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Destroyer

January 13, 2023

For other uses, see Destroyer (disambiguation).

In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in 1885 by Fernando Villaamil for the Spanish Navy[1][2] as a defense against torpedo boats, and by the time of the Russo-Japanese War in 1904, these "torpedo boat destroyers" (TBDs) were "large, swift, and powerfully armed torpedo boats designed to destroy other torpedo boats".[3] Although the term "destroyer" had been used interchangeably with "TBD" and "torpedo boat destroyer" by navies since 1892, the term "torpedo boat destroyer" had been generally shortened to simply "destroyer" by nearly all navies by the First World War.[4]

Before World War II, destroyers were light vessels with little endurance for unattended ocean operations; typically a number of destroyers and a single destroyer tender operated together. After the war, the advent of the guided missile allowed destroyers to take on the surface combatant roles previously filled by battleships and cruisers. This resulted in larger and more powerful guided missile destroyers more capable of independent operation.

At the start of the 21st century, destroyers are the global standard for surface combatant ships, with only two nations (United States and Russia) officially operating the heavier class cruisers, with no battleships or true battlecruisers remaining.[note 1] Modern guided missile destroyers are equivalent in tonnage but vastly superior in firepower to cruisers of the World War II era, and are capable of carrying nuclear-tipped cruise missiles. At 510 feet (160 m) long, a displacement of 9,200 tons, and with an armament of more than 90 missiles,[5] guided missile destroyers such as the Arleigh Burke class are actually larger and more heavily armed than most previous ships classified as guided missile cruisers. The Chinese Type 055 destroyer has been described as a cruiser in some US Navy reports due to its size and armament.[6]

Some NATO navies, such as the Canadian, French, Spanish, Dutch and German, use the term "frigate" for their destroyers, which leads to some confusion.

After the Second World War, destroyers grew in size. The American Allen M. Sumner-class destroyers had a displacement of 2,200 tons, while the Arleigh Burke class has a displacement of up to 9,600 tons, thus growing in size almost 340%.

Origins

 
Fernando Villaamil, credited as the inventor of the destroyer concept, died in action during the Battle of Santiago de Cuba in 1898.

The emergence and development of the destroyer was related to the invention of the self-propelled torpedo in the 1860s. A navy now had the potential to destroy a superior enemy battle fleet using steam launches to fire torpedoes. Cheap, fast boats armed with torpedoes called torpedo boats were built and became a threat to large capital ships near enemy coasts. The first seagoing vessel designed to launch the self-propelled Whitehead torpedo was the 33-ton HMS Lightning in 1876.[7] She was armed with two drop collars to launch these weapons, these were replaced in 1879 by a single torpedo tube in the bow. By the 1880s, the type had evolved into small ships of 50–100 tons, fast enough to evade enemy picket boats.

At first, the threat of a torpedo boat attack to a battle fleet was considered to exist only when at anchor; but as faster and longer-range torpedo boats and torpedoes were developed, the threat extended to cruising at sea. In response to this new threat, more heavily gunned picket boats called "catchers" were built which were used to escort the battle fleet at sea. They needed significant seaworthiness and endurance to operate with the battle fleet, and as they inherently became larger, they became officially designated "torpedo boat destroyers", and by the First World War were largely known as "destroyers" in English. The anti-torpedo boat origin of this type of ship is retained in its name in other languages, including French (contre-torpilleur), Italian (cacciatorpediniere), Portuguese (contratorpedeiro), Czech (torpédoborec), Greek (antitorpiliko, αντιτορπιλικό), Dutch (torpedobootjager) and, up until the Second World War, Polish (kontrtorpedowiec, now obsolete).[8]

Once destroyers became more than just catchers guarding an anchorage, it was realized that they were also ideal to take over the offensive role of torpedo boats themselves, so they were also fitted with torpedo tubes in addition to their anti torpedo-boat guns. At that time, and even into World War I, the only function of destroyers was to protect their own battle fleet from enemy torpedo attacks and to make such attacks on the battleships of the enemy. The task of escorting merchant convoys was still in the future.

Early designs

 
The Imperial Japanese Navy's Kotaka (1887)

An important development came with the construction of HMS Swift in 1884, later redesignated TB 81.[9] This was a large (137 ton) torpedo boat with four 47 mm quick-firing guns and three torpedo tubes. At 23.75 knots (43.99 km/h; 27.33 mph), while still not fast enough to engage enemy torpedo boats reliably, the ship at least had the armament to deal with them.

Another forerunner of the torpedo boat destroyer was the Japanese torpedo boat[10] Kotaka (Falcon), built in 1885.[11] Designed to Japanese specifications and ordered from the Isle of Dogs, London Yarrow shipyard in 1885, she was transported in parts to Japan, where she was assembled and launched in 1887. The 165-foot (50 m) long vessel was armed with four 1-pounder (37 mm) quick-firing guns and six torpedo tubes, reached 19 knots (35 km/h), and at 203 tons, was the largest torpedo boat built to date. In her trials in 1889, Kotaka demonstrated that she could exceed the role of coastal defense, and was capable of accompanying larger warships on the high seas. The Yarrow shipyards, builder of the parts for Kotaka, "considered Japan to have effectively invented the destroyer".[12]

The German aviso Greif, launched in 1886, was designed as a "torpedojäger" (torpedo hunter), intended to screen the fleet against attacks by torpedo boats. The ship was significantly larger than torpedo boats of the period, displacing some 2,266 t (2,230 long tons), with an armament of 10.5 cm (4.1 in) guns and 3.7 cm (1.5 in) Hotchkiss revolver cannon.[13]

Torpedo gunboat

Main article: Torpedo gunboat
 
HMS Spider, an early model of torpedo gunboat

The first vessel designed for the explicit purpose of hunting and destroying torpedo boats was the torpedo gunboat. Essentially very small cruisers, torpedo gunboats were equipped with torpedo tubes and an adequate gun armament, intended for hunting down smaller enemy boats. By the end of the 1890s torpedo gunboats were made obsolete by their more successful contemporaries, the torpedo boat destroyers, which were much faster.

The first example of this was HMS Rattlesnake, designed by Nathaniel Barnaby in 1885, and commissioned in response to the Russian War scare.[14] The gunboat was armed with torpedoes and designed for hunting and destroying smaller torpedo boats. Exactly 200 feet (61 m) long and 23 feet (7.0 m) in beam, she displaced 550 tons. Built of steel, Rattlesnake was un-armoured with the exception of a 3⁄4-inch protective deck. She was armed with a single 4-inch/25-pounder breech-loading gun, six 3-pounder QF guns and four 14-inch (360 mm) torpedo tubes, arranged with two fixed tubes at the bow and a set of torpedo dropping carriages on either side. Four torpedo reloads were carried.[14]

A number of torpedo gunboat classes followed, including the Grasshopper class, the Sharpshooter class, the Alarm class and the Dryad class – all built for the Royal Navy during the 1880s and the 1890s. In the 1880s, the Chilean Navy ordered the construction of two Almirante Lynch class torpedo gunboats from the British shipyard Laird Brothers, which specialized in the construction of this type of vessel. The novelty is that one of these Almirante Lynch class torpedo boats managed to sink the ironclad Blanco Encalada with a self-propelled torpedoes in the Battle of Caldera Bay in 1891, thus surpassing its main function of hunting torpedo boats.

Fernando Villaamil, second officer of the Ministry of the Navy of Spain, designed his own torpedo gunboat to combat the threat from the torpedo boat.[15] He asked several British shipyards to submit proposals capable of fulfilling these specifications. In 1885 the Spanish Navy chose the design submitted by the shipyard of James and George Thomson of Clydebank. Destructor (Destroyer in Spanish) was laid down at the end of the year, launched in 1886, and commissioned in 1887. Some authors considered her as the first destroyer ever built.[16][17]

 
Spanish warship Destructor in 1890, the first destroyer ever built

She displaced 348 tons, and was the first warship[18] equipped with twin triple-expansion engines generating 3,784 ihp (2,822 kW), for a maximum speed of 22.6 knots (41.9 km/h),[19] which made her one of the faster ships in the world in 1888.[20] She was armed with one 90 mm (3.5 in) Spanish-designed Hontoria breech-loading gun,[1] four 57 mm (2.2 in) (6-pounder) Nordenfelt guns, two 37 mm (1.5 in) (3-pdr) Hotchkiss cannons and two 15-inch (38 cm) Schwartzkopff torpedo tubes.[19] The ship carried three torpedoes per tube.[1] She carried a crew of 60.[19]

In terms of gunnery, speed and dimensions, the specialised design to chase torpedo boats and her high seas capabilities, Destructor was an important precursor to the torpedo boat destroyer.[21][1]

Development of modern destroyers

 
HMS Havock, the first modern destroyer, commissioned in 1894

The first classes of ships to bear the formal designation "torpedo boat destroyer" (TBD) were the Daring class of two ships and Havock class of two ships of the Royal Navy.

