The E- and F-class destroyers were a group of 18 destroyers built for the Royal Navy during the 1930s. The ships were initially assigned to the Home Fleet, although they reinforced the Mediterranean Fleet during the Italian invasion of Abyssinia of 1935–36 and enforced the Non-Intervention Agreement during the Spanish Civil War of 1936–1939. After the beginning of the Second World War in August 1939, the E-class ships were mostly assigned to escort duties under the Western Approaches Command, while the Fs were assigned to escort the ships of the Home Fleet. Between them they sank four German submarines through March 1940 while losing only one ship to a submarine.

Most of the sisters were committed to the Norwegian Campaign in April–June where they helped to sink one German destroyer and a submarine. The two E-class minelayer-destroyers helped to evacuate Allied troops from Dunkirk in May–June. Most of the Fs were sent to Gibraltar around the end of June and formed part of Force H where they participated in the attack on Mers-el-Kébir. Two months later they participated in the Battle of Dakar where they sank three Vichy French submarines. During the rest of 1940, they sank one Italian submarine while losing two ships to mines and torpedoes. Force H covered a number of convoys to Malta in 1941, during which they sank one German submarine and lost one destroyer to bombs. Three E-class ships began escorting convoys to Russia in late 1941 and three others were transferred to the Eastern Fleet.

Two of these latter were sunk by Japanese forces in early 1942 and two Fs were transferred to replace them. Many of the Fs reinforced the Arctic convoy escorts during which they fought several engagements with German destroyers and sank one German submarine. Several were detached to escort Malta convoys, during which one ship was lost. Several ships were converted to escort destroyers in late 1942–early 1943 for duty in the North Atlantic and many others were assigned there for extended periods of time where they sank two German submarines. Three of these ships were later transferred to the Royal Canadian Navy. Four of the Es and Fs were sent to the Mediterranean Fleet in mid-1943 to support the invasion of Sicily and remained there into 1944. One of these was transferred to the Royal Hellenic Navy that same year and remained in Greek service until 1956. The ships that remained in the Atlantic sank two German submarines in 1944 before they were recalled to the UK in May to prepare for the invasion of Normandy. There they sank two submarines, although another F-class ship was lost to a mine. The ships mostly returned to the North Atlantic after Overlord or began long refits in Canada.

The three Canadian ships were used to transport troops back to Canada after the end of the war before being broken up in 1947. Most of the British ships were broken up around the same time, although one ship was sold to the Dominican Navy in 1949 and served until 1968.

Design and description

The E class were ordered as part of the 1931 Naval Construction Programme, the F class following in 1932. These ships were based on the preceding D class with minor changes to the hull and armament. Two of the ships were modified to accommodate 60 mines. The F class were repeats of the E's with some minor differences. All of the destroyers were fitted with ASDIC (sonar) and the ability to use the Two-Speed Destroyer Sweep (TSDS) minesweeping gear.English, pp. 62–63, 75

The E- and F-class destroyers displaced at standard load and at deep load. They had an overall length of , a beam of and a draught of . The ships' complement was 145 officers and ratings.Whitley, pp. 103, 105 They were powered by two Parsons geared steam turbines, each driving one propeller shaft, using steam provided by three Admiralty 3-drum boilers that operated at a pressure of and a temperature of . The turbines developed a total of and gave a maximum speed of . The destroyers carried a maximum of of fuel oil that gave them a range of at .Lenton, pp. 156, 58

All of the ships had the same main armament, four quick-firing (QF) Mark IX guns in single mounts, designated 'A', 'B', 'X', and 'Y' from front to rear. The guns had a maximum elevation of 40° which was achieved by using a lowered section of the deck around the mount, the "well", that allowed the breech of the gun to be lowered below deck height.Whitley, p. 103 They fired a shell at a muzzle velocity of to a range of .Campbell, p. 48 For anti-aircraft (AA) defence, they had two quadruple mounts for the QF 0.5-inch Vickers Mk III machine gun on platforms between the funnels. The E- and F-class ships were fitted with two quadruple mounts for 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes. The ships, except for the minelayers, were also equipped with two throwers and one rack for 20 depth charges. The stern of the minelayers was fitted with a pair of sponsons that housed part of the mechanical chain-conveyor system and to ensure smooth delivery of her mines.Lenton, pp. 156–58 To compensate for the weight of her Mark XIV mines, their rails, two 4.7-inch guns, their ammunition, both sets of torpedo tubes, their whalers and their davits had to be removed.Friedman, p. 218

The main guns were controlled by an Admiralty Fire Control Clock Mk I that used data derived from the manually operated director-control tower and the separate rangefinder situated above the bridge. They had no capability for anti-aircraft fire and the anti-aircraft guns were aimed solely by eye.Campbell, pp. 14–15; Hodges & Friedman, pp. 12, 17

