The S class (initially known as the Modified Trenchant classMarch, op. cit. p.215.) was a class of 67 destroyers ordered for the Royal Navy in 1917 under the 11th and 12th Emergency War Programmes. They saw active service in the last months of the First World War and in the Russian and Irish Civil Wars during the early 1920s. Most were relegated to the reserve by the mid-1920s and subsequently scrapped under the terms of the London Naval Treaty. Eleven survivors saw much action during the Second World War.
Background In early 1917, the First World War had been going on for two and a half years. Despite the disappointing outcome of the Battle of Jutland the previous year, the British Grand Fleet, consisting of battleships, cruisers, and destroyers and based in northern Scotland, was successfully confining the German surface navy to the German Bight, while enforcing a blockade of German maritime trade with the wider world. In southern North Sea, the Harwich Force and the Dover Patrol, both consisting of cruisers and destroyers, maintained control of the eastern approaches to the English Channel and the Thames Estuary and safeguarded British communications with France. German submarine attacks on British trade became increasingly effective during the autumn of 1916, and unrestricted submarine warfare was soon to begin; finding effective countermeasures was increasingly taxing for the Admiralty. In the Mediterranean, the Royal Navy provided support to the French and Italian Fleets countering the threat posed by the Austro-Hungarian and Turkish fleets. All of these diverse naval commitments placed huge demands on the Royal Navy's resources; in particular, the need for large numbers of destroyers was pressing.
Since mid-1916, destroyer production had concentrated on the large and powerful V and W classes, intended to match large German destroyers reported to be under construction. However, the Admiralty had come to appreciate that these intelligence reports had been overstated, thus the next orders could revert to the smaller destroyers of the Modified R class of March 1916, which could be built in large numbers quickly and cheaply. The resultant design, formulated in February 1917, incorporated some wartime lessons and suggestions from destroyer officers serving with the fleet, thus was identified as a new class.
Design and construction The new class had two funnels, a long forecastle and a tall bridge, which unusually, was located behind the break in the main deck. Following consultations with sea-going officers, several novel features were included, principally to enhance sea-keeping capabilities in rough weather and battle-worthiness in night action. Consideration was given to having a well deck forward of the bridge with an additional pair of torpedo tubes, in the fashion of contemporary German ocean-going torpedo boats, but this arrangement was rejected because it would be detrimental to ship handling in rough weather. The design had a heavily raked stem and sheer forward, a slight turtleback on the fo'c's'le deck,Brown, The Grand Fleet, p.73. and a rounded bridge front, intended to deflect waves. Two single 18-inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes were fitted under the bridge on single rotating mounts port and starboard, intended to be fired directly by the commanding officer with toggle ropes during night actions, and the searchlight was relocated aft, mounted on top of the aft torpedo tubes (this to avoid the bridge officers being blinded by its glare during night actions). The single 18-inch torpedo tubes proved to be of little use, and were soon removed in the majority of vessels as a weight-saving measure (only Tara, Tintagel, and Trojan retained theirs).March, op. cit., p.221.
The S class was built in two batches, the first 33 ordered on 9 April 1917 and the second batch of 36 in June 1917, respectively. Most were built to the design prepared by the Admiralty ("Admiralty S class"), finalized on 3 July 1917. As was common practice during the First World War, the Admiralty allowed two specialist destroyer builders, Thornycrofts and Yarrows a free hand to develop their own designs based on the current Admiralty designs, which other yards were contracted to build. Generally, these "specials" had considerably higher speeds; this performance enhancement stemmed largely from the higher quality of workmanship practiced by these specialist builders, rather than due to deficiencies of the Admiralty designs.Brown, op. cit., p. 194. Thus the seven vessels ordered from Yarrow were built to a distinct design ("Yarrow S class"); similarly the five ordered from Thornycroft were the "Thornycroft S class".
Engineering Most of the Admiralty S class had Brown-Curtis single-reduction geared turbines; seven vessels (Steadfast, Sterling, Stonehenge, Stormcloud, Tilbury, Tintagel, and Strenuous) had Parsons Impulse-Reaction turbines, instead. Three Yarrow boilers (maximum pressure ) were fitted in all except the vessels built by Whites (which had White-Forster boilers). The highest trial speed of the Admiralty S class was recorded by Senator (with , 360.1 rpm) at a displacement of 1,019 tons.
