They were notable for being the first warships to use steam turbine propulsion. They had Parsons turbines on four shafts, with two propellers on each, one inboard and one outboard of the shaft A-bracket.
Viper and another turbine-powered ship, the Vickers special-type Cobra were both lost to accidents in 1901: Viper foundered on rocks in fog during naval manoeuvres near Alderney on 3 August 1901, while Cobra broke her back in a storm in the North Sea on 18 September 1901. Since then the Royal Navy has not used snake names for destroyers; Python was renamed Velox soon after. Velox was rated as a C-class destroyer in 1913, that is, one of a heterogeneous group of 30-knot torpedo boat destroyer with three funnels.
The ships were considered successes when acquired, achieving speeds of up to 36 knots on trials. All subsequent British destroyers from the River or E class of 1903 (only 3 of which employed turbines) to the County class of 1960 used steam turbine machinery.
Shipsedit
Viper, launched 6 September 1899, wrecked near Alderney on 3 August 1901.
Python, later renamed Velox, launched 11 February 1902, mined and sunk off Nab light vessel, 25 October 1915.
viper, class, destroyer, this, article, includes, list, references, related, reading, external, links, sources, remain, unclear, because, lacks, inline, citations, please, help, improve, this, article, introducing, more, precise, citations, january, 2013, lear. This article includes a list of references related reading or external links but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations January 2013 Learn how and when to remove this template message The Viper class was a group of two torpedo boat destroyers or TBDs built for the British Royal Navy in 1899 HMS ViperClass overviewBuildersHawthorn Leslie and CompanyOperators Royal NavyIn commission1899 1915Completed2Lost2General characteristicsTypeTorpedo boat destroyerDisplacement344 long tons 350 t Length210 ft 64 m Beam21 ft 6 4 m Draught7 ft 2 1 m PropulsionParsons turbines 10 000 ihp 7 457 kW Speed36 5 knots 67 6 km h 42 0 mph Complement68Armament1 12 pounder gun 5 6 pounder guns 2 torpedo tubesThey were notable for being the first warships to use steam turbine propulsion They had Parsons turbines on four shafts with two propellers on each one inboard and one outboard of the shaft A bracket Viper was ordered and built for the Royal Navy in 1899 by Hawthorn Leslie and Company at Hebburn on the River Tyne Python was built as a speculative venture by Hawthorns and was purchased in 1902 Turbine of HMS VeloxViper and another turbine powered ship the Vickers special type Cobra were both lost to accidents in 1901 Viper foundered on rocks in fog during naval manoeuvres near Alderney on 3 August 1901 while Cobra broke her back in a storm in the North Sea on 18 September 1901 Since then the Royal Navy has not used snake names for destroyers Python was renamed Velox soon after Velox was rated as a C class destroyer in 1913 that is one of a heterogeneous group of 30 knot torpedo boat destroyer with three funnels The ships were considered successes when acquired achieving speeds of up to 36 knots on trials All subsequent British destroyers from the River or E class of 1903 only 3 of which employed turbines to the County class of 1960 used steam turbine machinery Ships editViper launched 6 September 1899 wrecked near Alderney on 3 August 1901 Python later renamed Velox launched 11 February 1902 mined and sunk off Nab light vessel 25 October 1915 Citations editReferences editLyon David 1996 The First Destroyers ISBN 1 84067 364 8 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Viper class destroyer amp oldid 1169842777, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
