View source for C-class destroyer (1913)

{{For|other classes of the same name|C-class destroyer (disambiguation){{!}}C-class destroyer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=April 2017}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin|sclass=2}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=HMS Chamois (1896) IWM Q 038460.jpg
|Ship caption={{HMS|Chamois|1896|2}}
}}
{{Infobox ship class overview
|Name=C class
|Builders=Various
|Operators={{navy|United Kingdom}}
|Class before=[[A-class destroyer (1913)|A class]] "27-Knotters"
|Class after=[[River-class destroyer (1903)|River or E class]]
|Subclasses=
|Cost=
|Built range=1896–1902
|In service range=
|In commission range=1896–1921
|Total ships building=
|Total ships planned=
|Total ships completed=40
|Total ships cancelled=
|Total ships active=
|Total ships laid up=
|Total ships lost=11
|Total ships scrapped=29
|Total ships preserved=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship type=[[Torpedo boat destroyer]]
|Ship displacement={{convert|344|-|445|LT|t|0|lk=on|abbr=on}}
|Ship length={{convert|209|-|215|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam=
|Ship height= 
|Ship draught=
|Ship depth=
|Ship hold depth=
|Ship propulsion=*[[Steam engine|Triple expansion steam engines]]
*Coal-fired water-tube boilers
*''and/or''
*[[Steam turbine]]s
|Ship speed= {{convert|30|-|36.5|kn|lk=in}}
|Ship range= 
|Ship endurance=
|Ship boats=
|Ship complement= 62–68
|Ship sensors=
|Ship EW=
|Ship armament=*1 × [[QF 12 pounder 12 cwt naval gun|QF 12-pounder (76-mm) gun]]
*5 × [[QF 6 pounder Hotchkiss|QF 6-pounder (57-mm) gun]]s
*2 × [[British 18 inch torpedo|18-inch (450-mm)]] [[torpedo tube]]s
|Ship armour=
|Ship notes=
}}
|}
The '''C class''' as designated in 1913 was a heterogeneous group of [[torpedo boat destroyer]]s (TBDs) built for the [[Royal Navy]] in the late-1890s. They were constructed to the individual designs of their builders to meet [[British Admiralty|Admiralty]] specifications. The uniting feature of the class was a top speed of 30 knots, a "turtleback" [[forecastle]] and that they all had three [[Funnel (ship)|funnels]]. The funnels were spaced equidistantly and were of equal height, but the central one was thicker.

In 1913 all "30 knotter" vessels with 3 funnels were classified by the Admiralty as the "C" class to provide some system to the [[Naming conventions for destroyers of the Royal Navy|naming of HM destroyers]] (at the same time, the 4-funnelled, "30 knotters" became the [[B-class destroyer (1913)|"B" class]] and the 2-funnelled ships the [[D-class destroyer (1913)|"D" class]]). All vessels had the distinctive turtleback that was intended to clear water from the bows but actually tended to dig the bow in to anything of a sea, resulting in a very wet conning position and poor seaboats that were unable to reach top speed in anything but perfect conditions.

They generally displaced around 350 tons and had a length of around 200 feet. All were powered by [[steam engine|triple expansion steam engines]] for {{convert|5,800|shp|lk=in}} and had [[coal|coal-fired]] [[water-tube boiler]]s, except some unique "specials" that used [[steam turbine]]s in addition to, or in lieu of, the [[reciprocating engine]]s. Armament was one [[QF 12 pounder 12 cwt naval gun|QF 12-pounder]] gun on a [[bandstand]] on the forecastle, five [[QF 6 pounder Hotchkiss|QF 6-pounder]] (two sided abreast the [[conning tower]], two sided between the funnels and one on the [[quarterdeck]]) and two single tubes for [[British 18 inch torpedo|18-inch torpedoes]].