Aircraft Senator conducted trials in June 1918 to test the feasibility of a flying off platform aft, with the intent of launching an aircraft with the ship proceeding full speed astern; however, the amount of spray rendered this proposal unworkable. Later (c. 1927–28) both Stronghold and Thanet were fitted with a cordite catapult for launching aircraft from their fo'c's'le (the forward gun was removed); they were used to test the Larynx, an early experimental type of cruise missile.
Various S-class destroyers were used at different times during the 1920s and 1930s as attendant vessels for aircraft carriers: Searcher in the Mediterranean Fleet and Tyrian, Sesame, Sturdy, and Stronghold in the Home Fleet. Their armament was removed (in order to lighten the ship for maximum speed), and a davit installed on the fo'c's'le for recovery of ditched aircraft.
Target ship control vessel
Shikari was completed in 1924 with the special role as a control vessel for the fleet's target ships (initially , replaced by in 1926). All armament was removed and a radio transmitter antenna added. She served in this role until the outbreak of the Second World War, when she was refitted as an operational unit.
Naming The class, initially referred to as the "Modified Trenchant class", was officially named the "S class" by the Admiralty Board in November 1917 (even though 26 out of 67 vessels had names beginning with T). Some of the R class also had names beginning with S or T, which can be a source of confusion.
Some had rather obscure names: Sardonyx is a red onyx gemstone; Seabear (incorrectly spelt Sea Bear in some sources) is an archaic term for polar bear; Seafire is a term for marine bioluminescence; Seawolf is an archaic term for various species of voracious fish (such as the wolffish) or marine mammals (such as the elephant seal or sea lion); Sepoy was an infantryman of the Indian army; Seraph is a type of angel; Serapis was an ancient Graeco-Egyptian god; Shikari is an Urdu term for a big game hunter or hunting guide in British India; Simoom (incorrectly spelt Simoon in some sources) is a dry desert wind in the Sahara (there was also an R Class destroyer of this name, sunk on 23 January 1917); Sirdar is a Persian title of nobility used to denote princes, noblemen, and other aristocrats; it was used as the title for the commander of the Anglo-Egyptian Army; Tara was the traditional seat of the High King of Ireland; Tryphon (Τρύφων) is a Greek given name, meaning 'gentle' or 'sweet' (famous historical figures bearing the name include a Seleucid Emperor of the second Century BCE, a Greek grammarian in the first century BCE, and a 3rd Century Christian Saint); Tyrian is a precious type of purple dye used in regal robes in antiquity.
Sterling was originally ordered with the name Stirling, apparently due to a typing error.
Ships in the class Abbreviations: BU:broken up for scrap; RAN: Royal Australian Navy; RCN: Royal Canadian Navy; IJN: Imperial Japanese Navy.