Early torpedo gunboat designs lacked the range and speed to keep up with the fleet they were supposed to protect. In 1892, the Third Sea Lord, Rear Admiral John "Jacky" Fisher ordered the development of a new type of ships equipped with the then novel water-tube boilers and quick-firing small calibre guns. Six ships to the specifications circulated by the Admiralty were ordered initially, comprising three different designs each produced by a different shipbuilder: HMS Daring and HMS Decoy from John I. Thornycroft & Company, HMS Havock and HMS Hornet from Yarrows, and HMS Ferret and HMS Lynx from Laird, Son & Company.[22]

These torpedo boat destroyers all featured a turtleback (i.e. rounded) forecastle that was characteristic of early British TBDs. HMS Daring and HMS Decoy were both built by Thornycroft, displaced 260 tons (287.8 tons full load) and were 185 feet in length. They were armed with one 12-pounder gun and three 6-pounder guns, with one fixed 18-in torpedo tube in the bow plus two more torpedo tubes on a revolving mount abaft the two funnels. Later the bow torpedo tube was removed and two more 6-pounder guns added instead. They produced 4,200 hp from a pair of Thornycroft water-tube boilers, giving them a top speed of 27 knots, giving the range and speed to travel effectively with a battle fleet. In common with subsequent early Thornycroft boats, they had sloping sterns and double rudders.[23]

The French navy, an extensive user of torpedo boats, built its first torpedo boat destroyer in 1899, with the Durandal-class 'torpilleur d'escadre'. The United States commissioned its first torpedo boat destroyer, USS Bainbridge, Destroyer No. 1, in 1902 and by 1906 there were 16 destroyers in service with the US Navy.[24]

Subsequent improvements

 
Builders' plans for the British Charger class, built 1894–95

Torpedo boat destroyer designs continued to evolve around the turn of the 20th century in several key ways. The first was the introduction of the steam turbine. The spectacular unauthorized demonstration of the turbine-powered Turbinia at the 1897 Spithead Navy Review, which, significantly, was of torpedo boat size, prompted the Royal Navy to order a prototype turbine powered destroyer, HMS Viper of 1899. This was the first turbine warship of any kind and achieved a remarkable 34 knots (63 km/h; 39 mph) on sea trials. By 1910 the turbine had been widely adopted by all navies for their faster ships.[7]

The second development was the replacement of the torpedo-boat-style turtleback foredeck by a raised forecastle for the new River-class destroyers built in 1903, which provided better sea-keeping as well as more space below deck.

The first warship to use only fuel oil propulsion was the Royal Navy's torpedo boat destroyer HMS Spiteful, after experiments in 1904, although the obsolescence of coal as a fuel in British warships was delayed by its availability.[25][26] Other navies also adopted oil, for instance the USN with the Paulding class of 1909. In spite of all this variety, destroyers adopted a largely similar pattern. The hull was long and narrow, with a relatively shallow draft. The bow was either raised in a forecastle or covered under a turtleback; underneath this were the crew spaces, extending 1⁄4 to 1⁄3 the way along the hull. Aft of the crew spaces was as much engine space as the technology of the time would allow: several boilers and engines or turbines. Above deck, one or more quick-firing guns were mounted in the bows, in front of the bridge; several more were mounted amidships and astern. Two tube mountings (later on, multiple mountings) were generally found amidships.

Between 1892 and 1914 destroyers became markedly larger: initially 275 tons with a length of 165 feet (50 m) for the Royal Navy's first Havock class of torpedo boat destroyers,[27] up to the First World War with 300-foot (91 m) long destroyers displacing 1,000 tons was not unusual. However, construction remained focused on putting the biggest possible engines into a small hull, resulting in a somewhat flimsy construction. Often hulls were built of high-tensile steel[7] only 1⁄8 in (3.2 mm) thick.

By 1910 the steam-driven displacement (that is, not hydroplaning) torpedo boat had become redundant as a separate type. Germany nevertheless continued to build such boats until the end of World War I, although these were effectively small coastal destroyers. In fact Germany never distinguished between the two types, giving them pennant numbers in the same series and never giving names to destroyers. Ultimately the term torpedo boat came to be attached to a quite different vessel – the very fast hydroplaning motor driven MTB.

Early use and World War I

Navies originally built torpedo boat destroyers to protect against torpedo boats, but admirals soon appreciated the flexibility of the fast, multi-purpose vessels that resulted. Vice-Admiral Sir Baldwin Walker laid down destroyer duties for the Royal Navy:[28]

  • screening the advance of a fleet when hostile torpedo craft are about
  • searching a hostile coast along which a fleet might pass
  • watching an enemy's port for the purpose of harassing his torpedo craft and preventing their return
  • attacking an enemy fleet

Early destroyers were extremely cramped places to live, being "without a doubt magnificent fighting vessels... but unable to stand bad weather".[29] During the Russo-Japanese War in 1904, the commander of the Imperial Japanese Navy torpedo boat destroyer Akatsuki[30][31][32] described "being in command of a destroyer for a long period, especially in wartime... is not very good for the health". Stating that he had originally been strong and healthy, he continued, "life on a destroyer in winter, with bad food, no comforts, would sap the powers of the strongest men in the long run. A destroyer is always more uncomfortable than the others, and rain, snow, and sea-water combine to make them damp; in fact, in bad weather there is not a dry spot where one can rest for a moment."[33]

The Japanese destroyer-commander finished with, "Yesterday I looked at myself in a mirror for a long time; I was disagreeably surprised to see my face thin, full of wrinkles, and as old as though I were fifty. My clothes (uniform) cover nothing but a skeleton, and my bones are full of rheumatism."[33]

In 1898, the US Navy officially classified USS Porter, a 175-foot (53 m) long all steel vessel displacing 165 tons, as a torpedo boat. However, her commander, LT. John C. Fremont, described her as "...a compact mass of machinery not meant to keep the sea nor to live in... as five sevenths of the ship are taken up by machinery and fuel, whilst the remaining two sevenths, fore and aft, are the crew's quarters; officers forward and the men placed aft. And even in those spaces are placed anchor engines, steering engines, steam pipes, etc. rendering them unbearably hot in tropical regions."[34]

Early combat

The torpedo boat destroyer's first major use in combat came during the Japanese surprise attack on the Russian fleet anchored in Port Arthur at the opening of the Russo-Japanese War on 8 February 1904.

Three destroyer divisions attacked the Russian fleet in port, firing a total of 18 torpedoes. However, only two Russian battleships, Tsesarevich and Retvizan, and a protected cruiser, Pallada, were seriously damaged due to the proper deployment of torpedo nets. Tsesarevich, the Russian flagship, had her nets deployed, with at least four enemy torpedoes "hung up" in them,[35] and other warships were similarly saved from further damage by their nets.[36]

While capital ship engagements were scarce in World War I, destroyer units engaged almost continually in raiding and patrol actions. The first shot of the war at sea was fired on 5 August 1914 by HMS Lance, one of the 3rd Destroyer Flotilla, in an engagement with the German auxiliary minelayer Königin Luise.[37]

Destroyers were involved in the skirmishes that prompted the Battle of Heligoland Bight, and filled a range of roles in the Battle of Gallipoli, acting as troop transports and as fire-support vessels, as well as their fleet-screening role. Over 80 British destroyers and 60 German torpedo-boats took part in the Battle of Jutland, which involved pitched small-boat actions between the main fleets, and several foolhardy attacks by unsupported destroyers on capital ships. Jutland also concluded with a messy night action between the German High Seas Fleet and part of the British destroyer screen.

 
USS Wickes, a Wickes-class destroyer

The threat evolved by World War I with the development of the submarine, or U-boat. The submarine had the potential to hide from gunfire and close underwater to fire torpedoes. Early-war destroyers had the speed and armament to intercept submarines before they submerged, either by gunfire or by ramming. Destroyers also had a shallow enough draft that torpedoes would find it difficult to hit them.

 
HMS Badger was the first destroyer to successfully ram a submarine

The desire to attack submarines underwater led to rapid destroyer evolution during the war. They were quickly equipped with strengthened bows for ramming, and depth charges and hydrophones for identifying submarine targets. The first submarine casualty credited to a destroyer was the German U-19, rammed by HMS Badger on 29 October 1914. While U-19 was only damaged, the next month HMS Garry successfully sank U-18. The first depth-charge sinking was on 4 December 1916, when UC-19[38] was sunk by HMS Llewellyn.

The submarine threat meant that many destroyers spent their time on anti-submarine patrol. Once Germany adopted unrestricted submarine warfare in January 1917, destroyers were called on to escort merchant convoys. US Navy destroyers were among the first American units to be dispatched upon the American entry to the war, and a squadron of Japanese destroyers even joined Allied patrols in the Mediterranean. Patrol duty was far from safe; of the 67 British destroyers lost in the war, collisions accounted for 18, while 12 were wrecked.

At the end of the war, the state-of-the-art was represented by the British W class.

1918–1945

See also: List of destroyers of the Second World War
 
V-class destroyer, HMS Velox

The trend during World War I had been towards larger destroyers with heavier armaments. A number of opportunities to fire at capital ships had been missed during the War, because destroyers had expended all their torpedoes in an initial salvo. The British V and W classes of the late war had sought to address this by mounting six torpedo tubes in two triple mounts, instead of the four or two on earlier models. The 'V' and 'W's set the standard of destroyer building well into the 1920s.

The two Romanian destroyers Mărăști and Mărășești, on the other hand, had the greatest firepower of all destroyers in the world throughout the first half of the 1920s. This was largely due to the fact that, between their commissioning in 1920 and 1926, they retained the armament that they had while serving in the Italian Navy as scout cruisers (esploratori). When initially ordered by Romania in 1913, the Romanian specifications envisioned three 120 mm guns, a caliber which would eventually be adopted as the standard for future Italian destroyers. Armed with three 152 mm and four 76 mm guns after being completed as scout cruisers, the two warships were officially re-rated as destroyers by the Romanian Navy. The two Romanian warships were thus the destroyers with the greatest firepower in the world throughout much of the interwar period. As of 1939, when the Second World War started, their artillery, although changed, was still close to cruiser standards, amounting to nine heavy naval guns (five of 120 mm and four of 76 mm). In addition, they retained their two twin 457 mm torpedo tubes as well as two machine guns, plus the capacity to carry up to 50 mines.[39]

 
Fubuki-class destroyer, Uranami

The next major innovation came with the Japanese Fubuki class or 'special type', designed in 1923 and delivered in 1928. The design was initially noted for its powerful armament of six five-inch (127 mm) guns and three triple torpedo mounts. The second batch of the class gave the guns high-angle turrets for anti-aircraft warfare, and the 24-inch (61 cm) oxygen-fueled 'Long Lance' Type 93 torpedo. The later Hatsuharu class of 1931 further improved the torpedo armament by storing its reload torpedoes close at hand in the superstructure, allowing reloading within 15 minutes.

