"A" Class Destroyer (1894)

Forty-two "A" Class destroyers entered service in the Royal Navy between 1895 and 1896. Originally termed the 26 Knotters and 27 Knotters, those vessels remaining were re-designated as "A" class destroyers on 30 August 1912 despite the fact that their designs were fairly diverse.^[1]

Their average cost was £35,780.^[2]

In July, 1918, seven ships were still in service, serving in local defence forces in Portsmouth and Devonport and in the Irish Sea.^[3]

By May 1920, seven of the ships were still considered worth documenting as regards their armament,^[4] but it appears that was also the year in which the last nine vessels were broken up.

Overview of 42 vessels
Citations for this data available on individual ship pages
Name	Builder	Laid Down	Launched	Completed	Fate
Havock	Yarrow & Company	Jul, 1892	12 Aug, 1893	Jan, 1894	Broken up 1912
Hornet	Yarrow & Company	Jul, 1892	23 Dec, 1893	Jul, 1894	Broken up 1909
Daring	John I. Thornycroft & Company	Jul, 1892	25 Nov, 1893	Feb, 1895	Broken up 1912
Decoy	John I. Thornycroft & Company	Jul, 1892	2 Feb, 1894	Jun, 1895	Collision 1904
Ferret	Laird	Jul, 1893	9 Dec, 1893	Mar, 1895	Sunk 1911
Lynx	Laird	Jul, 1893	24 Jan, 1894	Aug, 1895	Broken up 1912
Ardent	John I. Thornycroft & Company	Dec, 1893	16 Oct, 1894	Apr, 1895	Broken up 1911
Boxer	John I. Thornycroft & Company	Mar, 1894	28 Nov, 1894	Jun, 1895	Collision 1918
Bruizer	John I. Thornycroft & Company	Apr, 1894	27 Feb, 1895	Jun, 1895	Broken up 1914
Charger	Yarrow & Company	Nov, 1893	15 Sep, 1894	Feb, 1896	Broken up 1912
Dasher	Yarrow & Company	Dec, 1893	28 Nov, 1894	Mar, 1896	Broken up 1912
Hasty	Yarrow & Company	Dec, 1893	16 Jun, 1894	May, 1896	Broken up 1912
Hardy	William Doxford & Sons	4 Jun, 1894	16 Dec, 1895	Aug, 1896	Broken up 1911
Haughty	William Doxford & Sons	28 May, 1894	18 Sep, 1895	Aug, 1896	Broken up 1912
Janus	Palmer Shipbuilding and Iron Company	28 Mar, 1894	12 Mar, 1895	Nov, 1895	Broken up 1914
Lightning	Palmer Shipbuilding and Iron Company	28 Mar, 1894	10 Apr, 1895	Jan, 1896	Mined 30 Jun, 1915
Porcupine	Palmer Shipbuilding and Iron Company	28 Mar, 1894	19 Sep, 1895	Mar, 1896	Broken up 1920
Salmon	Earle's Shipbuilding	12 Mar, 1894	15 Jan, 1895	Jan, 1896	Broken up 1912
Snapper	Earle's Shipbuilding	2 Apr, 1894	30 Jan, 1895	Jan, 1896	Broken up 1912
Banshee	Laird	Mar, 1894	17 Nov, 1894	Jul, 1895	Broken up 1912
Contest	Laird	Mar, 1894	1 Dec, 1894	Jul, 1895	Broken up 1911
Dragon	Laird	Mar, 1894	15 Dec, 1894	Jun, 1895	Broken up 1912
Conflict	J. Samuel White	3 Jan, 1894	13 Dec, 1894	Jul, 1899	Broken up 1920
Teazer	J. Samuel White	3 Feb, 1894	9 Feb, 1895	Mar, 1899	Broken up 1912
Wizard	J. Samuel White	3 Apr, 1894	26 Feb, 1895	Jul, 1899	Broken up 1920
Fervent	Hanna, Donald & Wilson	27 Mar, 1894	28 Mar, 1895	Jun, 1900	Broken up 1920
Zephyr	Hanna, Donald & Wilson	23 Apr, 1894	10 May, 1895	Jul, 1901	Broken up 1920
Handy	Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company	7 Jun, 1894	9 Mar, 1895	Oct, 1895	Broken up 1916
Hart	Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company	7 Jun, 1894	27 Mar, 1895	Jan, 1896	Broken up 1912
Hunter	Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company	7 Jun, 1894	28 Dec, 1895	May, 1896	Broken up 1912
Opossum	Hawthorn Leslie & Company	17 Sep, 1894	9 Aug, 1895	Mar, 1896	Broken up 1920
Ranger	Hawthorn Leslie & Company	17 Sep, 1894	4 Oct, 1895	Jun, 1896	Broken up 1920
Sunfish	Hawthorn Leslie & Company	29 Aug, 1894	23 May, 1895	Feb, 1896	Broken up 1920
Rocket	J. & G. Thomson	14 Feb, 1894	14 Aug, 1894	Jul, 1895	Broken up 1912
Shark	J. & G. Thomson	14 Feb, 1894	22 Sep, 1894	Jul, 1895	Broken up 1911
Surly	J. & G. Thomson	14 Feb, 1894	10 Nov, 1894	Jul, 1895	Broken up 1920
Skate	Vickers	20 Mar, 1894	13 Mar, 1895	Jan, 1896	Broken up 1907
Starfish	Vickers	22 Mar, 1894	26 Jan, 1895	Jan, 1896	Broken up 1912
Sturgeon	Vickers	1 Mar, 1894	21 Jul, 1894	Jan, 1896	Broken up 1912
Spitfire	Armstrong, Whitworth & Company	4 Jun, 1894	7 Jun, 1895	Nov, 1896	Broken up 1912
Swordfish	Armstrong, Whitworth & Company	4 Jun, 1894	27 Mar, 1895	Dec, 1896	Broken up 1910
Zebra	Thames Ironworks, Shipbuilding and Engineering Company	Jul, 1894	3 Dec, 1895	Jan, 1900	Broken up 1914

Guns

One 12-pdr 12 cwt on a P. I mounting. The gun recoiled 12 inches and the mounting and its sights were capable of 30 degree elevations (9500 yards).^[4]

Originally, the 26 knotters three and the 27 knotters five 6-pdr guns (though the 26 knotters could mount five by landing the torpedo tubes).^[5] It appears these were removed by late in the war.^[4]

By 1920, those remaining had also been fitted with a Q.F. 6-pdr on Mark IV H.A. mounting.^[4]

Torpedoes

Most had two single 18-in torpedo tubes, particularly by the war. Some had a third fixed bow tube which was removed from most although some boat retained only this tube.^[6]

From 1907, the decision was made to standardise the "A" through "D"s with torpedoes set for short range, allotting them the Mark IV S.R..^[7]

Other Weapons

Searchlights

Fire Control

Visual fire control system.^[4]

Torpedo Control

Footnotes

↑ Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. p. 18.
↑ Smith. Hard Lying. Table 2.
↑ Supplement to the Monthly Navy List. (July, 1918). pp. 16, 17, 19, 28.
↑ ^4.0 ^4.1 ^4.2 ^4.3 ^4.4 Technical History and Index Vol. 4, Part 34, p. 15.
↑ Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. pp. 90-91.
↑ Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. pp. 90-91.
↑ Annual Report of the Torpedo School, 1907. p. 32.

Bibliography

Chesneau, Robert; Kolesnik, Eugene (editors) (1979). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. London: Conway Maritime Press. (on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk).
Lyon, David (1996). The First Destroyers. London: Chatham Publishing. (on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk).
March, Edgar J. (1966). British Destroyers: A History of Development, 1892-1953. London: Seeley Service & Co. Limited. (on Bookfinder.com).
Admiralty, Technical History Section (1920). The Technical History and Index: Alteration in Armaments of H.M. Ships during the War. Vol. 4, Part 34. C.B. 1515 (34) now O.U. 6171/20. At The National Archives, Kew, United Kingdom.