Admiralty S class + Admiralty S-classParkes & Pendergast, Jane's Fighting Ships 1919, pp.102–103; p.153.March, op. cit., pp 215–16.Dittmar & Colledge, British Warships 1914–1919, pp. 74–75.Gardiner & Gray, Conway's 1906–1921, pp. 84–85.Friedman, op. cit., p.311.Lenton, British and Empire Warships, p. 137.Bryce, Ships Pennant Numbers.Smith, Royal Navy warship histories of World War 2. Name Pendant Ordered Builder Laid down Launched Completed Fate WWI >1922 G.44 H.53 7 Apr 1917 Clydebank 30 May 1917 26 Jan 1918 Mar 1918 Sold 8 Jan 1931; BU, Metal Ind., Charlestown. G.41 H.21 Clydebank 30 May 1917 27 Feb 1918 13 Apr 1918 Sold 1947; BU Ward, Briton Ferry. G.30 H.52 Clydebank 10 Dec 1917 30 Mar 1918 21 May 1918 to Ward, 13 Jul 1937; BU Briton Ferry. G.35 H.51 Clydebank 25 Oct 1917 27 Apr 1918 15 Jun 1918 Sold 11 Feb 1946; BU Ward, Briton Ferry. G.36 D.02 Denny 10 Jul 1917 2 Apr 1918 7 Jun 1918 to Ward, 7 Sep 1936; BU Briton Ferry. G.26 D.03 Denny 6 Aug 1917 22 May 1918 6 Aug 1918 Sold 2 Jul 1932; BU Cashmore, Newport. G.60 D.04 Denny 4 Oct 1917 8 Jul 1918 25 Dec 1918 Sold May 1934; BU Ward, Pembroke Dock F.50 H.06 Doxford Nov 1917 26 Aug 1918 16 Sep 1919 to Ward, 23 Nov 1936; BU Milford Haven. – D.85 Doxford 15 Jan 1918 14 Jul 1919 Apr 1924 Sold 13 Sep 1945; BU Cashmore, Newport. F.1A H.5A Doxford 1917 29 Jun 1918 Apr 1919 to RAN, Apr 1919. Sold, 4 Jun 1937; BU. H.94 D.06 Fairfield Aug 1917 7 May 1918 29 Jun 1918 Sold 26 Jul 1927; BU Granton S. Bkg. Co. G.27 D.59 Fairfield Aug 1917 6 Jul 1918 6 Sep 1918 Sold 4 May 1934; BU Cashmore, Newport. G.52 D.07 Fairfield Nov 1917 10 Sep 1918 4 Nov 1918 Sold 25 Aug 1932; BU Ward, Pembroke Dock. F.99 H.37 Palmers Sep 1917 8 Aug 1918 Mar 1919 Sold 28 Jul 1934; BU Metal Ind., Charlestown. F.A3 H.31 Palmers Oct 1917 8 Oct 1918 Mar 1919 Sold for breaking up 25 Aug 1932. F.73 D.14 Scott Sep 1917 1 Aug 1918 27 Sep 1918 to Ward, 24 Sep 1936; BU Inverkeithing. F.3A H.8A Scott 1917 28 Dec 1918 Mar 1919 to RAN, Apr 1919. Scuttled, 8 Feb 1939. G.56 H.18 Stephen 10 Sep 1917 23 Sep 1918 9 Nov 1918 Sold Nov 1945; BU Brunton, Grangemouth. F.0A H.54 Stephen 10 Sep 1917 17 Feb 1919 11 Apr 1919 Sold 29 Jun 1947; BU Rees, Llanelli. F.A1 D.05 Swan Hunter Sep 1917 9 Apr 1918 10 Jul 1918 Sold 5 Feb 1931; BU Ward, Inverkeithing. G.53 D.08 Swan Hunter Sep 1917 14 May 1918 4 Sep 1918 Sold 5 Feb 1931; BU Ward, Grays. G.57 D.11 Swan Hunter Sep 1917 10 Jul 1918 Oct 1918 Sold 8 Jan 1931; BU Metal Ind., Charlestown. F.9A D.16 White 21 Aug 1917 28 Mar 1918 16 Jul 1918 Sold 17 Dec 1931, BU Cashmore, Newport. G.38 D.17 White 15 Sep 1917 8 Apr 1918 9 Sep 1918 Sold 16 Feb 1932, BU Ward, Inverkeithing. G.54 H.99 Jun 1917 Beardmore 21 Nov 1917 7 Aug 1918 23 Oct 1918 Sold Feb 1931; BU Metal Ind., Charlestown. G.62 H.92 Beardmore 21 Nov 1917 12 Oct 1918 9 Dec 1918 Sold 17 Dec 1931; BU Rees, Llanelli. G.97 H.7A Beardmore 18 Dec 1917 22 Nov 1918 29 Jan 1919 to RAN, Apr 1919. Sold 4 Jun 1937; BU. F.2A H.6A Beardmore 21 Dec 1917 28 Dec 1918 7 Apr 1919 to RAN, Apr 1919. Sold 4 Jun 1937; BU. G.32 H.22 Clydebank 14 Jan 1918 25 May 1918 8 Jul 1918 Sold 28 Nov 1931; BU Cashmore. G.29 H.23 Clydebank 13 Dec 1917 6 Jul 1918 Sep 1918 Sold, 5 Feb 1931; BU Ward, Grays. G.68 H.19 Clydebank 27 Feb 1918 10 Aug 1918 Nov 1918 to Ward, 14 Sep 1936; BU Inverkeithing. G.72 H.20 Clydebank 30 Mar 1918 11 Sep 1918 Nov 1918 Sold 25 Mar 1936; BU Ward, Barrow. G.47 H.07 Clydebank 30 Apr 1918 2 Nov 1918 Jan 1919