Most other nations replied with similar larger ships. The US Porter class adopted twin five-inch (127 mm) guns, and the subsequent Mahan class and Gridley classes (the latter of 1934) increased the number of torpedo tubes to 12 and 16 respectively.

 
France's Le Fantasque class, the fastest destroyer class ever built.

In the Mediterranean, the Italian Navy's building of very fast light cruisers of the Condottieri class prompted the French to produce exceptional destroyer designs. The French had long been keen on large destroyers, with their Chacal class of 1922 displacing over 2,000 tons and carrying 130 mm guns; a further three similar classes were produced around 1930. The Le Fantasque class of 1935 carried five 138 millimetres (5.4 in) guns and nine torpedo tubes, but could achieve speeds of 45 knots (83 km/h), which remains the record speed for a steamship and for any destroyer.[40] The Italians' own destroyers were almost as swift, most Italian designs of the 1930s being rated at over 38 knots (70 km/h), while carrying torpedoes and either four or six 120 mm guns.

Germany started to build destroyers again during the 1930s as part of Hitler's rearmament program. The Germans were also fond of large destroyers, but while the initial Type 1934 displaced over 3,000 tons, their armament was equal to smaller vessels. This changed from the Type 1936 onwards, which mounted heavy 150 millimetres (5.9 in) guns. German destroyers also used innovative high-pressure steam machinery: while this should have helped their efficiency, it more often resulted in mechanical problems.

Once German and Japanese rearmament became clear, the British and American navies consciously focused on building destroyers that were smaller but more numerous than those used by other nations. The British built a series of destroyers (the A class to I class) which were about 1,400 tons standard displacement, had four 4.7-inch (119 mm) guns and eight torpedo tubes; the American Benson class of 1938 similar in size, but carried five 5-inch (127 mm) guns and ten torpedo tubes. Realizing the need for heavier gun armament, the British built the Tribal class of 1936 (sometimes called Afridi after one of two lead ships). These ships displaced 1,850 tons and were armed with eight 4.7-inch (119 mm) guns in four twin turrets and four torpedo tubes. These were followed by the J-class and L-class destroyers, with six 4.7-inch (119 mm) guns in twin turrets and eight torpedo tubes.

Anti-submarine sensors included sonar (or ASDIC), although training in their use was indifferent. Anti-submarine weapons changed little, and ahead-throwing weapons, a need recognized in World War I, had made no progress.

Later combat

 
USS McGowan, a Fletcher-class destroyer during World War II
Further information: American World War II destroyers, British World War II destroyers, French World War II destroyers, German World War II destroyers, Italian World War II destroyers, Japanese World War II destroyers, Soviet World War II destroyers, and Romanian World War II destroyers

During the 1920s and 1930s, destroyers were often deployed to areas of diplomatic tension or humanitarian disaster. British and American destroyers were common on the Chinese coast and rivers, even supplying landing parties to protect colonial interests.

By World War II the threat had evolved once again. Submarines were more effective, and aircraft had become important weapons of naval warfare; once again the early-war fleet destroyers were ill-equipped for combating these new targets. They were fitted with new light anti-aircraft guns, radar, and forward-launched ASW weapons, in addition to their existing dual-purpose guns, depth charges, and torpedoes. Increasing size allowed improved internal arrangement of propulsion machinery with compartmentation so ships were less likely to be sunk by a single hit.[7] In most cases torpedo and/or dual-purpose gun armament was reduced to accommodate new anti-air and anti-submarine weapons. By this time the destroyers had become large, multi-purpose vessels, expensive targets in their own right. As a result, casualties on destroyers were among the highest. In the US Navy, particularly in World War II, destroyers became known as tin cans due to their light armor compared to battleships and cruisers.

The need for large numbers of anti-submarine ships led to the introduction of smaller and cheaper specialized anti-submarine warships called corvettes and frigates by the Royal Navy and destroyer escorts by the USN. A similar programme was belatedly started by the Japanese (see Matsu-class destroyer). These ships had the size and displacement of the original torpedo boat destroyers that the contemporary destroyer had evolved from.

Post-World War II

 
Polish destroyer ORP Błyskawica, currently preserved as a museum ship in Gdynia.

Some conventional destroyers were completed in the late 1940s and 1950s which built on wartime experience. These vessels were significantly larger than wartime ships and had fully automatic main guns, unit machinery, radar, sonar, and antisubmarine weapons such as the Squid mortar. Examples include the British Daring-class, US Forrest Sherman-class, and the Soviet Kotlin-class destroyers.

Some World War II–vintage ships were modernized for anti-submarine warfare, and to extend their service lives, to avoid having to build (expensive) brand-new ships. Examples include the US FRAM I programme and the British Type 15 frigates converted from fleet destroyers.

The advent of surface-to-air missiles and surface-to-surface missiles, such as the Exocet, in the early 1960s changed naval warfare. Guided missile destroyers (DDG in the US Navy) were developed to carry these weapons and protect the fleet from air, submarine and surface threats. Examples include the Soviet Kashin class, the British County class, and the US Charles F. Adams class.

21st century destroyers tend to display features such as large, slab sides without complicated corners and crevices to keep the radar cross-section small, vertical launch systems to carry a large number of missiles at high readiness to fire and helicopter flight decks and hangars.

Operators

 
HTMS Pin Klao, a Thai-operated Cannon-class destroyer.

Former operators

Future development

 
Baden-Württemberg, an F125-class frigate of the German Navy; currently the biggest frigates worldwide. In size and role they are qualified as destroyers

Preserved destroyers

A number of countries have destroyers preserved as museum ships. These include:

Former museums

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Although the Russian Kirov class are sometimes classified as battlecruisers due to their displacement, they are described by Russia as large missile cruisers.
  2. ^ Velos is still a commissioned warship within the Hellenic Navy, but is strictly ceremonial and no longer sees action.
  3. ^ Blyskawica is still a commissioned warship within the Polish Navy, but is strictly ceremonial and no longer sees action.

References

  1. ^ a b c d Fitzsimmons, Bernard: The Illustrated encyclopedia of 20th century weapons and warfare. Columbia House, 1978, v. 8, page 835
  2. ^ Smith, Charles Edgar: A short history of naval and marine engineering. Babcock & Wilcox, ltd. at the University Press, 1937, page 263
  3. ^ Gove p. 2412
  4. ^ Lyon pp. 8, 9
  5. ^ April 19, 2010. Retrieved August 29, 2014.
  6. ^ "Annual Report to Congress: Military and Security Developments Involving the People's Republic of China 2017" (PDF). Office of the Secretary of Defense. (PDF) from the original on 2017-08-28. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  7. ^ a b c d Toby, A. Steven (1985). "The "Can-Do" Tin Can". Proceedings. United States Naval Institute. 111 (10): 108–113.
  8. ^ Lyon p. 8
  9. ^ "Torpedo Boats". Battleships-Cruisers.co.uk.
  10. ^ Jentschura p. 126
  11. ^ Evans and Peattie, David C. and Mark R. (1997). Kaigun: Strategy, Tactics, and Technology in the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1887–1941. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-0-87021-192-8.
  12. ^ Howe, Christopher (1996). The Origins of Japanese Trade Supremacy: Development and Technology in Asia from 1540 to the Pacific War. Chicago, Illinois: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-35485-9.
  13. ^ Hildebrand, Hans H.; Röhr, Albert & Steinmetz, Hans-Otto (1993). Die Deutschen Kriegsschiffe: Biographien: ein Spiegel der Marinegeschichte von 1815 bis zur Gegenwart (Band 4) [The German Warships: Biographies: A Reflection of Naval History from 1815 to the Present (Vol. 4)] (in German). Ratingen: Mundus Verlag. pp. 17–18. ISBN 978-3-7822-0382-1.
  14. ^ a b Lyon & Winfield. "10". The Sail and Steam Navy List. pp. 82–3.
  15. ^ "Capitan de Navio Fernando Villaamil, 1898". www.spanamwar.com. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
  16. ^ "Under the influence of Fernando Villamil (1845–1898), Spain in 1886 produced the first torpedo boat destroyer." Kern, Robert & Dodge, Meredith: Historical dictionary of modern Spain, 1700–1988. Greenwood Press, 1990, page 361. ISBN 0-313-25971-2
  17. ^ Polmar, Norman; Cavas, Christopher (2009). Navy's Most Wanted™: The Top 10 Book of Admirable Admirals, Sleek Submarines, and Other Naval Oddities. Potomac Books. p. 44. ISBN 978-1597976558.
  18. ^ Cornwell, Edward Lewis (1979). The illustrated history of ships. Crescent Books. p. 150. ISBN 0517287951.
  19. ^ a b c . accounts.google.com. Archived from the original on 26 February 2010. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
  20. ^ Illustrated Naval and Military Magazine: A monthly journal devoted to all subjects connected with Her Majesty's land and sea forces, 1888, v 9, page 280
  21. ^ . www.quarterdeck.org. Archived from the original on 2021-02-26. Retrieved 2019-04-28.
  22. ^ Captain T.D. Manning (1961). The British Destroyer. Putnam and Co.
  23. ^ Lyon, David (1996). The First Destroyers. ISBN 978-1-84067-364-7.
  24. ^ Simpson p. 151
  25. ^ Anon. (1904). "The British Admiralty ..." Scientific American. 91 (2). ISSN 0036-8733.
  26. ^ Dahl, E.J. (2001). "Naval innovation: From coal to oil" (PDF). Joint Force Quarterly (Winter 2000–01): 50–6. (PDF) from the original on 22 October 2016. Retrieved 14 February 2017.
  27. ^ Lyon p. 53
  28. ^ Brett, Bernard: "History of World Sea Power", Deans International (London) 1985. ISBN 0-603-03723-2
  29. ^ Grant p. 136
  30. ^ Grant, image, frontispiece
  31. ^ Lyon p. 58
  32. ^ Jentschura p. 132
  33. ^ a b Grant p. 102, 103
  34. ^ Simpson p. 100
  35. ^ Grant p. 42
  36. ^ Grant p. 33, 34, 40
  37. ^ The Königin Luise was abandoned and scuttled by its crew but the British patrol later passed through the area it had mined and a cruiser was damaged and abandoned
  38. ^ Kemp, Paul (1997). U-boats Destroyed: German Submarine Losses in the World Wars. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 9781557508591.
  39. ^ Brassey's Annual: The Armed Forces Year-book, Praeger Publishers, 1939, p. 276
  40. ^ Jordan, John & Moulin, Jean (2015). French Destroyers: Torpilleurs d'Escadre & Contre-Torpilleurs 1922–1956. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-198-4.
  41. ^ Johnson, Jesse (2020-01-12). "China's navy commissions biggest and 'most powerful' surface warship". The Japan Times. Retrieved 2020-11-17.
  42. ^ "China Commissions Two New Type 052D Destroyers". www.defenseworld.net. 10 March 2022. Retrieved 2022-03-18.
  43. ^ "Military and Security Developments Involving the People's Republic of China 2017" (PDF). dod.defense.gov. 15 May 2017. (PDF) from the original on 2018-08-24.
  44. ^ a b "French Navy - Marine Nationale - Ships Submarines Aircraft".
  45. ^ "CCT – thyssenkrupp Marine Systems - Dr Rolf Wirtz: O nosso diferencial é a Qualidade do Produto". Defesa Net (in Portuguese). 9 January 2019.
  46. ^ "Zwei weitere MKS 180 für die deutsche Marine – bundeswehr-journal". 14 February 2017.
  47. ^ Technology perspective
  48. ^ "Italy plans new destroyers for 2028 delivery". 9 November 2020.
  49. ^ "Russia's Ambitious Shkval Nuclear Powered Destroyer Program Isn't Dead Yet". Military Watch Magazine. 5 July 2020.
  50. ^ Allison, George (22 March 2021). "UK announces new Type 83 Destroyer". ukdefencejournal.org.uk.
  51. ^ "Report to Congress on U.S. Navy Destroyer Programs". usni.org. 11 July 2018. from the original on 21 August 2018. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
  52. ^ "Navy Unveils Next-Generation DDG(X) Warship Concept with Hypersonic Missiles, Lasers". 12 January 2022.

Further reading

  • Evans, David C. Kaigun: Strategy, Tactics, and Technology in the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1887–1941, Mark R. Peattie. Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland ISBN 0-87021-192-7
  • Gardiner, Robert (Editor). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships (1860–1905): Naval Institute Press, 1985.
  • Gove, Philip Babock (Editor in Chief). Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language Unabridged. (2002) Merriam-Webster Inc., Publishers, Massachusetts, USA.
  • Grant, R. Captain. Before Port Arthur in a Destroyer; The Personal Diary of a Japanese Naval Officer. London, John Murray; first and second editions published in 1907.
  • Howe, Christopher. Origins of Japanese Trade Supremacy: Development and Technology in Asia from 1540 to the Pacific War, The University of Chicago Press, ISBN 0-226-35485-7
  • Jentschura, Hansgeorg. Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1869–1945. United States Naval Institute, Annapolis, Maryland, 1977. ISBN 0-87021-893-X.
  • Lyon, David, The First Destroyers. Chatham Publishing, 1 & 2 Faulkner's Alley, Cowcross St. London, Great Britain; 1996. ISBN 1-55750-271-4.
  • Sanders, Michael S. (2001) The Yard: Building a Destroyer at the Bath Iron Works, HarperCollins, ISBN 978-0-06-092963-3
  • Simpson, Richard V. Building The Mosquito Fleet, The US Navy's First Torpedo Boats. Arcadia Publishing, (2001); Charleston, South Carolina, USA. ISBN 0-7385-0508-0.
  • Preston, Anthony. Destroyers, Bison Books (London) 1977. ISBN 0-600-32955-0
  • Van der Vat, Dan. The Atlantic Campaign.
  • DD-963 Spruance-class
  • Navy Designates Next-Generation Zumwalt Destroyer