==Ships==
*{{sclass|Star|destroyer|4}} (390 tons, built by [[Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Company Limited|Palmers]], [[Jarrow]]);
** {{HMS|Star|1896|2}}, launched 11 August 1896, sold for breaking up 10 June 1919.
** {{HMS|Whiting|1896|2}}, launched 26 August 1896, sold for breaking up 27 November 1919.
** {{HMS|Bat|1896|2}}, launched 7 October 1896, sold for breaking up 30 August 1919.
** {{HMS|Chamois|1896|2}}, launched 9 November 1896, foundered 26 September 1904 after mechanical failure caused a propeller blade to penetrate the hull plating.
** {{HMS|Crane|1896|2}}, launched 17 December 1896, sold for breaking up 10 June 1919.
** {{HMS|Flying Fish|1897|2}}, launched 4 March 1897, sold for breaking up 30 August 1919.
** {{HMS|Fawn|1897|2}}, launched 13 April 1897, sold for breaking up 23 July 1919.
** {{HMS|Flirt|1897|2}}, launched 15 May 1897, torpedoed and sunk by German destroyers 27 October 1916.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.worldwar1.co.uk/sunk16.htm | title=Major Warships Sunk in World War 1 1916 | work= World War 1 Naval Combat | access-date=2007-01-06}}</ref>
*{{sclass|Bullfinch|destroyer|4}} (345 tons, built by [[Earle's Shipbuilding|Earle]], [[Kingston upon Hull]])
** {{HMS|Bullfinch|1898|2}}, launched 10 February 1898, sold for breaking up 10 June 1919.
** {{HMS|Dove|1898|2}}, launched 21 March 1898, sold for breaking up 27 January 1920.
*{{sclass|Violet|destroyer|4}} (350 tons, built by [[William Doxford & Sons|Doxford]], [[Sunderland, Tyne and Wear|Sunderland]]) 
** {{HMS|Violet|1897|2}}, launched 3 May 1897, sold for breaking up 7 June 1920.
** {{HMS|Sylvia|1897|2}}, launched 3 July 1897, sold for breaking up 23 July 1919.
** {{HMS|Lee|1899|2}}, 365 tons, launched 27 January 1899, wrecked near [[Blacksod Bay]] 5 October 1909.
*{{sclass|Avon|destroyer|4}} (355 tons except last two ships 350 tons, all built by Naval Construction and Armament Company - later [[Vickers Limited]], [[Barrow in Furness]])
** {{HMS|Avon|1896|2}}, launched 10 October 1896, sold for breaking up 1 July 1920.
** {{HMS|Bittern|1897|2}}, launched 1 February 1897, rammed and sunk by SS ''Kenilworth'' off [[Portland Bill]], 4 April 1918.
** {{HMS|Otter|1896|2}}, launched 23 November 1896, sold at Hong Kong 26 October 1916.
** {{HMS|Leopard|1897|2}}, launched 20 March 1897, sold for breaking up 10 June 1919.
** {{HMS|Vixen|1900|2}}, launched 29 March 1900, sold for breaking up 17 March 1921.
*{{sclass|Brazen|destroyer|4}} (345-380 tons, built by J & G Thomson - later to become [[John Brown and Company]], [[Clydebank]])
** {{HMS|Brazen|1896|2}}, launched 3 July 1896, sold for breaking up 4 November 1919.
** {{HMS|Electra|1896|2}}, launched 14 July 1896, sold for breaking up 29 April 1920.
** {{HMS|Recruit|1896|2}}, launched 22 August 1896, torpedoed and sunk by U-boat {{SMU|UB-6||2}} off [[the Galloper]] in the [[River Thames]] Estuary, 1 May 1915.
** {{HMS|Vulture|1898|2}}, launched 22 March 1898, sold for breaking up 27 May 1919.
** {{HMS|Kestrel|1898|2}}, launched 25 March 1898, sold for breaking up 17 March 1921.
*{{sclass|Mermaid|destroyer|4}} (355 tons, built by [[Hawthorn Leslie and Company|Hawthorn]], [[Newcastle upon Tyne]])
** {{HMS|Cheerful|1897|2}}, launched 14 July 1897, mined and sunk off [[Shetland Islands]], 30 June 1917.
** {{HMS|Mermaid|1898|2}}, launched 22 February 1898, sold for breaking up 23 July 1919.
** {{HMS|Greyhound|1900|2}}, launched 6 October 1900, sold for breaking up 10 June 1919.
** {{HMS|Racehorse|1900|2}}, launched 8 November 1900, sold for breaking up 23 March 1920.
** {{HMS|Roebuck|1901|2}}, launched 4 January 1901, broken up at Portsmouth Dockyard in 1919.
*{{sclass|Gipsy|destroyer|4}} (355 tons, built by [[Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company|Fairfield]], [[Govan]])
** {{HMS|Gipsy|1897|2}}, launched 9 March 1897, sold 17 March 1921 and then used as a floating pontoon at Dartmouth for many years.
** {{HMS|Fairy|1897|2}}, launched 25 September 1897, foundered after damaged sustained ramming of {{SMU|UC-75||2}} in [[North Sea]], 31 May 1918.
** {{HMS|Osprey|1897|2}}, launched 7 April 1897, sold for breaking up 4 November 1919.
** {{HMS|Leven|1898|2}}, 370 tons, launched 28 June 1898, sold for breaking up 14 September 1920.
** {{HMS|Falcon|1899|2}}, 375 tons, launched 29 December 1899, sunk in collision 1 April 1918 with trawler ''John Fitzgerald'' in the North Sea. The captain was Lieutenant [[Charles Lightoller]] [[RNR]], who previously had been second officer of {{RMS|Titanic}}.
** {{HMS|Ostrich|1900|2}}, 375 tons, launched 22 March 1900, sold for breaking up 29 April 1920.
*John Brown private builds, purchased 31 May 1900 (380 tons, built on speculation by [[John Brown and Company]], formerly J & G Thomson, at [[Clydebank]])
** {{HMS|Thorn|1900|2}}, launched 17 March 1900, broken up at Portsmouth Dockyard in 1919.
** {{HMS|Tiger|1900|2}}, launched 19 May 1900, sank in collision with {{HMS|Berwick|1902|6}} off [[St. Catherine's Point]] 2 April 1908.
** {{HMS|Vigilant|1900|2}}, launched 16 August 1900, sold for breaking up 10 February 1920.
*Thornycroft special
** {{HMS|Albatross|1898|2}}, 380 tons, launched 19 July 1898, sold for breaking up 7 June 1920.
*{{sclass|Viper|destroyer|4}} Hawthorn specials, (4 shafts, steam turbines)
** {{HMS|Viper|1899|2}}, 344 tons, launched 6 September 1899, wrecked near [[Alderney]] in accident 3 August 1901.
** {{HMS|Velox|1902|2}} (ex-''Python''), 445 tons, launched 11 February 1902, mined and sunk off [[Nab Tower|Nab light vessel]], 25 October 1915.