Wartime modifications Beginning in May 1940, the after bank of torpedo tubes was removed and replaced with a QF 12-pounder 20-cwt anti-aircraft gun,"Cwt" is the abbreviation for hundredweight, 20 cwt referring to the weight of the gun. the after mast and funnel being cut down to improve the gun's field of fire. Four to eight QF 20 mm Oerlikon cannons were added to the surviving ships, usually replacing the .50-calibre machine gun mounts between the funnels. One pair of these was added to the bridge wings and the other pair was mounted abreast the searchlight platform. Early in the war, depth charge stowage increased to 38.Friedman, pp. 236–37 By 1943, all the surviving ships, except had the 'Y' gun on the quarterdeck removed to allow for additional depth charge stowage and two additional depth charge throwers. The 12-pounder was removed to allow for the installation of a Huff-Duff radio direction finder on a short mainmast and for more depth charges. All of the survivors, except perhaps for , had 'A' or 'B' gun replaced by a Hedgehog anti-submarine spigot mortar, and their director-control tower and rangefinder above the bridge removed in exchange for a Type 271 target-indication radar, had her 'A' gun reinstalled by 1944. A Type 286 short-range, surface-search radar, adapted from the Royal Air Force's ASV radar, was also added. The early models, however, could only scan directly forward and had to be aimed by turning the entire ship. 's modifications differed somewhat in that 'B' gun was replaced by a twin-gun QF 6-pounder Hotchkiss mount and a split Hedgehog installation. In addition, she retained her 12-pounder gun, but her remaining torpedo tubes were removed.

Flotilla leaders For the first time since the A class of the 1927 programme, the flotilla leaders were built to an enlarged design, being lengthened to incorporate an additional QF 4.7-inch gun between the funnels. The lengthened design resulted in a three boiler room layout to enhance water-tight integrity. The leaders were not fitted for minesweeping or minelaying.Whitley, p. 105 They displaced at standard load and at deep load. The ships had an overall length of , a beam of and a draught of . The ships carried a total of 175 personnel which included the staff of the Captain (D), commanding officer of the flotilla.Whitley, pp. 97, 105 Their turbines were more powerful than the private ships, which made them faster; their propulsion machinery was otherwise identical. was an early wartime loss and consequently received no modifications, but survived the war. Her modifications differed somewhat from those of the private ships. She received a AA gun in lieu of her aft torpedo tubes, although they were later reinstalled and the 4-inch gun replaced 'X' 4.7-inch gun. Two Oerlikons were later added on the forward part of her aft superstructure and a quadruple QF two-pounder "pom-pom" mount replaced 'Q' gun between the funnels. Finally her rangefinder was replaced by a high-angle director fitted with a Type 285 gunnery radar.

Ships E class

+ Construction dataShipBuilder Laid downEnglish, p. 63LaunchedLenton, p. 157Completed Fate (flotilla leader)HM Dockyard, Portsmouth15 May 19337 February 19349 November 1934 Sunk by the , 21 January 1940William Denny & Brothers, Dumbarton20 March 193316 February 193422 October 1934Transferred to Greece as Navarinon in 1944; returned to RN in 1956 and scrapped22 March 193312 April 193429 November 1934 Sunk by a mine, 24 October 1943Hawthorn Leslie & Company, Hebburn15 March 193315 February 193413 September 1934 Sunk in the Battle of the Java Sea, 27 February 194229 March 19342 November 1934Sunk in the Second Battle of the Java Sea, 1 March 1942Scotts Shipbuilding & Engineering Company, Greenock30 March 193330 January 193430 August 1934Scrapped 194729 March 193430 October 1934 Torpedoed by the , 8 July 1940; sank while under tow, 11 JulySwan Hunter & Wigham Richardson, Wallsend24 March 193319 March 193428 September 1934 Sunk by mine, 31 August 194029 May 19342 November 1934Transferred to RCN as HMCS Gatineau

F class + Construction dataShipBuilder Laid down Launched English, p. 76Completed Lenton, pp. 158–159Fate (flotilla leader)Yarrow, Scotstoun31 July 193312 June 193424 May 1935Scrapped, 1946Parsons, Wallsend5 July 193328 June 193426 April 1935Sold to Dominican Republic as Generalisimo 1949, scrapped 1968Cammell Laird, Birkenhead17 March 193312 May 193422 December 1934 Torpedoed by Italian aircraft and scuttled, 23 July 1941Parsons, Wallsend5 July 193328 June 193430 May 1935 Sunk by the , 16/17 December 1942Cammell Laird, Birkenhead21 July 193329 June 193415 May 1935 Torpedoed by an Italian bomber and scuttled by HMS Tartar, 13 August 1942J. Samuel White, Cowes15 May 193328 June 193429 March 1935Scrapped, 1946John Brown, Clydebank25 July 193329 August 193427 April 1935 Transferred to RCN as HMCS Saskatchewan, 194321 August 193312 October 19346 June 1935Transferred to RCN as HMCS Qu'Appelle, 1944J. Samuel White, Cowes19 May 193310 September 193418 May 1935Scrapped after mine and collision damage, 1944

Service

All of the E class were assigned to the 5th Destroyer Flotilla (DF) of the Home Fleet upon commissioning during 1934. Following the Italian invasion of Abyssinia, the entire flotilla was sent to the Red Sea in August 1935 to monitor Italian warship movements until April 1936. Refitted upon their return, many were deployed to Spanish waters during the Spanish Civil War in 1936–39 to intercept shipping carrying contraband goods to Spain and to protect British-flagged ships. While the F-class ships were assigned to the 6th Destroyer Flotilla of the Home Fleet, they followed much the same pattern as their E-class sisters. In April 1939 the 5th and 6th DFs were renumbered the 7th and 8th Destroyer Flotillas, respectively. In mid-1939, newly commissioned J-class destroyers began to replace the E-class ships and they were reduced to reserve for lack of manpower. Increasing tensions with Nazi Germany in August, caused the British to mobilize the Navy's reserves, which allowed the ships to be manned again and assigned to the 12th Destroyer Flotilla of the Home Fleet.English, pp. 64–74, 76–86