Thornycroft type destroyer leader

Class overview
HMS Keppel
Builders:	Thornycroft
Operators:	Royal Navy
Built:	1916–1925
In commission:	1917–1945
Planned:	7
Completed:	5
Cancelled:	2
Lost:	1
General characteristics
Type:	Destroyer leader
Displacement:	1,480 tons standard 2,009 tons full load
Length:	329 ft (100 m) o/a
Beam:	31 ft 6 in (9.60 m)
Draught:	12 ft 6 in (3.81 m)
Propulsion:	4 × Yarrow-type boilers Brown-Curtis single reduction turbines 2 shafts 40,000 shp (29,830 kW)
Speed:	38 kn (70 km/h) (trials) 36 kn (67 km/h) (service)
Range:	500 tons oil
Complement:	164
Armament:	5 × BL 4.7 in (120mm) Mark I guns 1 × 12 pdr (3 in) HA Mark VIII 2 × triple 21 in (530 mm) torpedo tubes

The Thornycroft type leader or Shakespeare class were a class of five destroyer leaders designed by John I. Thornycroft & Company and built by them at Woolston, Southampton for the Royal Navy towards the end of World War I. They were named after historical naval leaders. Only Shakespeare and Spenser were completed in time for wartime service. The other three were completed after the war, Broke and Keppel after being towed to Royal dockyards for completion, and two further ships - Saunders and Spragge - were cancelled. The function of a leader was to carry the flag staff of a destroyer flotilla, therefore they were enlarged to carry additional crew, offices and signalling equipment, allowing a fifth gun to be carried. These ships were very similar to the Admiralty type leader, but had broad, slab-sided funnels characteristic of Thornycroft designs.

The design was used as the basis for several ships built for foreign navies in the 1920s.

Regele Ferdinand-class destroyer built for the Romanian Navy in Italy
Churruca-class destroyer built for the Spanish Navy
Mendoza-class destroyer built in Britain for the Argentine navy

Ships

The first two ships to this design were ordered under the War Emergency Programme, in April 1916, and the third - Wallace - in April 1917:

HMS Shakespeare; laid down 2 October 1916, launched 7 July 1917 and completed 10 October 1917. Badly damaged by mine in June 1918, sold for breaking up and handed over 2 September 1936.
HMS Spenser; laid down 9 October 1916, launched 22 September 1917 and completed 12 December 1917. Saw wartime service, sold for breaking up and handed over 29 September 1936.
HMS Wallace; laid down 15 August 1917, launched 26 October 1918 and completed 14 February 1919. Converted to a WAIR anti-aircraft escort in 1939. Served mainly on east coast and during the Allied invasion of Sicily. Sold for breaking up 20 March 1945.

Four more were ordered from Thornycroft in April 1918, but with the end of the War the first pair were completed by HM Dockyards and the second pair were cancelled; the second ship was initially named Rooke, but was renamed Broke in April 1921. Two more vessels were ordered at the same time, to be built to this design by Cammell Laird, but it was subsequently decided to build these instead to the Admiralty type flotilla leader design and in the event both were subsequently cancelled:

HMS Keppel; launched 23 April 1920, completed 1925 by HM Dockyard Portsmouth. Sold for breaking up July 1945. The ship's bell was saved, and is located adjacent to the cricket pavilion of the Haileybury and Imperial Service College
HMS Broke; launched 16 September 1920, completed January 1925 by HM Dockyard Pembroke. Sustained damage 8 November 1942 during naval assault upon Algiers during Operation Torch, and foundered the next day.
HMS Saunders; Cancelled, December 1918.
HMS Spragge; Cancelled, December 1918.

