View source for Acasta-class destroyer

{{short description|Class of British destroyers}}
{{for|the [[World War II]] K-class Destroyers|J, K and N-class destroyer{{!}}K-class destroyer (1938)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2018}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2018}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=HMS Shark (WWI).jpg
|Ship image size=300px
|Ship caption=HMS ''Shark'', lost at the [[Battle of Jutland]]
}}
{{Infobox ship class overview
|Name=''Acasta'' class
|Builders=
|Operators=
* {{navy|United Kingdom}}
* {{naval|Brazil}}
|Class before={{sclass|Acheron|destroyer|4}}
|Class after=[[Laforey-class destroyer (1913)|L class]]
|Subclasses=
|Cost=
|Built range=1912–1913
|In service range=
|In commission range=1912–1923
|Total ships building=
|Total ships planned=
|Total ships completed=20
|Total ships cancelled=
|Total ships active=
|Total ships laid up=
|Total ships lost=7
|Total ships retired=
|Total ships preserved=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship class=
|Ship type=[[Torpedo boat destroyer]]
|Ship displacement=934 to 984 tons
|Ship length={{convert|267|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on}} to {{convert|252|ft|m|abbr=on|1}}
|Ship beam={{convert|26|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on}} to {{convert|26|ft|9|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship height=
|Ship draught={{convert|9|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on}} to {{convert|9|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship depth=
|Ship decks=
|Ship power={{convert|24500|hp|kW|abbr=on|0}}
|Ship propulsion=
*'''Standard K class:'''
** 2-shaft [[Parsons Marine Steam Turbines|Parsons steam turbines]]
** Yarrow-type oil-fired boilers
*'''''Acasta'', ''Achates'', ''Ambuscade'':'''
** 2 shaft Brown-Curtis steam turbines
** Yarrow-type oil-fired boilers
|Ship speed={{convert|29|kn|km/h|abbr=on|1}} - {{convert|32|kn|km/h|abbr=on|1}}<ref name=Janes/>
|Ship range=
|Ship endurance=
|Ship complement=75 - 77
|Ship armament=*Three [[QF 4 inch naval gun Mk IV, XII, XXII|QF {{convert|4|in|mm|adj=on|sigfig=4}} L/40 Mark IV guns]], mounting P Mk. IX (last 7 ships)<ref>H.M.S.O. (1916).  ''The Sight Manual''.  Pub. No. OU 6026.  p. 80. [http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/displaycataloguedetails.asp?CATLN=*6&CATID=*3184788 ADM 186/216]</ref> else P Mk VII<ref>March.  ''British Destroyers'', p. 127.</ref>
*One [[QF 2 pounder naval gun|QF 2-pounder pom-pom]] Mk. II
*2 × single tubes for [[British 21 inch torpedo|21 inch (533 mm)]] [[torpedo]]es
|Ship armour=
|Ship notes=
}}
|}

The '''''Acasta'' class''' (in September 1913 re-designated the '''K class''') was a [[ship class|class]] of twenty [[destroyer]]s built for the [[Royal Navy]] under the Naval Programme of 1911 - 1912 that saw service during [[World War I]]. They were the last class of Royal Navy destroyers to have mixed names with no systematic theme (see [[naming conventions for destroyers of the Royal Navy]] for more information.) When the class was designated as "K", names beginning with that letter were allocated to the ships but never used.<ref group=Note>No class of ships were designated as J class.</ref><ref name="Friedman p129">Friedman 2009, p. 129.</ref>  The class saw extensive wartime service and seven were lost, including four at the [[Battle of Jutland]].