External links

 
Look up destroyer in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

  Media related to Destroyers at Wikimedia Commons

January 13, 2023
destroyer, other, uses, disambiguation, naval, terminology, destroyer, fast, manoeuvrable, long, endurance, warship, intended, escort, larger, vessels, fleet, convoy, battle, group, defend, them, against, powerful, short, range, attackers, they, were, original. For other uses see Destroyer disambiguation In naval terminology a destroyer is a fast manoeuvrable long endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers They were originally developed in 1885 by Fernando Villaamil for the Spanish Navy 1 2 as a defense against torpedo boats and by the time of the Russo Japanese War in 1904 these torpedo boat destroyers TBDs were large swift and powerfully armed torpedo boats designed to destroy other torpedo boats 3 Although the term destroyer had been used interchangeably with TBD and torpedo boat destroyer by navies since 1892 the term torpedo boat destroyer had been generally shortened to simply destroyer by nearly all navies by the First World War 4 USS Winston S Churchill an Arleigh Burke class guided missile destroyer of the United States Navy Before World War II destroyers were light vessels with little endurance for unattended ocean operations typically a number of destroyers and a single destroyer tender operated together After the war the advent of the guided missile allowed destroyers to take on the surface combatant roles previously filled by battleships and cruisers This resulted in larger and more powerful guided missile destroyers more capable of independent operation At the start of the 21st century destroyers are the global standard for surface combatant ships with only two nations United States and Russia officially operating the heavier class cruisers with no battleships or true battlecruisers remaining note 1 Modern guided missile destroyers are equivalent in tonnage but vastly superior in firepower to cruisers of the World War II era and are capable of carrying nuclear tipped cruise missiles At 510 feet 160 m long a displacement of 9 200 tons and with an armament of more than 90 missiles 5 guided missile destroyers such as the Arleigh Burke class are actually larger and more heavily armed than most previous ships classified as guided missile cruisers The Chinese Type 055 destroyer has been described as a cruiser in some US Navy reports due to its size and armament 6 Some NATO navies such as the Canadian French Spanish Dutch and German use the term frigate for their destroyers which leads to some confusion After the Second World War destroyers grew in size The American Allen M Sumner class destroyers had a displacement of 2 200 tons while the Arleigh Burke class has a displacement of up to 9 600 tons thus growing in size almost 340 Contents 1 Origins 1 1 Early designs 1 2 Torpedo gunboat 2 Development of modern destroyers 2 1 Subsequent improvements 3 Early use and World War I 3 1 Early combat 4 1918 1945 4 1 Later combat 5 Post World War II 6 Operators 6 1 Former operators 7 Future development 8 Preserved destroyers 8 1 Former museums 9 See also 10 Notes 11 References 12 Further reading 13 External linksOrigins Edit Fernando Villaamil credited as the inventor of the destroyer concept died in action during the Battle of Santiago de Cuba in 1898 The emergence and development of the destroyer was related to the invention of the self propelled torpedo in the 1860s A navy now had the potential to destroy a superior enemy battle fleet using steam launches to fire torpedoes Cheap fast boats armed with torpedoes called torpedo boats were built and became a threat to large capital ships near enemy coasts The first seagoing vessel designed to launch the self propelled Whitehead torpedo was the 33 ton HMS Lightning in 1876 7 She was armed with two drop collars to launch these weapons these were replaced in 1879 by a single torpedo tube in the bow By the 1880s the type had evolved into small ships of 50 100 tons fast enough to evade enemy picket boats At first the threat of a torpedo boat attack to a battle fleet was considered to exist only when at anchor but as faster and longer range torpedo boats and torpedoes were developed the threat extended to cruising at sea In response to this new threat more heavily gunned picket boats called catchers were built which were used to escort the battle fleet at sea They needed significant seaworthiness and endurance to operate with the battle fleet and as they inherently became larger they became officially designated torpedo boat destroyers and by the First World War were largely known as destroyers in English The anti torpedo boat origin of this type of ship is retained in its name in other languages including French contre torpilleur Italian cacciatorpediniere Portuguese contratorpedeiro Czech torpedoborec Greek antitorpiliko antitorpiliko Dutch torpedobootjager and up until the Second World War Polish kontrtorpedowiec now obsolete 8 Once destroyers became more than just catchers guarding an anchorage it was realized that they were also ideal to take over the offensive role of torpedo boats themselves so they were also fitted with torpedo tubes in addition to their anti torpedo boat guns At that time and even into World War I the only function of destroyers was to protect their own battle fleet from enemy torpedo attacks and to make such attacks on the battleships of the enemy The task of escorting merchant convoys was still in the future Early designs Edit The Imperial Japanese Navy s Kotaka 1887 An important development came with the construction of HMS Swift in 1884 later redesignated TB 81 9 This was a large 137 ton torpedo boat with four 47 mm quick firing guns and three torpedo tubes At 23 75 knots 43 99 km h 27 33 mph while still not fast enough to engage enemy torpedo boats reliably the ship at least had the armament to deal with them Another forerunner of the torpedo boat destroyer was the Japanese torpedo boat 10 Kotaka Falcon built in 1885 11 Designed to Japanese specifications and ordered from the Isle of Dogs London Yarrow shipyard in 1885 she was transported in parts to Japan where she was assembled and launched in 1887 The 165 foot 50 m long vessel was armed with four 1 pounder 37 mm quick firing guns and six torpedo tubes reached 19 knots 35 km h and at 203 tons was the largest torpedo boat built to date In her trials in 1889 Kotaka demonstrated that she could exceed the role of coastal defense and was capable of accompanying larger warships on the high seas The Yarrow shipyards builder of the parts for Kotaka considered Japan to have effectively invented the destroyer 12 The German aviso Greif launched in 1886 was designed as a torpedojager torpedo hunter intended to screen the fleet against attacks by torpedo boats The ship was significantly larger than torpedo boats of the period displacing some 2 266 t 2 230 long tons with an armament of 10 5 cm 4 1 in guns and 3 7 cm 1 5 in Hotchkiss revolver cannon 13 Torpedo gunboat Edit Main article Torpedo gunboat HMS Spider an early model of torpedo gunboat The first vessel designed for the explicit purpose of hunting and destroying torpedo boats was the torpedo gunboat Essentially very small cruisers torpedo gunboats were equipped with torpedo tubes and an adequate gun armament intended for hunting down smaller enemy boats By the end of the 1890s torpedo gunboats were made obsolete by their more successful contemporaries the torpedo boat destroyers which were much faster The first example of this was HMS Rattlesnake designed by Nathaniel Barnaby in 1885 and commissioned in response to the Russian War scare 14 The gunboat was armed with torpedoes and designed for hunting and destroying smaller torpedo boats Exactly 200 feet 61 m long and 23 feet 7 0 m in beam she displaced 550 tons Built of steel Rattlesnake was un armoured with the exception of a 3 4 inch protective deck She was armed with a single 4 inch 25 pounder breech loading gun six 3 pounder QF guns and four 14 inch 360 mm torpedo tubes arranged with two fixed tubes at the bow and a set of torpedo dropping carriages on either side Four torpedo reloads were carried 14 A number of torpedo gunboat classes followed including the Grasshopper class the Sharpshooter class the Alarm class and the Dryad class all built for the Royal Navy during the 1880s and the 1890s In the 1880s the Chilean Navy ordered the construction of two Almirante Lynch class torpedo gunboats from the British shipyard Laird Brothers which specialized in the construction of this type of vessel The novelty is that one of these Almirante Lynch class torpedo boats managed to sink the ironclad Blanco Encalada with a self propelled torpedoes in the Battle of Caldera Bay in 1891 thus surpassing its main function of hunting torpedo boats Fernando Villaamil second officer of the Ministry of the Navy of Spain designed his own torpedo gunboat to combat the threat from the torpedo boat 15 He asked several British shipyards to submit proposals capable of fulfilling these specifications In 1885 the Spanish Navy chose the design submitted by the shipyard of James and George Thomson of Clydebank Destructor Destroyer in Spanish was laid down at the end of the year launched in 1886 and commissioned in 1887 Some authors considered her as the first destroyer ever built 16 17 Spanish warship Destructor in 1890 the first destroyer ever built She displaced 348 tons and was the first warship 18 equipped with twin triple expansion engines generating 3 784 ihp 2 822 kW for a maximum speed of 22 6 knots 41 9 km h 19 which made her one of the faster ships in the world in 1888 20 She was armed with one 90 mm 3 5 in Spanish designed Hontoria breech loading gun 1 four 57 mm 2 2 in 6 pounder Nordenfelt guns two 37 mm 1 5 in 3 pdr Hotchkiss cannons and two 15 inch 38 cm Schwartzkopff torpedo tubes 19 The ship carried three torpedoes per tube 1 She carried a crew of 60 19 In terms of gunnery speed and dimensions the specialised design to chase torpedo boats and her high seas capabilities Destructor was an important precursor to the torpedo boat destroyer 21 1 Development of modern destroyers Edit HMS Havock the first modern destroyer commissioned in 1894 The first classes of ships to bear the formal designation torpedo boat destroyer TBD were the Daring class of two ships and Havock class of two ships of the Royal Navy Early torpedo gunboat designs lacked the range and speed to keep up with the fleet they were supposed to protect In 1892 the Third Sea Lord Rear Admiral John Jacky Fisher ordered the development of a new type of ships equipped with the then novel water tube boilers and quick firing small calibre guns Six ships to the specifications circulated by the Admiralty were ordered initially comprising three different designs each produced by a different shipbuilder HMS Daring and HMS Decoy from John I Thornycroft amp Company HMS Havock and HMS Hornet from Yarrows and HMS Ferret and HMS Lynx from Laird Son amp Company 22 These torpedo boat destroyers all featured a turtleback i e rounded forecastle that was characteristic of early British TBDs HMS Daring and HMS Decoy were both built by Thornycroft displaced 260 tons 287 8 tons full load and were 185 feet in length They were armed with one 12 pounder gun and three 6 pounder guns with one fixed 18 in torpedo tube in the bow plus two more torpedo tubes on a revolving mount abaft the two funnels Later the bow torpedo tube was removed and two more 6 pounder guns added instead They produced 4 200 hp from a pair of Thornycroft water tube boilers giving them a top speed of 27 knots giving the range and speed to travel effectively with a battle fleet In common with subsequent early Thornycroft boats they had sloping sterns and double rudders 23 The French navy an extensive user of torpedo boats built its first torpedo boat destroyer in 1899 with the Durandal class torpilleur d escadre The United States commissioned its first torpedo boat destroyer USS Bainbridge Destroyer No 1 in 1902 and by 1906 there were 16 destroyers in service with the US Navy 24 Subsequent