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The First Destroyers
The Torpedo Boat Destroyers (TBDs) of the the 1890s - the first destroyers - were among the most glamorous naval vessels ever built. With their remarkable speed and their initial deployment against the Royal Navy's traditional enemy, the French, they caught the public imagination like no other ships of the period.
During the late Victorian era one of the most significant naval developments was the invention of the "locomotive torpedo". Small boats were developed to use it, particularly by the French. These torpedo boats as they were known, were an obvious danger to the British battlefleet and something was needed to counter them. The Torpedo Boat Destroyers, built by Thornycroft and Yarrow in the early 1890s, were the Royal Navy's answer.
Drawing on Admiralty documents and plans ,this work contains data on the early development of these vessels up to the River class of 1900.
128 pages, Hardcover
First published March 1, 1997
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
September 9, 2021
I'm not sure how many titles Chatham produced in the "ShipShape" series, but I have three, on X craft, battlecruisers, and this one, The First Destroyers, which covers in detail the several classes of what are generally referred to as torpedo boat destroyers, built for the Royal Navy, all in private yards, in the last decade of the 19th century.
While clearly writing succinctly, author David Lyon covers ably the prehistory of this class of ship and the long discussions that led to the need for ships larger than the current classes of torpedo boat and able to outrun and sink them with light guns, while still carrying ship killing torpedoes. The specifications were difficult to meet and Lyon covers each manufacturer separately, fully discussing the process of design and trials and then entry into service. Some boats met or exceeded their specifications handily, others did not, and at least one fell apart on its delivery voyage.
A series of cutaway drawings by John Roberts of an example ship, HMS Havock, suggests that going to sea in these things was horrific beyond belief for all involved. While occasional suggestions to bunk men in the engine room were fortunately ignored (!), the quarters can only be compared to those of the early submarines. Steam reciprocating engines and the need to shovel huge quantities of coal to maintain high speeds added to the nastiness. Thankfully these ships were very short-legged, so time at sea was measured in days, not weeks, before they had to return to port to coal and, frequently, undergo endless repairs. The short lives of many of these ships suggest how lightly built they were - they were almost disposable, a naval dixie cup.
Details of engines, weapons, and fittings are discussed, and foreign boats of this type touched on; the section on how the boats were painted and the many experiments undertaken to make them as invisible as possible at night is of especial interest. The book is very well illustrated with photos, line drawings, and original plans from the collection of the National Maritime Museum. In addition, tucked into a sleeve at the back is a folded 1/8 - 1 foot plan of HMS Havock, ably drawn by John Roberts, with top and bottom plan views on one side, and a lines plan and sections on the other. Well worth reading if you're interested at all; I believe the entire series is completely out of print, so they're to watch for in your favorite used book store.
While clearly writing succinctly, author David Lyon covers ably the prehistory of this class of ship and the long discussions that led to the need for ships larger than the current classes of torpedo boat and able to outrun and sink them with light guns, while still carrying ship killing torpedoes. The specifications were difficult to meet and Lyon covers each manufacturer separately, fully discussing the process of design and trials and then entry into service. Some boats met or exceeded their specifications handily, others did not, and at least one fell apart on its delivery voyage.
A series of cutaway drawings by John Roberts of an example ship, HMS Havock, suggests that going to sea in these things was horrific beyond belief for all involved. While occasional suggestions to bunk men in the engine room were fortunately ignored (!), the quarters can only be compared to those of the early submarines. Steam reciprocating engines and the need to shovel huge quantities of coal to maintain high speeds added to the nastiness. Thankfully these ships were very short-legged, so time at sea was measured in days, not weeks, before they had to return to port to coal and, frequently, undergo endless repairs. The short lives of many of these ships suggest how lightly built they were - they were almost disposable, a naval dixie cup.
Details of engines, weapons, and fittings are discussed, and foreign boats of this type touched on; the section on how the boats were painted and the many experiments undertaken to make them as invisible as possible at night is of especial interest. The book is very well illustrated with photos, line drawings, and original plans from the collection of the National Maritime Museum. In addition, tucked into a sleeve at the back is a folded 1/8 - 1 foot plan of HMS Havock, ably drawn by John Roberts, with top and bottom plan views on one side, and a lines plan and sections on the other. Well worth reading if you're interested at all; I believe the entire series is completely out of print, so they're to watch for in your favorite used book store.
May 1, 2015
Essential reading for destroyer fans. The plans and photographs that accompany the text are excellent.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews