Battle class destroyer
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HMS Agincourt | |
Battle-class | |
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General Characteristics | |
Displacement: | 2,325 tons standard / 3,430 tons full load |
Length: | 379 ft (116 m) |
Beam: | 40 ft (12.2 m) |
Draught: | 15.3 ft (4.7 m) |
Propulsion: | 2 steam turbines, 2 shafts, 2 boilers, 50,000 shp (37 MW) |
Speed: | 35.75 knots (66 km/h) |
Range: | 4,400 nautical miles (8,100 km) at 12 knots (22 km/h) |
Complement: | 268 |
Armament: | Two dual 4.5 in (114 mm) gun (First group and RAN ships. Second group had an additional 4.5-in gun) One single 4.0 in (102 mm) gun (First group only. Later removed) |
The Battle class were destroyers of the British Royal Navy (RN), built in two groups, the first group of which sixteen were built, the second of which only eight commissioned out of a projected eighteen, of which two, Vimiera and Ypres became part of the Daring-class, being renamed Danae and Delight respectively (Danae was cancelled before completion). Two ships, Anzac and Tobruk, were built for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and were identical to the first group. The two ships became known as the Anzac class.
The cancelled ships were Albuera, Belle Isle, Jutland (Malplaquet was renamed Jutland in 1947), Mons, Namur, Navarino, Omdurman, Oudenarde, Poictiers, River Plate, St. Lucia, San Domingo, Somme, Talavera, Trincomalee and Waterloo (ex-Vimiera).
They were quite large for destroyers, at least for that time, at a full load displacement of 3,430 tons and a length of 379 ft (116 m). The ships were designed with protection against air-attack in mind, having a substantial increase in anti-air warfare (AAW) compared to their predecessors. The first group had fourteen x 40 mm Bofors guns, while the second group had 8 x 40 mm Bofors. The two RAN ships had eleven x 40 mm Bofors. The first group and the two RAN ships had two x dual 4.5 in (114 mm) guns, while the second group had three x 4.5 in (114 mm) guns, two were dual turrets, while one was a single turret. The first group also had a single 4.0 in (102 mm) gun.
The first group began commissioning in 1944–1947, though only a limited number saw very minimal service during the Second World War. Barfleur served in the Pacific upon her commission in 1944, being present at the surrender ceremony in Tokyo Bay, Japan on the 2nd September 1945. The second group began commissioning after WWII. The two RAN ships were commissioned in 1950 and 1951. They both saw service during the Korean War, though only Anzac saw service during the Vietnam War.
All ships of the first group were decommissioned by the 1960s, with Cadiz and Gabbard being sold to Pakistan in 1957, Sluys being sold to Iran in 1967. Agincourt, Aisne, Barrosa and Corunna of the second group were converted into radar pickets in the early 1960s. New radar was fitted along with one 20mm Oerlikon gun and a SeaCat missile launcher. All ships of the second group were decommissioned by the 1970s. Cadiz, now Khaibar, was sunk by an Indian warship during the Indo-Pakistan War of 1971, while Gabbard, now Badr, was heavily damaged.
Battle-class destroyer |
Royal Navy |
Agincourt | Aisne | Alamein | Armada | Barfleur | Barrosa | Cadiz | Camperdown | Corunna | Dunkirk | Finisterre | Gabbard | Gravelines | Hogue | Jutland | Lagos | Matapan | St. James | St. Kitts | Saintes | Sluys | Solebay | Trafalgar | Vigo |
Royal Australian Navy |
Anzac | Tobruk |