improvements Edit Builders plans for the British Charger class built 1894 95 Torpedo boat destroyer designs continued to evolve around the turn of the 20th century in several key ways The first was the introduction of the steam turbine The spectacular unauthorized demonstration of the turbine powered Turbinia at the 1897 Spithead Navy Review which significantly was of torpedo boat size prompted the Royal Navy to order a prototype turbine powered destroyer HMS Viper of 1899 This was the first turbine warship of any kind and achieved a remarkable 34 knots 63 km h 39 mph on sea trials By 1910 the turbine had been widely adopted by all navies for their faster ships 7 The second development was the replacement of the torpedo boat style turtleback foredeck by a raised forecastle for the new River class destroyers built in 1903 which provided better sea keeping as well as more space below deck The first warship to use only fuel oil propulsion was the Royal Navy s torpedo boat destroyer HMS Spiteful after experiments in 1904 although the obsolescence of coal as a fuel in British warships was delayed by its availability 25 26 Other navies also adopted oil for instance the USN with the Paulding class of 1909 In spite of all this variety destroyers adopted a largely similar pattern The hull was long and narrow with a relatively shallow draft The bow was either raised in a forecastle or covered under a turtleback underneath this were the crew spaces extending 1 4 to 1 3 the way along the hull Aft of the crew spaces was as much engine space as the technology of the time would allow several boilers and engines or turbines Above deck one or more quick firing guns were mounted in the bows in front of the bridge several more were mounted amidships and astern Two tube mountings later on multiple mountings were generally found amidships Between 1892 and 1914 destroyers became markedly larger initially 275 tons with a length of 165 feet 50 m for the Royal Navy s first Havock class of torpedo boat destroyers 27 up to the First World War with 300 foot 91 m long destroyers displacing 1 000 tons was not unusual However construction remained focused on putting the biggest possible engines into a small hull resulting in a somewhat flimsy construction Often hulls were built of high tensile steel 7 only 1 8 in 3 2 mm thick By 1910 the steam driven displacement that is not hydroplaning torpedo boat had become redundant as a separate type Germany nevertheless continued to build such boats until the end of World War I although these were effectively small coastal destroyers In fact Germany never distinguished between the two types giving them pennant numbers in the same series and never giving names to destroyers Ultimately the term torpedo boat came to be attached to a quite different vessel the very fast hydroplaning motor driven MTB Early use and World War I EditNavies originally built torpedo boat destroyers to protect against torpedo boats but admirals soon appreciated the flexibility of the fast multi purpose vessels that resulted Vice Admiral Sir Baldwin Walker laid down destroyer duties for the Royal Navy 28 screening the advance of a fleet when hostile torpedo craft are about searching a hostile coast along which a fleet might pass watching an enemy s port for the purpose of harassing his torpedo craft and preventing their return attacking an enemy fleetEarly destroyers were extremely cramped places to live being without a doubt magnificent fighting vessels but unable to stand bad weather 29 During the Russo Japanese War in 1904 the commander of the Imperial Japanese Navy torpedo boat destroyer Akatsuki 30 31 32 described being in command of a destroyer for a long period especially in wartime is not very good for the health Stating that he had originally been strong and healthy he continued life on a destroyer in winter with bad food no comforts would sap the powers of the strongest men in the long run A destroyer is always more uncomfortable than the others and rain snow and sea water combine to make them damp in fact in bad weather there is not a dry spot where one can rest for a moment 33 The Japanese destroyer commander finished with Yesterday I looked at myself in a mirror for a long time I was disagreeably surprised to see my face thin full of wrinkles and as old as though I were fifty My clothes uniform cover nothing but a skeleton and my bones are full of rheumatism 33 In 1898 the US Navy officially classified USS Porter a 175 foot 53 m long all steel vessel displacing 165 tons as a torpedo boat However her commander LT John C Fremont described her as a compact mass of machinery not meant to keep the sea nor to live in as five sevenths of the ship are taken up by machinery and fuel whilst the remaining two sevenths fore and aft are the crew s quarters officers forward and the men placed aft And even in those spaces are placed anchor engines steering engines steam pipes etc rendering them unbearably hot in tropical regions 34 Early combat Edit HMS Loyal of the Laforey class The torpedo boat destroyer s first major use in combat came during the Japanese surprise attack on the Russian fleet anchored in Port Arthur at the opening of the Russo Japanese War on 8 February 1904 Three destroyer divisions attacked the Russian fleet in port firing a total of 18 torpedoes However only two Russian battleships Tsesarevich and Retvizan and a protected cruiser Pallada were seriously damaged due to the proper deployment of torpedo nets Tsesarevich the Russian flagship had her nets deployed with at least four enemy torpedoes hung up in them 35 and other warships were similarly saved from further damage by their nets 36 While capital ship engagements were scarce in World War I destroyer units engaged almost continually in raiding and patrol actions The first shot of the war at sea was fired on 5 August 1914 by HMS Lance one of the 3rd Destroyer Flotilla in an engagement with the German auxiliary minelayer Konigin Luise 37 Destroyers were involved in the skirmishes that prompted the Battle of Heligoland Bight and filled a range of roles in the Battle of Gallipoli acting as troop transports and as fire support vessels as well as their fleet screening role Over 80 British destroyers and 60 German torpedo boats took part in the Battle of Jutland which involved pitched small boat actions between the main fleets and several foolhardy attacks by unsupported destroyers on capital ships Jutland also concluded with a messy night action between the German High Seas Fleet and part of the British destroyer screen USS Wickes a Wickes class destroyer The threat evolved by World War I with the development of the submarine or U boat The submarine had the potential to hide from gunfire and close underwater to fire torpedoes Early war destroyers had the speed and armament to intercept submarines before they submerged either by gunfire or by ramming Destroyers also had a shallow enough draft that torpedoes would find it difficult to hit them HMS Badger was the first destroyer to successfully ram a submarine The desire to attack submarines underwater led to rapid destroyer evolution during the war They were quickly equipped with strengthened bows for ramming and depth charges and hydrophones for identifying submarine targets The first submarine casualty credited to a destroyer was the German U 19 rammed by HMS Badger on 29 October 1914 While U 19 was only damaged the next month HMS Garry successfully sank U 18 The first depth charge sinking was on 4 December 1916 when UC 19 38 was sunk by HMS Llewellyn The submarine threat meant that many destroyers spent their time on anti submarine patrol Once Germany adopted unrestricted submarine warfare in January 1917 destroyers were called on to escort merchant convoys US Navy destroyers were among the first American units to be dispatched upon the American entry to the war and a squadron of Japanese destroyers even joined Allied patrols in the Mediterranean Patrol duty was far from safe of the 67 British destroyers lost in the war collisions accounted for 18 while 12 were wrecked At the end of the war the state of the art was represented by the British W class 1918 1945 EditSee also List of destroyers of the Second World War V class destroyer HMS Velox The trend during World War I had been towards larger destroyers with heavier armaments A number of opportunities to fire at capital ships had been missed during the War because destroyers had expended all their torpedoes in an initial salvo The British V and W classes of the late war had sought to address this by mounting six torpedo tubes in two triple mounts instead of the four or two on earlier models The V and W s set the standard of destroyer building well into the 1920s The two Romanian destroyers Mărăști and Mărășești on the other hand had the greatest firepower of all destroyers in the world throughout the first half of the 1920s This was largely due to the fact that between their commissioning in 1920 and 1926 they retained the armament that they had while serving in the Italian Navy as scout cruisers esploratori When initially ordered by Romania in 1913 the Romanian specifications envisioned three 120 mm guns a caliber which would eventually be adopted as the standard for future Italian destroyers Armed with three 152 mm and four 76 mm guns after being completed as scout cruisers the two warships were officially re rated as destroyers by the Romanian Navy The two Romanian warships were thus the destroyers with the greatest firepower in the world throughout much of the interwar period As of 1939 when the Second World War started their artillery although changed was still close to cruiser standards amounting to nine heavy naval guns five of 120 mm and four of 76 mm In addition they retained their two twin 457 mm torpedo tubes as well as two machine guns plus the capacity to carry up to 50 mines 39 Fubuki class destroyer UranamiThe next major innovation came with the Japanese Fubuki class or special type designed in 1923 and delivered in 1928 The design was initially noted for its powerful armament of six five inch 127 mm guns and three triple torpedo mounts The second batch of the class gave the guns high angle turrets for anti aircraft warfare and the 24 inch 61 cm oxygen fueled Long Lance Type 93 torpedo The later Hatsuharu class of 1931 further improved the torpedo armament by storing its reload torpedoes close at hand in the superstructure allowing reloading within 15 minutes Most other nations replied with similar larger ships The US Porter class adopted twin five inch 127 mm guns and the subsequent Mahan class and Gridley classes the latter of 1934 increased the number of torpedo tubes to 12 and 16 respectively France s Le Fantasque class the fastest destroyer class ever built In the Mediterranean the Italian Navy s building of very fast light cruisers of the Condottieri class prompted the French to produce exceptional destroyer designs The French had long been keen on large destroyers with their Chacal class of 1922 displacing over 2 000 tons and carrying 130 mm guns a further three similar classes were produced around 1930 The Le Fantasque class of 1935 carried five 138 millimetres 5 4 in guns and nine torpedo tubes but could achieve speeds of 45 knots 83 km h which remains the record speed for a steamship and for any destroyer 40 The Italians own destroyers were almost as swift most Italian designs of the 1930s being rated at over 38 knots 70 km h while carrying torpedoes and either four or six 120 mm guns Germany started to build destroyers again during the 1930s as part of Hitler s rearmament program The Germans were also fond of large destroyers but while the initial Type 1934 displaced over 3 000 tons their armament was equal to smaller vessels This changed from the Type 1936 onwards which mounted heavy 150 millimetres 5 9 in guns German destroyers also used innovative high pressure steam machinery while this should have helped their efficiency it more often resulted in mechanical problems Once German and Japanese rearmament became clear the British and American navies consciously focused on building destroyers that were smaller