Battle Class Destroyer - "1943" or "Later Battle" Class

"1943" or "Later Battle" Class

Even after the orders for the earlier, 1942 Battle class had been placed much discussion was still taking place within the naval staff about the final design. There was much debate about the type and disposition of the main armament. In some quarters it was felt that the two main turrets should be distributed one forward and one aft. Many reasons were given for this but the most logical seems to have been the argument that a single hit could not disable both guns. There was also an argument put forward in some quarters that these ships were underarmed for their size and there was a call for a third turret to be mounted aft.

Admiral Andrew Cunningham, whilst taking passage in the 1942 Battle Class ship HMS Solebay, was rather unflattering in his description of these ships saying that they were "too large" and "had every damned weapon and gadget except guns". Modern naval architects feel this is unfair as the role of destroyers had changed since the admiral was a destroyer Captain at the battle of Jutland (Brown 2000) The original role was torpedo attack on enemy ships, but their role in the late 1940s was to protect the fleet (and themselves) from aircraft and submarines. The Battle Class were probably better at this task than any other Second World War British destroyer (Brown 2000).

A further criticism, not just of the Battle class design, but of British destroyers generally, was of the main machinery layout. Until 1936 all destroyers had a three boiler room layout, as the naval staff considered this the minimum requirement for battle damage survivability. In 1936 the head of the destroyer section of the Constructors Department came up with a radical new design for the "J" class. This included a new system of longitudinal framing to ease construction whilst at the same time increasing the integral strength of the ships. It also called for a two boiler layout with both boilers fitted back to back allowing them to vent up a single large funnel. This decreased the ships silhouette and gave improved firing arcs for the anti-aircraft armament. This layout and hull design proved very effective and made for good looking ships. The "J" class design was used in all following destroyer designs until the advent of the Weapon and Daring classes, however, the boiler room layout was a constant source of criticism as a single hit in the wrong place could cripple a ship completely.

In order to find a solution to these criticisms it was originally planned that 32 ships (four flotillas) of an improved design would be built under the 1943 and 1944 Naval Estimates and that there would be changes in armament and layout in the later ships. It was expected that the 4.5 in RP41 BD Mk VI turret, trialled by Saintes from 1946/48, would be available to arm the later ships. In the end 26 ships were ordered. These formed two distinct groups plus two ships of an expanded design.

The first 16 ships (two flotillas) were ordered in early 1943. They were based on a slightly widened version of the 1942 ships. They were to be fitted with the American Type 37 DCT which was now becoming available and which would be equipped with the British Radar Type 275 fire control set and Medium Range System (MRS) 9 fire control system. In an attempt to counter the criticisms that the ships were underarmed for their size, and were incapable of engaging a target right aft, a single 4.5 inch gun on a standard Mk V mounting would be positioned on the original 4 inch gun deck abaft the funnel. In the event these guns failed to provide a solution as they were restricted to firing on either beam because the midship positioning meant their arc of fire was fouled by the ships fore and aft superstructure. Their AA armament was reduced to eight 40/60 mm Bofors, two twin STAAG Mk. II mountings on top of the after deckhouse, one twin Mk. V on the middle deckhouse controlled by an STD mounted on top of the gun crew shelter, and a single mounting Mk. VII on either bridge wing. All ships would be fitted with a Squid Anti-submarine mortar on the quarterdeck and ten 21-inch torpedo tubes in two quintuple mountings.

The last flotilla of eight ships and two ships of an expanded design were ordered under the 1944 estimates. The first eight ships were to be fitted with two twin 4.5 inch guns forward in the new RP41 Mk VI turrets. These turrets offered improved ammunition handling and a faster rate of fire due to their semi-automatic breech action and it was thought that this was sufficient to preclude the fitting of the single gun amidships. The bridge structure was raised as earlier trials in Saintes had noted that the higher profile of the Mk VI turret obstructed visibility forward. The AA armament was increased in these ships as the weight saved by dispensing with the single 4.5-inch gun amidships meant that a third twin STAAG could be fitted together with five single 40/60 mm guns giving a total of eleven light AA guns.

Arguably, the most interesting design changes were incorporated in the two extended ships. These ships were intended to bury all the criticisms of the design once and for all. The hull dimensions were increased adding 10 feet (3.0 m) in length and 2.5 feet (0.76 m) to the beam. This allowed for a third twin 4.5 in Mk VI turret to be mounted aft. The main reason for the increase in length, however, was the planned change in the mechanical layout of these ships. Since the inception of the "J" class the boilers had been concentrated together, an arrangement which allowed a reduced hull length, however plans drawn up for the smaller Weapon class showed that this reduction was, in fact, minimal so a decision was made to employ a unit arrangement for the propulsion machinery in these ships, based on the same lines as that proposed for the Weapon class.