View source for U and V-class destroyer

{{Short description|Class of destroyers of the Royal Navy}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=July 2017}}
{{more citations needed|date=January 2013}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin|sclass=2}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image= HMS Undaunted 1944 IWM FL 008812.jpg
|Ship caption={{HMS|Undaunted|R53|6}} in 1944
}}
{{Infobox ship class overview
|Name=U and V class
|Builders=*[[John Brown & Company]]
* [[Cammell Laird]]
* [[Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company]]
* [[J. Samuel White]]
* [[Swan Hunter]]
* [[John I. Thornycroft and Company]]
* [[Vickers-Armstrongs]]
|Operators=*{{navy|United Kingdom}}
* {{navy|Canada|naval-1911}}
|Class before={{sclass2|S and T|destroyer|4}}
|Class after={{sclass2|W and Z|destroyer|4}}
|Subclasses=
|Cost=
|Built range=1941–1944
|In service range=
|In commission range=1943–1982
|Total ships building=
|Total ships planned=
|Total ships completed=16
|Total ships cancelled=
|Total ships active=
|Total ships laid up=
|Total ships lost=1
|Total ships retired=
|Total ships preserved=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship type=[[Destroyer]]
|Ship displacement=*{{convert|1777|LT|t|0}} standard
* {{convert|2058|LT|t|0|abbr=on}} full load
|Ship length={{convert|363|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam={{convert|35|ft|8|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship height=
|Ship draught={{convert|10|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship depth=
|Ship propulsion=*2 × Admiralty 3-drum [[water-tube boiler]]s
* Geared steam turbines, {{convert|40000|shp|0|abbr=on}}
* 2 shafts
|Ship speed={{convert|36.75|kn|mph km/h|lk=in|1}}<ref>{{cite book|title=Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922-1946 |editor=Robert Gardiner |publisher=Naval Institute Press |pages=42}}</ref>
|Ship range={{convert|4860|nmi|km|abbr=on|lk=in}} at {{convert|20|kn|km/h|abbr=on}}
|Ship complement= 180 (225 in flotilla leader)
|Ship sensors=
|Ship EW=
|Ship armament=*''Original configuration'' :
* 4 × [[4.7 inch QF Mark IX|QF 4.7-inch (120-mm) Mk IX guns]] in single mountings [[British ordnance terms#CP|CP]] Mk.XXII
* 2 × [[Bofors 40 mm Automatic Gun L/60|QF 40 mm Bofors]] guns in twin mount Mk.IV
* 6 × [[Oerlikon 20 mm cannon|QF 20 mm Oerlikon]] guns; 2 × twin mounts Mk.V, 2 × single mounts Mk.III
* 2 × quadruple tubes for [[British 21 inch torpedo|{{convert|21|inch|mm|adj=on|0}} torpedo]]es Mk.IX
|Ship armour=
|Ship notes=
}}
|}

The '''U and V class''' was a [[ship class|class]] of sixteen [[destroyer]]s of the [[Royal Navy]] launched in 1942–1943. They were constructed in two [[flotilla]]s, each with names beginning with "U-" or "V-" (although there was a return to the pre-war practice of naming the designated [[flotilla leader]] after a famous naval figure from history to honour the lost ships ''Grenville'' and ''Hardy''). The hull was nearly identical to the preceding ships of the S and T classes, but the U and V class ships had different bridge and armament fits. The flotillas constituted the 7th Emergency Flotilla and 8th Emergency Flotilla, built under the War Emergency Programme. These ships used the [[Fuze Keeping Clock]] HA Fire Control Computer.<ref>{{cite book|title=Destroyer Weapons of World War II |last=Hodges |first=Peter |last2=Friedman |first2=Norman |publisher=Harper Collins |date=1979 |isbn=0-85177-137-8}}</ref>

==Notable actions==
Four ships, ''Verulam'', ''Venus'', ''Vigilant'' and ''Virago'', formed part of the 26th Destroyer Flotilla that [[Operation Dukedom|ambushed and sank]] the {{ship|Japanese cruiser|Haguro}}, off [[Sumatra]].