==See also==
*[[B-class destroyer (1913)]]
*[[D-class destroyer (1913)]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Bibliography==
{{Commons category|C class destroyer (1913)}}
*{{cite book|editor1-last=Chesneau|editor1-first=Roger|editor2-last=Kolesnik|editor2-first=Eugene M.|title=Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905|year=1979 |name-list-style=amp |publisher=Conway Maritime Press|location=London |isbn=0-85177-133-5}}
*{{Cite Colledge2006}}
*{{cite book|last1=Dittmar|first1=F.J.|last2=Colledge|first2=J. J.|title=British Warships 1914–1919|year=1972|publisher=Ian Allan|location=Shepperton, UK|isbn=0-7110-0380-7}}
*{{cite book|last=Friedman|first=Norman|title=British Destroyers: From Earliest Days to the Second World War|year=2009|publisher=Seaforth Publishing|location=Barnsley, UK|isbn=978-1-84832-049-9}}
* {{cite book|editor1-last=Gardiner|editor1-first=Robert|editor2-last=Gray|editor2-first=Randal|title=Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921|year=1985|publisher=Conway Maritime Press|location=London|isbn=0-85177-245-5|name-list-style=amp}}
*{{cite book|last=Lyon|first=David|title=The First Destroyers|year=2001|orig-year=1996|publisher=Caxton Editions|location=London|isbn=1-84067-364-8}}
*{{cite book|last=Manning|first=T. D.|title=The British Destroyer|year=1961|publisher=Putnam & Co.|location=London|oclc= 6470051}}
*{{cite book|last=March|first=Edgar J.|title=British Destroyers: A History of Development, 1892–1953; Drawn by Admiralty Permission From Official Records & Returns, Ships' Covers & Building Plans|year=1966|publisher=Seeley Service|location=London |oclc=164893555}}

{{C class destroyer}}
{{WWI British ships}}

[[Category:C-class destroyers (1913)| ]]
[[Category:Destroyer classes]]
[[Category:Ship classes of the Royal Navy]]