==Design==
The ''Acasta''s were larger and heavier armed than the preceding H and I classes ({{sclass|Acorn|destroyer|5}} and {{sclass|Acheron|destroyer|5}}, respectively), displacing about 25% more and with the mixed calibre armament replaced with a uniform fit of [[British ordnance terms#QF|QF]] 4-inch guns, which the ''Acasta''s introduced. Previous {{convert|4|in|mm|adj=on|0}} weapons had been of the breech-loading ([[British ordnance terms#BL|BL]]) type.  The 4-in guns were shipped one on the [[forecastle]] and one at the stern, as in the ''Acheron'' class, while the third was variously sited on the centreline between the two torpedo tubes or abaft both.<ref>March. ''British Destroyers'', pp. 125, 129, 130.</ref> All ships had three funnels, the foremost being tall and narrow, the second short and wide and the third level with the second but narrower. The foremost torpedo tube was sited between the second and third funnels, a distinctive feature of this class.

There were twelve 'standard' vessels built to a common Admiralty design,<ref name=Janes>{{cite web|url=http://www.pbenyon1.plus.com/Janes_1919/Destroyers/K_And_I_Class.html |title=K-class destroyers (extract from Jane's Fighting Ships of 1919) |access-date=27 February 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060907002119/http://www.pbenyon1.plus.com/Janes_1919/Destroyers/K_And_I_Class.html |archive-date=7 September 2006 }}</ref> and eight builders' specials that (except for ''Garland'') had a shorter, less beamy hull; five of the latter were from [[John I. Thornycroft & Company Limited|Thornycroft]] with {{convert|22500|shp|abbr=on}} (one of Thornycroft's ships, {{HMS|Hardy|1912|2}}, was planned to [[diesel engine|diesel]] cruising motors, but these were not ready in time and ''Hardy'' was completed with Thornycroft's standard machinery).<ref name="Friedman p126-9">Friedman 2009, pp. 126–129.</ref> One by [[Parsons Marine Steam Turbines|Parsons]] ({{HMS|Garland|1913|2}}) had semi-geared turbines<ref name="Friedman p127">Friedman 2009, p. 127.</ref> giving a speed of {{convert|31|kn|lk=in}} on trials, with a seventh from [[Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company|Fairfields]] had a clipper [[Bow (ship)|bow]]. The eighth 'special' was {{HMS|Ardent|1913|2}} by [[William Denny and Brothers|William Denny]], Dumbarton, which was built using [[longitudinal framing]] rather than conventional transverse framing. While ''Ardent''{{'s}} novel construction seems to have been a success, no more destroyers were built for the Royal Navy using longitudinal framing until the [[J, K and N-class destroyer|J-class destroyers]] in the 1930s.<ref name="Friedman p127"/><ref name="brown p70-1">Brown 2010, pp. 70–71.</ref>

==Service==
At the outbreak of World War I until mid-1916, the ''Acasta''s were serving in the [[Grand Fleet]] as the [[4th Destroyer Flotilla]], with {{HMS|Swift|1907|2}} as leader. By the time of the [[Battle of Jutland]] the leader was the {{sclass|Faulknor|flotilla leader|1}} {{HMS|Tipperary|1914|2}}, with ''Ardent'', ''Fortune'', ''Shark'' and ''Sparrowhawk'' lost in the course of the battle<ref name=AS>{{cite web|url=http://www.gwpda.org/naval/s0450000.htm|title=''"Arrowsmith" List'': Royal Navy WWI Destroyer Pendant Numbers|access-date=27 February 2009}}</ref> and ''Acasta'' was so badly damaged that she had to be practically rebuilt. After Jutland the remainder of the flotilla moved to the [[Humber]] and then to [[Portsmouth]] by the end of 1916, before dispersing, some ships to the [[6th Destroyer Flotilla]] and the [[Dover Patrol]] and the remainder to [[HMNB Devonport|Devonport]]. All survivors of the war were sold out of service for scrapping by 1921.