References

Cocker, Maurice Destroyers of the Royal Navy, 1893-1981, 1983, Ian Allan ISBN 0-7110-1075-7
Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships, 1922-1946, Ed. Robert Gardiner, Naval Institute Press, ISBN 0-87021-913-8
M. J. Whiteley Destroyers of World War II, An International Encyclopedia, Arms and Armour Press, 1988, ISBN 1-85409-521-8

Thornycroft-type destroyer leader

Completed	Broke Keppel Shakespeare Spenser Wallace

Canceled	Spragge Saunders

Preceded by: Admiralty-type leader * Followed by: A-class destroyer List of destroyers of the Royal Navy

British naval ship classes of the First World War

Aircraft/Seaplane carriers	Empress^S^V Riviera^S^V Engadine^S^V Ark Royal^S Ben-my-Chree^S^V Campania^S^V Raven II^S^V Anne^S^V Vindex^S^V Manxman^S^V Furious^M Pegasus^S^V Nairana^S^V Argus^S^V Vindictive^S^V

Dreadnought battleships	Dreadnought^S Bellerophon St Vincent Neptune^S Colossus Orion King George V Erin^S Agincourt^S Iron Duke Canada^S Queen Elizabeth Revenge

Pre-dreadnought battleships	Royal Sovereign Majestic Canopus Formidable Duncan King Edward VII Swiftsure Lord Nelson

Battlecruisers	Invincible Indefatigable Lion Queen Mary^S Tiger^S Renown Courageous Admiral^S^C Incomparable^X

Armoured cruisers	Cressy Drake Monmouth Devonshire Duke of Edinburgh Warrior Minotaur

Heavy cruisers	Hawkins

Light cruisers	Town^G Arethusa C^{G, C} Danae^C Emerald^A

Protected cruisers	Apollo Astraea Eclipse Blake Pearl Edgar Powerful Diadem Arrogant Pelorus Highflyer Challenger Topaze

Scout cruisers	Adventure Forward Pathfinder Sentinel Boadicea Blonde Active

Destroyer flotilla leaders	Swift^S Faulknor Marksman Parker Admiralty (or Scott)^C Thornycroft (or Shakespeare)^C

Destroyers	A^G B^G C^G D^G E^G F Cricket^G G H I K L Admiralty M Hawthorn M Thornycroft M Yarrow M Yarrow Later M Arno^S R^G S^{G, C} Talisman V and W^{G, C}

Monitors	Marshal Ney Abercrombie Lord Clive Humber Gorgon M15 M29 Erebus

Minesweepers	Flower Racecourse Hunt 24^C

Gunboats	Fly Insect

Submarines	A B C D E F G H^C J K L^C M^C R^C Swordfish^S V

A All completed after the war C One or more completed after the war G Grouping of several classes M converted from Courageous class S Single ship of class V Conversions X Cancelled

British naval ship classes of the Second World War

Aircraft carriers	Courageous Argus Hermes Eagle Ark Royal Illustrious Unicorn Implacable Colossus Majestic^C Audacious^C Malta^X Centaur^C

Escort carriers	Archer^AV Audacity^V Avenger^AV Attacker^A Ruler^A Activity^V Pretoria Castle^V Nairana^V

Battleships	Queen Elizabeth Revenge Nelson King George V Lion^X Vanguard^C

Battlecruisers	Renown HMS Hood

Heavy cruisers	Hawkins County York

Light cruisers	C Danae Emerald Leander Arethusa Town Dido Crown Colony Minotaur

Minelayers	Adventure Abdiel Plover Linnet Agamemnon^V Menestheus^V Port Napier^V Port Quebec^V Southern Prince^V Teviot Bank^V

Destroyer leaders	Shakespeare Scott

Destroyers	R S V & W Town^A Ambuscade Amazon A & B C & D E & F G & H I Tribal J, K & N Hunt L & M O & P Q & R S & T U & V W & Z C Battle Weapon^C G^X Daring^C,P

Frigates	River Captain^A Colony^A Loch Bay

Corvettes	Flower Castle

Sloops	24 Bridgewater Hastings Banff^A Shoreham Grimsby Kingfisher Bittern Egret Black Swan

Minesweepers	Hunt Halcyon Bangor Auk^A Algerine Cybele

Submarines	H L Odin Parthian Rainbow S River Grampus T U P611 V Amphion X XE

Coastal	Harbour Defence Motor Launch Fairmile B motor launch Motor Torpedo Boat Motor Gun Boat Steam Gun Boat

Other	Trawlers Isles Portuguese Tree Monitors Erebus Roberts Seaplane carriers Pegasus Albatross Merchant aircraft carriers Fighter catapult ships Armed merchant cruisers Ocean boarding vessels

A American built X Cancelled C Completed after the war C,P Laid down and completed after the war V Conversions

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Thornycroft type destroyer leader

Ships

See also

References