Rocket-class destroyer
Three Rocket-class destroyers served with the Royal Navy.
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name | Rocket class |
| Builders | J & G Thomson, Clydebank |
| Operators |  Royal Navy |
| Preceded by | Sunfish class |
| Succeeded by | Sturgeon class |
| Built | 1894–1895 |
| In commission | 1894–1920 |
| Completed | 3 |
| Scrapped | 3 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Torpedo boat destroyer |
| Displacement | 280 long tons (284 t) |
| Length | 200 ft (61 m) |
| Propulsion | 4 x Normand boilers, 2 x triple expansion steam engines rated 4,100 hp (3,057 kW) |
| Speed | 27 knots (50 km/h; 31 mph) |
| Complement | 53 |
| Armament |
|
Under the 1893–1894 Naval Estimates, the British Admiralty placed orders for 36 torpedo-boat destroyers, all to be capable of 27 knots (50 km/h; 31 mph), the "27-knotters", as a follow-on to the six prototype "26-knotters" ordered in the previous 1892–1893 Estimates. As was typical for torpedo craft at the time, the Admiralty left detailed design to the builders, laying down only broad requirements.[1][2]
HMS Rocket, HMS Shark and HMS Surly were built by J & G Thomson and launched at Clydebank in 1894. The ships displaced 280 tons, were 200 ft (61 m) long and their Normand boilers produced 4,100 horsepower (3,100 kW). to give a top speed of 27 knots (50 km/h; 31 mph). They were armed with one 12-pounder and two torpedo tubes. They carried a complement of 53 officers and men.
In September 1913 the Admiralty re-classed all the surviving 27-knotter destroyers as A Class although this only applied to Surly as the other two ships had been sold for scrap in 1912.
Notes
- Chesneau and Kolesnik 1979, p. 87.
- Manning 1961, p. 39.
Bibliography
- Chesneau, Roger & Kolesnik, Eugene M, eds. (1979). Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-133-5.
- Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.
- Friedman, Norman (2009). British Destroyers: From Earliest Days to the Second World War. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-049-9.
- Gardiner, Robert & Gray, Randal, eds. (1985). Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-245-5.
- Johnston, Ian (2015). Ships for All Nations: John Brown & Company Clydebank 1847–1971 (2nd ed.). Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-59114-584-4.
- March, Edgar J. (1966). British Destroyers: A History of Development, 1892–1953; Drawn by Admiralty Permission From Official Records & Returns, Ships' Covers & Building Plans. London: Seeley, Service. OCLC 164893555.