but more numerous than those used by other nations The British built a series of destroyers the A class to I class which were about 1 400 tons standard displacement had four 4 7 inch 119 mm guns and eight torpedo tubes the American Benson class of 1938 similar in size but carried five 5 inch 127 mm guns and ten torpedo tubes Realizing the need for heavier gun armament the British built the Tribal class of 1936 sometimes called Afridi after one of two lead ships These ships displaced 1 850 tons and were armed with eight 4 7 inch 119 mm guns in four twin turrets and four torpedo tubes These were followed by the J class and L class destroyers with six 4 7 inch 119 mm guns in twin turrets and eight torpedo tubes Anti submarine sensors included sonar or ASDIC although training in their use was indifferent Anti submarine weapons changed little and ahead throwing weapons a need recognized in World War I had made no progress Later combat Edit USS McGowan a Fletcher class destroyer during World War II Further information American World War II destroyers British World War II destroyers French World War II destroyers German World War II destroyers Italian World War II destroyers Japanese World War II destroyers Soviet World War II destroyers and Romanian World War II destroyers During the 1920s and 1930s destroyers were often deployed to areas of diplomatic tension or humanitarian disaster British and American destroyers were common on the Chinese coast and rivers even supplying landing parties to protect colonial interests By World War II the threat had evolved once again Submarines were more effective and aircraft had become important weapons of naval warfare once again the early war fleet destroyers were ill equipped for combating these new targets They were fitted with new light anti aircraft guns radar and forward launched ASW weapons in addition to their existing dual purpose guns depth charges and torpedoes Increasing size allowed improved internal arrangement of propulsion machinery with compartmentation so ships were less likely to be sunk by a single hit 7 In most cases torpedo and or dual purpose gun armament was reduced to accommodate new anti air and anti submarine weapons By this time the destroyers had become large multi purpose vessels expensive targets in their own right As a result casualties on destroyers were among the highest In the US Navy particularly in World War II destroyers became known as tin cans due to their light armor compared to battleships and cruisers The need for large numbers of anti submarine ships led to the introduction of smaller and cheaper specialized anti submarine warships called corvettes and frigates by the Royal Navy and destroyer escorts by the USN A similar programme was belatedly started by the Japanese see Matsu class destroyer These ships had the size and displacement of the original torpedo boat destroyers that the contemporary destroyer had evolved from Post World War II Edit Polish destroyer ORP Blyskawica currently preserved as a museum ship in Gdynia Some conventional destroyers were completed in the late 1940s and 1950s which built on wartime experience These vessels were significantly larger than wartime ships and had fully automatic main guns unit machinery radar sonar and antisubmarine weapons such as the Squid mortar Examples include the British Daring class US Forrest Sherman class and the Soviet Kotlin class destroyers Some World War II vintage ships were modernized for anti submarine warfare and to extend their service lives to avoid having to build expensive brand new ships Examples include the US FRAM I programme and the British Type 15 frigates converted from fleet destroyers The advent of surface to air missiles and surface to surface missiles such as the Exocet in the early 1960s changed naval warfare Guided missile destroyers DDG in the US Navy were developed to carry these weapons and protect the fleet from air submarine and surface threats Examples include the Soviet Kashin class the British County class and the US Charles F Adams class 21st century destroyers tend to display features such as large slab sides without complicated corners and crevices to keep the radar cross section small vertical launch systems to carry a large number of missiles at high readiness to fire and helicopter flight decks and hangars Operators Edit Argentine Navy operates four Almirante Brown class destroyers and a single Type 42 destroyer used as transport ship Royal Australian Navy operates three Hobart class destroyers A Chinese Navy Luyang III class Type 052D destroyer People s Liberation Army Navy operates seven Renhai class destroyers 41 two Luyang I class destroyers six Luyang II class destroyers 24 42 Luyang III class destroyers and two Luzhou class destroyers China also operates two Luhu class destroyers one Luhai class destroyer and four Sovremenny class destroyers that are of older models It is notable that the Renhai class Type 055 is considered to be a cruiser by NATO and the U S Department of Defense for its tonnage and capability matching that of the Ticonderoga class cruiser 43 Republic of China Navy Taiwan operates four Kidd class destroyers purchased from the United States Egyptian Navy operates a single FREMM multipurpose frigate purchased from France and a single Z class destroyer for training use French Navy operates eight FREMM multipurpose frigates and two Horizon class frigates The French Navy does not use the term destroyer but rather first rate frigate to these ship types but they are marked with the NATO D hull code which places them in the destroyer type as opposed to F for frigate 44 German Navy operates three Sachsen class frigates and four Baden Wurttemberg class frigates These ships are officially classified as frigates by Germany but regarded as destroyers internationally due to size and capability Hellenic Navy has HS Velos a Fletcher class destroyer remains ceremonially in commission due to her historical significance A Visakhapatnam class guided missile destroyer of the Indian Navy Indian Navy operates two Visakhapatnam class destroyers three Kolkata class destroyers three Delhi class destroyer and three Rajput class destroyers Islamic Republic of Iran Navy operates three Moudge class frigates These ships are classified as destroyers by Iran but internationally regarded as light frigates Japan Maritime Self Defense Force Akizuki Italian Navy operates two Durand de la Penne class destroyers and two Orizzonte class destroyers Japan Maritime Self Defense Force operates two Maya class two Atago class four Kongō class two Asahi class four Akizuki class five Takanami class nine Murasame class eight Asagiri class and two Hatakaze class destroyers along with six Abukuma class destroyer escorts Japan also operates two Izumo class and two Hyuga class helicopter destroyers internationally regarded as helicopter carriers Republic of Korea Navy operates three Sejong the Great class six Chungmugong Yi Sun shin class and three Gwanggaeto the Great class destroyers Royal Moroccan Navy operates a single FREMM multipurpose frigate ordered from France Royal Netherlands Navy operates four De Zeven Provincien class frigates These ships are classified as frigates by the Netherlands but regarded as destroyers internationally due to size and capability Royal Norwegian Navy operates four Fridtjof Nansen class frigates These ships are officially classified as frigates by Norway but are regarded both internationally and by their officers as destroyers Pakistan Navy operates a single Tariq class destroyer purchased from the United Kingdom Polish Navy has the Grom class destroyer ORP Blyskawica remains ceremonially in commission due to her historical significance Romanian Naval Forces operates Mărășești This ship was classified as a destroyer from 1990 to 2001 when she was reclassified as a frigate No official reason was given for this and there was no change in armament or capability thus remaining in the destroyer type Russian Navy The Russian Navy operates two Sovremenny class and eight Udaloy class destroyers Spanish Navy operates five Alvaro de Bazan class frigates These ships are officially classified as a frigates by Spain but due to their size and capabilities are regarded internationally as destroyers Royal Thai Navy operates a single Cannon class destroyer escort purchased from the United States for training use HTMS Pin Klao a Thai operated Cannon class destroyer HMS Daring a Type 45 guided missile destroyer of the Royal Navy Royal Navy operates six Type 45 or Daring class stealth destroyers United States Navy operates 70 active Arleigh Burke class guided missile destroyers DDGs of a planned class of 89 and also has two active Zumwalt class destroyer of a planned class of three all as of December 2022 update Former operators Edit Austro Hungarian Navy lost its entire navy upon the Empire s collapse following World War I Navy of the Ukrainian People s Republic lost its entire navy upon its forced integration into the Soviet Union in 1921 Estonian Navy sold its two Orfey class destroyer and Izyaslav class destroyers to Peru in 1933 to prevent their capture by the Soviet Union Manchukuo Imperial Navy transferred its only Momo class destroyer back to Japan in 1942 Bulgarian Navy decommissioned its only Ognevoy class destroyer in 1963 Royal Danish Navy decommissioned its last Hunt class destroyer in 1965 Portuguese Navy decommissioned its last Douro class destroyer in 1967 Israeli Navy decommissioned its last Z class destroyer in 1972 Dominican Navy decommissioned its H class destroyer in 1972 Republic of Vietnam Navy transferred its remaining Edsall class destroyer escort to The Philippines in 1975 following the Fall of Saigon South African Navy decommissioned its last W class destroyer in 1976 Yugoslav Navy decommissioned its only destroyer Split in 1980 Swedish Navy decommissioned both its Halland class destroyer and four Ostergotland class destroyers in 1982 following defense reviews Colombian National Navy decommissioned both its Halland class destroyers and its lone Allen M Sumner class destroyer in 1986 National Navy of Uruguay decommissioned its last Cannon class destroyer escort in 1991 Tunisian National Navy lone Edsall class destroyer escort was destroyed by a fire in 1992 Ecuadorian Navy decommissioned its lone Dealey class destroyer escort in 1994 Vietnam People s Navy decommissioned its lone Edsall class destroyer escort in 1997 Turkish Naval Forces decommissioned its last Gearing class destroyer in 2000 Polish Navy decommissioned its lone Kashin class destroyer in 2003 Hellenic Navy decommissioned its last Charles F Adams class destroyer in 2004 Indonesian Navy decommissioned its last Claud Jones class destroyer escorts in 2005 Chilean Navy decommissioned its last County class destroyer in 2006 Peruvian Navy decommissioned its last Daring class destroyer in 2007 Brazilian Navy decommissioned its last Garcia class destroyer escort in 2008 Bolivarian Navy of Venezuela decommissioned its last Almirante Clemente class destroyer in 2011 Mexican Navy decommissioned its last Edsall class destroyer escort in 2015 Royal Canadian Navy decommissioned its last Iroquois class destroyer in 2017 Philippine Navy decommissioned its last Cannon class destroyer escort in 2018 Future development Edit Baden Wurttemberg an F125 class frigate of the German Navy currently the biggest frigates worldwide In size and role they are qualified as destroyers Brazilian Navy plans to build 7 000 ton destroyers after the delivery of the new frigates and TKMS presented to the Navy its most modern 7 200 ton MEKO A 400 air defense destroyer an updated version of the German F 125 class frigates The similarities between the projects and the high rate of commonality between requirements were also crucial for the consortium s victory 45 People s Liberation Army Navy is adding six more Type 052D destroyer and sixteen more Type 055 destroyer class ships to its navy French Navy is building five new Amiral Ronarc h class destroyers classed as first rank frigates in the French Navy 44 German Navy Six multi mission surface combat ships are planned under