Talisman class: 4 ships, 1914–1916, ex-Turkish purchases.Thornycroft M class: 6 ships, 1914–1916.Arno type: 1 ship, 1914, Italian built for Portugal but purchased in 1915.

Swift type: 1 ship, 1907, large 36-knot flotilla leader prototype.

Cricket-class coastal destroyer: 36 ships, 1906–1909.

River or E class: 36 ships, 1903–1905 (including 2 later purchases).

The River or E class of 1913 were the first destroyers of the Royal Navy with a high forecastles instead of 'turtleback' bow making this the first class with a more recognizable modern configuration. In 1913, lettered names were given to all Royal Navy destroyers, previously known after the first ship of that class. Taku type: 1 ship, 1900, ex-Chinese prize.D class (2-funnelled, 30-knot classes) Unlike the A, B and C classes, the D class comprised a series of similar ships built by one contractor (Thornycroft), although there were small variations between the batches ordered in each year.Armstrong-Whitworth special,: 1 ship, 1900.Hawthorn special type: 2 ships, 1899, steam turbine specials.It should be stressed that these A to D class designations did not exist before 1913, and only applied to those 'turtle-backed' destroyers surviving to that time. All were of a 'turtle-back' design and, excepting a few 'builder's specials', powered by reciprocating engines. In 1913, the surviving members of the large heterogeneous array of older 27-knot and 30-knot torpedo boat destroyer types (all six of the original 26-knot ships had been disposed of by the end of 1912) were organised into the A, B, C and D classes according to their design speed and the number of funnels they possessed. This is a list of destroyer classes of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom, organised chronologically by entry into service. JSTOR ( March 2020) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message).Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.įind sources: 'List of destroyer classes of the Royal Navy' – news Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources.

British tank destroyers modern