==U class==
* {{HMS|Grenville|R97|2}}, flotilla leader, built by [[Swan Hunter]], Tyneside, laid down 1 November 1941, launched 12 October 1942, and completed 27 May 1943.
* {{HMS|Ulster|R83|2}}, built by Swan Hunter, laid down 12 November 1941, launched 9 November 1942, and completed 30 June 1943.
* {{HMS|Ulysses|R69|2}}, built by [[Cammell Laird]], Birkenhead, laid down 14 March 1942, launched 22 April 1943, and completed 23 December 1943.
* {{HMS|Undaunted|R53|2}}, built by Cammell Laird, laid down 8 September 1942, launched 19 July 1943, and completed 3 March 1944.
* {{HMS|Undine|R42|2}}, built by [[John I. Thornycroft and Company]], Woolston, laid down 18 March 1942, launched 1 June 1943, and completed 23 December 1943.
* {{HMS|Ursa|R22|2}}, built by John I. Thornycroft, laid down 2 May 1942, launched 22 July 1943, and completed 1 March 1944.
* {{HMS|Urchin|R99|2}}, built by [[Vickers-Armstrongs]], Barrow, laid down 28 March 1942, launched 8 March 1943, and completed 24 September 1943.
* {{HMS|Urania|R05|2}}, built by Vickers-Armstrongs, laid down 18 June 1942, launched 19 May 1943, and completed 18 January 1944.

==V class==
* {{HMS|Venus|R50|2}}, built by [[Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company|Fairfields of Glasgow]], laid down 12 January 1942, launched 22 February 1943, and completed 28 August 1943.
* {{HMS|Verulam|R28|2}}, built by Fairfields, laid down 26 January 1942, launched 22 April 1943, and completed 10 December 1943.
* {{HMS|Vigilant|R93|2}}, built by Swan Hunter, laid down 31 January 1942, launched 22 December 1942, and completed 10 September 1943.
* {{HMS|Virago|R75|2}}, built by Swan Hunter, laid down 16 February 1942, launched 4 February 1943, and completed 5 November 1943.
* {{HMS|Hardy|R08|2}}, flotilla leader, built by [[John Brown & Company]], Clydebank, laid down on 14 May 1942, launched 18 March 1943, and completed 14 August 1943. She was lost on 30 January 1944.
* {{HMS|Valentine|R17|2}}, built by John Brown, laid down 8 October 1942, launched 2 September 1943, and completed 28 February 1944. She was transferred to [[Royal Canadian Navy|Canada]] as {{HMCS|Algonquin|R17|6}}.
* {{HMS|Vixen|R64|2}}, built by [[J. Samuel White]], Cowes, laid down 31 October 1942, launched 14 September 1943, and completed 5 March 1944. She was transferred to Canada as {{HMCS|Sioux|R64|6}}.
* {{HMS|Volage|R41|2}}, built by J. Samuel White, laid down 31 December 1942, launched 15 December 1943, and completed 26 May 1944.

==See also==
* [[Type 15 frigate]] a post-war reconstruction of many ships into fast, first-rate [[anti-submarine warfare|anti-submarine]] [[frigate]]s

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
* {{cite book|title=Destroyers of the Royal Navy, 1893-1981 |first=Maurice |last=Cocker |date=1981 |publisher=Ian Allan |isbn=0-7110-1075-7}}
* {{cite book|title=Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922-1946 |editor=Robert Gardiner |publisher=Naval Institute Press |isbn=0-87021-913-8}}
* {{cite book |title=Royal Navy Destroyers since 1945 |first=Leo |last=Marriott |publisher=Ian Allan |date=1994 |isbn=0-7110-1817-0 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/royalnavydestroy0000marr }}
* {{cite book|last=Raven|first=Alan|author2=Roberts, John |title=War Built Destroyers O to Z Classes|publisher=Bivouac Books|location=London|year=1978|isbn=0-85680-010-4}}
* {{cite book|last=Whitley|first=M. J.|title=Destroyers of World War 2|publisher=Naval Institute Press|year=1988|isbn=0-87021-326-1|location=Annapolis, Maryland}}

==External links==
{{Commons category-inline|U and V class destroyers (1943)}}

{{U and V class destroyers}}
{{War Emergency Programme destroyers}}
{{WWII British ships}}

[[Category:Destroyer classes]]
[[Category:Ship classes of the Royal Navy]]
[[Category:U and V-class destroyers| ]]