==Ships==

===Admiralty K class===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:left"
!Name||Ship Builder<ref name="Friedman p306-7"/>||Laid down<ref name="Friedman p306-7">Friedman 2009, pp. 306–307.</ref>||Launched<ref name="Friedman p306-7"/>||Completed<ref name="Friedman p306-7"/>||Fate
|-
|{{HMS|Acasta|1912|2}} ||[[John Brown & Company|John Brown & Co.]], [[Clydebank]]||1 December 1911||10&nbsp;September&nbsp;1912||November 1912||Sold for breaking up 9 May 1921.<ref name=BC/>
|-
|{{HMS|Achates|1912|2}} ||John Brown||15 January 1912||14 November 1912||March 1913||Sold for breaking up 9 May 1921.<ref name=BC/>
|-
|{{HMS|Ambuscade|1913|2}} ||John Brown||7 March 1912||25 January 1913||June 1913||Sold for breaking up 6 September 1921.<ref name=BC/>
|-
|{{HMS|Christopher|1912|2}} ||[[Hawthorn Leslie & Company|Hawthorn Leslie & Co.]], [[Newcastle upon Tyne|Newcastle]]||16 October 1911||29 August 1912||November 1912||Sold for breaking up 9 May 1921.<ref name=BC/>
|-
|{{HMS|Cockatrice|1912|2}} ||Hawthorn Leslie||23 October 1911||8 November 1912||March 1913||Sold for breaking up 9 May 1921.<ref name=BC/>
|-
|{{HMS|Contest|1913|2}} ||Hawthorn Leslie||26 December 1911||7 January 1913||June 1913||Torpedoed and sunk by German [[U-boat]] in the [[Western Approaches]] 18 September 1917.<ref name=NH2/>
|-
|{{HMS|Lynx|1913|2}} ||[[Harland & Wolff]], [[Govan]]||18 January 1912||20 March 1913||January 1914||Mined and sunk in [[Moray Firth]] by mine laid from German raider ''Meteor'' 9 August 1915.<ref name=NH2>{{cite web|url=http://www.naval-history.net/WW1NavyBritishDestroyers.htm#losses|title=British Destroyer losses |website=Naval history.net |access-date=27 February 2009| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090306180036/http://www.naval-history.net/WW1NavyBritishDestroyers.htm| archive-date= 6 March 2009 <!--DASHBot-->| url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
| [[HMS Midge (1913)|''Midge'']] ||Harland & Wolff, Govan||1 April 1912||22 May 1913||March 1913||Sold for breaking up 5 November 1921.<ref name=BC/>
|-
|{{HMS|Owl|1913|2}} ||Harland & Wolff, Govan||1 April 1913||7 May 1913||April 1914||Sold for breaking up 5 November 1921.<ref name=BC/>
|-
|{{HMS|Shark|1912|2}} ||[[Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson]],<br /> [[Wallsend]]||18 October 1911||30 July 1912||3 April 1913||Disabled by gunfire and torpedoed and sunk at Battle of Jutland 31 May 1916.<ref name=NH2/>
|-
|{{HMS|Sparrowhawk|1912|2}} ||Swan, Hunter||25 October 1911||12 October 1912||2 May 1913||Collided with {{HMS|Broke|1914|6}} at Battle of Jutland and torpedoed by {{HMS|Marksman|1915|6}} 1 June 1916.<ref name=NH2/>
|-
|{{HMS|Spitfire|1912|2}} ||Swan, Hunter||20 December 1911||23&nbsp;December&nbsp;1912||19 June 1913||Sold for breaking up 9 May 1921.<ref name=BC/>
|}