the name Mehrzweckkampfschiff 180 MKS 180 which will have destroyer size and corresponding capabilities Length 163 m displacement 10 400 tons 46 Hellenic Navy has ordered three Fregate de defense et d intervention with an option on a fourth from France Indian Navy is building four Visakhapatnam class destroyers of which two have been commissioned The nation has also begun development of its Next Generation Destroyer NGD also referred to as Project 18 class destroyers 47 Islamic Republic of Iran Navy is currently building 1 2 Khalije Fars class destroyers Italian Navy is currently researching development into their new DDX project to replace their Durand da le Penne class destroyers 48 Japan Maritime Self Defense Force Is developing plans for its DDR Destroyer Revolution Project Republic of Korea Navy has begun development of its KDX IIA destroyers These ships are to be a subclass of South Korea s Chungmugong Yi Sun shin class destroyers The first unit is expected to enter service in 2019 Additionally Sejong the Great class destroyers are being built Russian Navy has begun development of its Lider class destroyer Design work was ongoing as of 2020 49 Turkish Naval Forces is currently developing its TF2000 class destroyer as the largest part of the MILGEM project A total of seven ships will be constructed and will specialise in anti air warfare Royal Navy is in the early stages of developing a Type 83 destroyer design after the unveiling of these plans in the 2021 defence white paper The class is projected to replace the current Type 45 destroyer fleet beginning in the latter 2030s 50 United States Navy currently has 19 additional Arleigh Burke destroyers planned or under construction The new ships will be the upgraded flight III version 51 The United States has also started development of its DDG X next generation destroyer project 52 Construction of the first ship is expected to start in 2028 Preserved destroyers EditA number of countries have destroyers preserved as museum ships These include HMAS Vampire D11 in Sydney New South Wales BNS Bauru formerly USS McAnn DE 179 in Rio de Janeiro Brazil HMCS Haida G63 in Hamilton Ontario Chinese destroyer Anshan 101 in Qingdao China Chinese destroyer Changchun 103 in Rushan China Chinese destroyer Taiyuan 104 in Dalian China Chinese destroyer Xi an 106 in Wuhan China Chinese destroyer Yinchuan 107 in Yinchuan China Chinese destroyer Nanjing 131 in Shanghai China Chinese destroyer Jinan 105 in Qingdao China Chinese destroyer Xining 108 in Taizhou China Chinese destroyer Nanchang 163 in Nanchang China Chinese destroyer Chongqing 133 in Tianjin China Chinese destroyer Zunyi 134 in Guizhou China Chinese destroyer Dalian 110 in Shandong China Chinese destroyer Hefei 132 in Shandong China Chinese destroyer Zhanjiang 165 has been slated for preservation in China Chinese destroyer Zhuhai 166 has been slated for preservation in China ARC Boyaca DE 16 formerly USS Hartley DE 1029 in Guatape Colombia French destroyer Maille Breze D627 in Nantes France German destroyer Molders D186 in Wilhelmshaven Germany HS Velos D 16 formerly USS Charrette DD 581 in Palaio Faliro Greece note 2 BRP Rajah Humabon PS 11 in Sangley Point Philippines ORP Blyskawica in Gdynia Poland The oldest preserved destroyer in the world note 3 Russian destroyer Bespokoynyy in Kronstadt Russia Russian destroyer Smetlivy in Sevastopol Crimea ROKS Jeong Ju DD 925 formerly USS Rogers DD 876 in Dangjin South Korea HSwMS Smaland J19 in Gothenburg Sweden ROCS Te Yang DDG 925 formerly USS Sarsfield DD 837 in Tainan City Taiwan TCG Gayret D352 formerly USS Eversole DD 789 in Izmit Turkey HMS Cavalier R73 in Chatham Kent USS Cassin Young DD 793 in Boston Massachusetts USS The Sullivans DD 537 in Buffalo New York USS Kidd DD 661 in Baton Rouge Louisiana USS Slater DE 766 in Albany New York USS Stewart DE 238 in Galveston Texas USS Orleck DD 886 in Jacksonville Florida USS Turner Joy DD 951 in Bremerton Washington USS Laffey DD 724 in Mount Pleasant South Carolina USS Edson DD 946 in Bay City Michigan USS Joseph P Kennedy Jr DD 850 in Fall River Massachusetts Former museums Edit HMCS Fraser DDH 233 was on display in Bridgewater Nova Scotia from 1994 to 2011 Later scrapped due to her deteriorating condition IJN Shiga was on display in Chiba City Japan from 1964 to 1998 when she was scrapped due to her deteriorating condition ROKS Kang Won DD 922 was on display from 2000 to 2016 when she was closed due to her deteriorating condition and later scrapped ROKS Jeong Buk DD 916 was on display in Gangneung South Korea from 1999 to 2021 when she was scrapped ORP Burza was on display in Gdynia Poland from 1951 to 1977 until she was replaced in the role by Blyskawica due to her deteriorating condition and later scrapped USS Barry DD 933 was on display in Washington D C from 1984 to 2015 until she was closed to make room for a bridge expansion She is currently in lay up in Philadelphia awaiting scrapping See also EditList of destroyer classes United States Navy 1975 ship reclassification Bombardment of Cherbourg List of destroyers of the Second World WarNotes Edit Although the Russian Kirov class are sometimes classified as battlecruisers due to their displacement they are described by Russia as large missile cruisers Velos is still a commissioned warship within the Hellenic Navy but is strictly ceremonial and no longer sees action Blyskawica is still a commissioned warship within the Polish Navy but is strictly ceremonial and no longer sees action References Edit a b c d Fitzsimmons Bernard The Illustrated encyclopedia of 20th century weapons and warfare Columbia House 1978 v 8 page 835 Smith Charles Edgar A short history of naval and marine engineering Babcock amp Wilcox ltd at the University Press 1937 page 263 Gove p 2412 Lyon pp 8 9 Northrop Grumman christened its 28th Aegis guided missile destroyer William P Lawrence DDG 110 April 19 2010 Retrieved August 29 2014 Annual Report to Congress Military and Security Developments Involving the People s Republic of China 2017 PDF Office of the Secretary of Defense Archived PDF from the original on 2017 08 28 Retrieved 1 July 2021 a b c d Toby A Steven 1985 The Can Do Tin Can Proceedings United States Naval Institute 111 10 108 113 Lyon p 8 Torpedo Boats Battleships Cruisers co uk Jentschura p 126 Evans and Peattie David C and Mark R 1997 Kaigun Strategy Tactics and Technology in the Imperial Japanese Navy 1887 1941 Annapolis Maryland Naval Institute Press ISBN 978 0 87021 192 8 Howe Christopher 1996 The Origins of Japanese Trade Supremacy Development and Technology in Asia from 1540 to the Pacific War Chicago Illinois University of Chicago Press ISBN 978 0 226 35485 9 Hildebrand Hans H Rohr Albert amp Steinmetz Hans Otto 1993 Die Deutschen Kriegsschiffe Biographien ein Spiegel der Marinegeschichte von 1815 bis zur Gegenwart Band 4 The German Warships Biographies A Reflection of Naval History from 1815 to the Present Vol 4 in German Ratingen Mundus Verlag pp 17 18 ISBN 978 3 7822 0382 1 a b Lyon amp Winfield 10 The Sail and Steam Navy List pp 82 3 Capitan de Navio Fernando Villaamil 1898 www spanamwar com Retrieved 18 December 2022 Under the influence of Fernando Villamil 1845 1898 Spain in 1886 produced the first torpedo boat destroyer Kern Robert amp Dodge Meredith Historical dictionary of modern Spain 1700 1988 Greenwood Press 1990 page 361 ISBN 0 313 25971 2 Polmar Norman Cavas Christopher 2009 Navy s Most Wanted The Top 10 Book of Admirable Admirals Sleek Submarines and Other Naval Oddities Potomac Books p 44 ISBN 978 1597976558 Cornwell Edward Lewis 1979 The illustrated history of ships Crescent Books p 150 ISBN 0517287951 a b c Google Sites Sign in accounts google com Archived from the original on 26 February 2010 Retrieved 18 December 2022 Illustrated Naval and Military Magazine A monthly journal devoted to all subjects connected with Her Majesty s land and sea forces 1888 v 9 page 280 The Destructor 100 Years www quarterdeck org Archived from the original on 2021 02 26 Retrieved 2019 04 28 Captain T D Manning 1961 The British Destroyer Putnam and Co Lyon David 1996 The First Destroyers ISBN 978 1 84067 364 7 Simpson p 151 Anon 1904 The British Admiralty Scientific American 91 2 ISSN 0036 8733 Dahl E J 2001 Naval innovation From coal to oil PDF Joint Force Quarterly Winter 2000 01 50 6 Archived PDF from the original on 22 October 2016 Retrieved 14 February 2017 Lyon p 53 Brett Bernard History of World Sea Power Deans International London 1985 ISBN 0 603 03723 2 Grant p 136 Grant image frontispiece Lyon p 58 Jentschura p 132 a b Grant p 102 103 Simpson p 100 Grant p 42 Grant p 33 34 40 The Konigin Luise was abandoned and scuttled by its crew but the British patrol later passed through the area it had mined and a cruiser was damaged and abandoned Kemp Paul 1997 U boats Destroyed German Submarine Losses in the World Wars Naval Institute Press ISBN 9781557508591 Brassey s Annual The Armed Forces Year book Praeger Publishers 1939 p 276 Jordan John amp Moulin Jean 2015 French Destroyers Torpilleurs d Escadre amp Contre Torpilleurs 1922 1956 Barnsley UK Seaforth Publishing ISBN 978 1 84832 198 4 Johnson Jesse 2020 01 12 China s navy commissions biggest and most powerful surface warship The Japan Times Retrieved 2020 11 17 China Commissions Two New Type 052D Destroyers www defenseworld net 10 March 2022 Retrieved 2022 03 18 Military and Security Developments Involving the People s Republic of China 2017 PDF dod defense gov 15 May 2017 Archived PDF from the original on 2018 08 24 a b French Navy Marine Nationale Ships Submarines Aircraft CCT thyssenkrupp Marine Systems Dr Rolf Wirtz O nosso diferencial e a Qualidade do Produto Defesa Net in Portuguese 9 January 2019 Zwei weitere MKS 180 fur die deutsche Marine bundeswehr journal 14 February 2017 Technology perspective Italy plans new destroyers for 2028 delivery 9 November 2020 Russia s Ambitious Shkval Nuclear Powered Destroyer Program Isn t Dead Yet Military Watch Magazine 5 July 2020 Allison George 22 March 2021 UK announces new Type 83 Destroyer ukdefencejournal org uk Report to Congress on U S Navy Destroyer Programs usni org 11 July 2018 Archived from the original on 21 August 2018 Retrieved 21 August 2018 Navy Unveils Next Generation DDG X Warship Concept with Hypersonic Missiles Lasers 12 January 2022 Further reading EditEvans David C Kaigun Strategy Tactics and Technology in the Imperial Japanese Navy 1887 1941 Mark R Peattie Naval Institute Press Annapolis Maryland ISBN 0 87021 192 7 Gardiner Robert Editor Conway s All the World s Fighting Ships 1860 1905 Naval Institute Press 1985 Gove Philip Babock Editor in Chief Webster s Third New International Dictionary of the English Language Unabridged 2002 Merriam Webster Inc Publishers Massachusetts USA Grant R Captain Before Port Arthur in a Destroyer The Personal Diary of a Japanese Naval Officer London John Murray first and second editions published in 1907 Howe Christopher Origins of Japanese Trade Supremacy Development and Technology in Asia from 1540 to the Pacific War The University of Chicago Press ISBN 0 226 35485 7 Jentschura Hansgeorg Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy 1869 1945 United States Naval Institute Annapolis Maryland 1977 ISBN 0 87021 893 X Lyon David The First Destroyers Chatham Publishing 1 amp 2 Faulkner s Alley Cowcross St London Great Britain 1996 ISBN 1 55750 271 4 Sanders Michael S 2001 The Yard Building a Destroyer at the Bath Iron Works HarperCollins ISBN 978 0 06 092963 3 Simpson Richard V Building The Mosquito Fleet The US Navy s First Torpedo Boats Arcadia Publishing 2001 Charleston South Carolina USA ISBN 0 7385 0508 0 Preston Anthony Destroyers Bison Books London 1977 ISBN 0 600 32955 0 Van der Vat Dan The Atlantic Campaign DD 963 Spruance class Navy Designates Next Generation Zumwalt DestroyerExternal links Edit Look up destroyer in Wiktionary the free dictionary Media related to Destroyers at Wikimedia Commons Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Destroyer amp oldid 1132766842, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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