C-class destroyer (1943)

The C class was a class of 32 destroyers of the Royal Navy that were launched from 1943 to 1945. The class was built in four flotillas of 8 vessels, the "Ca", "Ch", "Co" and "Cr" groups or sub-classes, ordered as the 11th, 12th, 13th and 14th Emergency Flotillas respectively. The sub-class names are derived from the initial 2 letters of the member ships' names, although the "Ca" class were originally ordered with a heterogeneous mix of traditional destroyer names. A fifth flotilla, the "Ce" or 15th Emergency Flotilla, was planned but were cancelled in favour of the s after only the first two ships had been ordered. The pennant numbers were all altered from "R" superior to "D" superior at the close of World War II; this involved some renumbering to avoid duplications.

Design

They were built as part of the War Emergency Programme, based on the hull and machinery of the pre-war J class, incorporating whatever advances in armament and naval radar were available at the time. Some of the class were completed in time for wartime service. All ships used the Fuze Keeping Clock High Angle Fire Control Computer.

The "Ca" flotilla were generally repeats of the preceding Z class, and as such had a main gun armament of four QF 4.5-inch (113-mm) Mk IV guns on Mk V mounts, which could elevate to 55 degrees to give an anti-aircraft capability. Close-in anti-aircraft armament generally consisted of two 40mm Bofors guns in a twin stabilized Hazemayer mount, supplemented by four single 2-pounder "pom-pom" anti aircraft guns on power operated mounts. Caprice differed in having a quadruple 2-pounder "pom-pom" instead of the Hazemayer Bofors mount, while Cassandra had eight Oerlikon 20 mm cannon instead of the single pom-poms. Torpedo armament consisted of eight torpedoes in two quadruple mounts, while 70 depth charges could be carried.|group=lower-alpha meant that only one quadruple torpedo mount was fitted, and the depth charge armament was reduced to 35 depth charges. Most of the ships were fitted with a single Hazemayer Bofors mount, although some of the later ships instead had the lighter and simpler Mk V twin Bofors mount. This was normally supplemented by two power operated single pom-pom mounts and two 20 mm Oerlikon cannon. They also introduced the all-welded hull into Royal Navy destroyer construction, beginning in Contest, with the "Cr" flotilla all being of all-welded construction. Only Comet was commissioned before VJ Day, in June 1945, albeit too late to see action.

Caprice was the last destroyer built for the Royal Navy to be fitted with the ubiquitous quadruple QF 2 pounder "pom-pom" mounting Mark VII.

The "Ca" flotilla were reconstructed in the late 1950s and early 1960s to be modernised for anti-submarine warfare and to serve as fast fleet escorts. One bank of torpedo tubes and one 4.5 in gun was removed, allowing two Squid triple-barreled anti-submarine mortars to be fitted, while the ships' obsolete gun Mk I Type K director was replaced by a modern Mk 6M director as fitted to Royal Navy frigates, and the remaining 4.5 in guns fitted with RPC. Close in anti-aircraft armament was standardised as a single Mk V twin and two single 40 mm Bofors mounts. The ships were also fitted with new bridges; the post-refit bridge differed between the first four conversions (Cavendish, Carron, Cavalier and Carysfort), with open bridges and the later four (Caprice, Cassandra, Caesar and Cambrian) which were given frigate-type enclosed bridges.

The remaining "Ch", "Co" and Cr" ships in the Royal Navy were given a less extensive modernisation, with one 4.5 in gun being replaced by twin Squids, modified fire control and a close in anti aircraft armament of 1 twin and four single Bofors guns. Chieftain, Chaplet and Comet were fitted as minelayers.

Engineering

The class were all fitted with two Admiralty 3-drum boilers with a pressure of at . All had Parsons single-reduction geared turbines, generating at 350 RPM, and driving the two shafts to produce a maximum of ( under full load condition). All were engined by their builders except Cossack and Constance, which were engined by Parsons.

Ships

"Ca" (or 11th Emergency) Flotilla

This flotilla was authorised under the 1941 Programme. The first pair was ordered from Yarrow on 16 February 1942; the other six were ordered on 24 March, a pair each from John Brown, Scotts and Cammell Laird. However, on 12 August 1942 the contract for the last pair was moved from Cammell Laird to White. Their originally-allocated names were altered to new names beginning with "Ca-" in November 1942. The John Brown pair - Caesar and Cavendish - were fitted as Leaders.

On completion they formed the 6th Destroyer Flotilla for service in the Home Fleet. At the end of the war in Europe the flotilla was transferred to the East Indies Fleet and the ships arrived on station between August and November 1945, too late to see service against Japan. They remained in the Indian Ocean until May 1946 when they returned home and paid off into operational reserve.

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="font-size:97%;"

|+ Ships of the "Ca" (11th Emergency) Flotilla

!scope="col" |Name

!scope="col" |Pennant

!scope="col" |Builder

!scope="col" |Laid Down Scrapped 1979 at Queenborough. Scrapped at Inverkeithing in 1967. Scrapped 1967 at Blyth. Scrapped 1967 at Blyth. Scrapped 1971 at Briton Ferry.

!scope="col" |Laid Down

!scope="row"|

|R29

|Thornycroft, Woolston

|9 July 1943

|30 November 1944

|19 November 1945

|Transferred to Pakistan Navy as Shah Jehan 16 December 1958, irreparably damaged by Indian Navy warships off Karachi 4 December 1971 and scrapped as a result

!scope="row"|

|R61

|Scotts, Greenock

|4 May 1943

|30 October 1944

|28 September 1945

|Laid up 1964, scrapped 1966.

!scope="row"| ()

| R63

| Thornycroft

| 18 November 1943

| 14 May 1945

| 20 December 1946

|Harbour Training Ship Rosyth. Sold for scrapping 1962.

!scope="row"|

| R34

| Yarrow

| 11 March 1943

| 7 March 1944

| 29 September 1945

|Paid off 1958. Sold for scrapping 1964.

!scope="row"|

| R26

| Yarrow

| 14 June 1943

| 22 June 1944

| 6 June 1945

|Paid off 1958. Sold for scrapping 1962. extensive modernisation to anti-submarine Destroyer Escort 1952–56. Scrapped 1971.

!scope="row"|

|R20

| John Brown

| 15 November 1943

| 5 October 1944

| 26 November 1945

|To Canada 1945,

!scope="row"|

|R27

| Yarrow

|26 October 1943

|19 August 1944

|30 November 1945

|To Norway as 1945, sold for scrapping 1961. scrapped 1982.

!scope="row"|

|R82

|White

|3 August 1944

|22 November 1945

|14 October 1946

|To Pakistan as Alamgir 20 June 1958,