===K-class Builders' specials===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:left"
!Name||Ship Builder<ref name="Friedman p306-7"/>||Laid down<ref name="Friedman p306-7"/>||Launched<ref name="Friedman p306-7"/>||Completed<ref name="Friedman p306-7"/>|||Fate
|-
| {{HMS|Ardent|1913|2}} ||[[William Denny & Brothers Limited|William Denny & Br.]], [[Dumbarton]]||9 October 1912||8 September 1913||February 1914||Sunk by secondary gunfire from [[Kaiserliche Marine|German]] [[dreadnought]] {{SMS|Westfalen}} at [[Battle of Jutland]] 1 June 1916.<ref name=NH2/>
|-
| {{HMS|Fortune|1913|2}} ||[[Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company|Fairfield]], [[Govan]]||24 June 1912||17 May 1913||December 1913||Sunk by secondary gunfire from German dreadnought SMS ''Westfalen'' at [[Battle of Jutland]] on night of 31 May / 1 June 1916.<ref name=NH2/>
|-
| {{HMS|Garland|1913|2}} ||[[Parsons Marine Steam Turbine Company|Parsons Turbine]], [[Wallsend]]<small><br /> (hull sub-contracted to [[Cammell Laird & Company|Cammell Laird]], [[Birkenhead]])</small>||15 July 1912||23 April 1913||December 1913||Sold for breaking up 6 September 1921.<ref name=BC/>
|-
| {{HMS|Hardy|1912|2}} ||[[John I. Thornycroft & Company Limited|Thornycroft]], [[Woolston, Hampshire|Woolston]]||13 November 1911||10 October 1913||September 1913||Sold for breaking up 9 May 1921.<ref name=BC/>
|-
| {{HMS|Paragon|1913|2}} ||Thornycroft||14 March 1912||21 February 1913||December 1913||Torpedoed and sunk by German destroyer in action in the [[Straits of Dover]] 18 March 1917.<ref name=NH2/>
|-
| {{HMS|Porpoise|1913|2}} || Thornycroft ||14 March 1912||21 July 1913||January 1914||Sold 23 February 1920 back to Thornycroft for resale to Brazil; became Brazilian ''Alexandrino Deaenca'', later ''Maranhao''.<ref name=BC/>
|-
| {{HMS|Unity|1913|2}} ||Thornycroft||1 April 1912 ||18&nbsp;September&nbsp;1913||March 1914||Sold for breaking up 25 October 1922.<ref name=BC/>
|-
| {{HMS|Victor|1913|2}} ||Thornycroft||1 April 1912 ||28 November 1913||June 1914||Sold for breaking up 20 January 1923.<ref name=BC>{{cite web|url=http://www.battleships-cruisers.co.uk/destroyers_before_1900.htm |website=Battleships-Cruisers.co.uk |title=Destroyers before 1918|access-date=27 February 2009}}</ref>
|}

{{clear}}
<gallery>
File:HMS Acasta, Acasta-class destroyer - IWM Q 75130.jpg|HMS ''Acasta''
File:HMS Ambuscade.jpg|HMS ''Ambuscade''
File:HMS Ardent (1913).jpg|HMS ''Ardent''
File:HMS Contest.jpg|HMS ''Contest''
File:HMS Hardy (1913).jpg|HMS ''Hardy'' at speed
File:HMS Midge, Acasta-class destroyer - IWM Q 75123.jpg|HMS ''Midge''
File:HMSSpitfireJutlanddamage.jpg|HMS ''Spitfire'' showing damage sustained at Jutland
File:HMS Unity, Acasta-class destroyer - IWM Q 75117.jpg|HMS ''Unity''
File:HMS Victor, Acasta-class destroyer. - IWM Q 75116.jpg|''Victor''
</gallery>

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=Note}}

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==Bibliography==
* Brown, David K., ''The Grand Fleet: Warship Design and Development 1906–1922''. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing, 2010. {{ISBN|978-1-84832-085-7}}.
* Maurice Cocker, ''Destroyers of the Royal Navy, 1893-1981'', 1983, Ian Allan {{ISBN|0-7110-1075-7}}
* Friedman, Norman, ''British Destroyers: From Earliest Days to the Second World War'', Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing, 2009. {{ISBN|978-1-84832-049-9}}.

==External links==
{{Commons category}}

{{Acasta class destroyer}}
{{WWI British ships}}

[[Category:Acasta-class destroyers| ]]
[[Category:Destroyer classes]]
[[Category:Ship classes of the Royal Navy]]
[[Category:World War I destroyers of the United Kingdom]]