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering CompanySold for scrap; sunk in transitF04, F99, H62Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron CompanySold for scrapF05, F10, H63Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron CompanySold for scrapF01, F84, F88, H11Scotts Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, GreenockSold for scrap
Thornycroft R-class ships
Name Pennant Builder Laid down Launched Commissioned Disposed Status Ref 6th War Programme order in July 1915 (3 ships)D87, G64, G89, G95John I. Thornycroft & Company, WoolstonSold for scrapJohn I. Thornycroft & Company, WoolstonSold to Thailand as Phra RuangJohn I. Thornycroft & Company, WoolstonSold for scrap 7th War Programme order in December 1915 (2 ships)D82, F39, F70, F71, H30John I. Thornycroft & Company, WoolstonSold for scrapD83, F40, F71, F93, H17John I. Thornycroft & Company, WoolstonSold for scrap
Only a single R-class destroyer was passed on from the Royal Navy for service in another service:
Name Former name Operator Service entry Service exit Status RefPhra Ruangex-Royal Thai NavyStricken
Yarrow R-class ships These seven ships built by Yarrow Shipbuilders were sometimes classified as the Yarrow Later M-class destroyer. These ships had two funnels.
Name Pennant Builder Laid down Launched Commissioned Disposed Status Ref 6th War Programme order in July 1915 (4 ships)Yarrow ShipbuildersSold for scrapYarrow ShipbuildersSunk by cruisersYarrow ShipbuildersSunk by minesYarrow ShipbuildersSold for scrap 8th War Programme order in March 1916 (3 ships)Yarrow ShipbuildersSold for scrapYarrow ShipbuildersSold for scrapYarrow ShipbuildersSunk by submarine
See also List of destroyer classes of the Royal Navy
References
Bibliography
British Destroyers: A History of Development, 1892–1953 Drawn by Admiralty Permission from Official Records and Returns, Ships' Covers and Building Plans, Edgar J. March 1966, Seeley, Service & Co . Destroyers of the Royal Navy, 1893–1981, Maurice Cocker, 1983, Ian Allan British Destroyers, From Earliest Days to the Second World War Norman Friedman, 2009,
External links