The Battle class were conceived in 1941, initially
out of a request from the Prime Minister (Winston Churchill) for steps
to be taken to counteract the JU 87's. Between the initial discussion
and final plans in 1942, several options were considered. The original
armament was to have been 4.7" guns, and the ships were also to have been
fitted with sweeps. Before the final plans were drawn up, however,
the Admiralty decided that all future destroyers should be fitted with
4.5" guns, and that they should be fitted for but not with sweeps, with
sufficient sweep gear being held at various bases outfit half of the ships
if and when needed. A proposal to split the main armament by placing
one mounting on the stern was submitted too late for acceptance.
T
he
main armament was to be fitted in enclosed mountings, despite objections
from some quarters that the aperture required for the barrels to have an
80o elevation would expose the mechanism to water damage in
heavy seas, and that enclosing the mounting would make the guns crew blind.
An experimental mounting was fitted to HMS SAVAGE, a Troubridge class destroyer,
in 1942. This trial mounting proved satisfactory but suffered some defects
one of which (oil leakage through the decks) was never really solved and
continued to plague at least one Battle right up until she finally paid
off in 1962.
There was also considerable argument about
the benefit of fitting the ships with torpedo
tubes. The Assistant Chief of Naval Construction was particularly
sceptical, and felt that torpedoes on destroyers would be of doubtful
value against major surface vessels. In his view, a single, powered
mounting would be adequate. His case was not accepted, however, and
two quadruple mounts were specified. He continued to be sceptical
of the design of the new ships, considering them too large of A/S screen
work, or for operations in narrow waters, and under-armed for surface ship
action.
The first orders were placed in mid 1942, for
sixteen ships, and in 1943 a further 21 were ordered. Some of these were
fitted as flotilla leaders (possible the last class of destroyers to include
them), with extra accommodation for the Captain (D)'s staff - making them
even more cramped than the original design intended.
|
BUILDER
|
SHIP |
DATE |
| Cammel Laird |
Hogue
Lagos
Gravelines
Sluys |
21. 4.44
4. 8.44
30.11.44
28. 2.45 |
| Clydebank |
Barrosa
Matapan |
Jan. 45
30.4.45 |
| Fairfield |
Camperdown
Finisterre
Cadiz
St. James (L)
Vigo |
8.2.44
22.6.44
16.9.44
7.6.45
27.9.45 |
| Hawthorn Leslie |
Armada (L)
Solebay(L)
Saintes (L)
Agincourt (L)
Alamein (L) |
9.12.43
22.2.44
19.7.44
Jan. 45
28.5.45 |
| Alex Stephen |
Dunkirk
Jutland (L) |
27.8.45
20.2.45 |
| Swan Hunter |
Barfleur
Trafalgar (L)
St. Kitts
Gabbard
Corunna |
1.11.43
12.1.44
4.10.44
15.3.45
29.5.45 |
| Vickers Armstrong |
Aisne |
12.5.45 |
| Note: (L) denotes ships fitted
as flotilla leaders. |
Sixteen further ships were cancelled before
completion, four of them after they had been launched.
The design generally met the approval of ship's
officers. They were liked for being steady ships (they were among
the first destroyers to be fitted with stabilizers), with very little vibration,
good sea-keeping and handling qualities. However, there were criticisms.
The original design had been built around the standard accommodation calculation
of 21" hanging space per man for hammocks, and 24" seating space. 
It was based on a complement of 250 - 288 "at a squeeze" in peacetime
and 338 wartime - but the average peacetime complement was around 280 -
290. This led to some overcrowding on the mess decks, particularly
when additional equipment was fitted in later years. The situation
was not helped by the fact that there was no stowage space for foul weather
gear or by the cluttering of mess decks with pipes, pumps, and other machinery.
From personal experience, these problems were never solved - anyone who
occupied the for'd mess deck, immediately under the capstan, will remember
the capstan gear protruding down from the deckhead, the constant dripping
of water and lubricant, and the mess deck becoming fogbound whenever steam
was put on the capstan. (Just writing about it brings back the smell and
taste).
There were no laundry or drying facilities
(even in 1960 the second thing one acquired on joining a "Battle" was a
galvanized dhoby bucket - the first was a sink plug). 
Bathroom facilities were poor - 10-12 men for each wash-basin, and
one shower between 60 men. There was also a major design fault in
the location of mess decks - one commanding officer pointed out that a
torpedo hit between 48 and 58 frames would result in the loss of "all Chief
Petty Officers, Stoker Petty officers, and Engineroom Artificers off watch".
In some ships, Petty Officers had their quarters for'd but their messes
aft - and the only way to reach the after mess decks was along the upper
deck or, particularly in bad weather, the catwalk connecting the
tops of the deck-houses. Since in rough seas the upper deck became
dangerous, even with lifelines rigged, this was far from satisfactory.
The main criticism was that they were under-gunned.
Admiral Lord Cunningham of Hyndhope took passage in Solebay from Liverpool
and thought her a fine enough ship "which seemed to carry every mortal
weapon and gadget except guns". He noted at the time "We must get
back to destroyers of reasonable size and well gunned".
The ships were generally supposed to have be
intended for service in the Pacific, but I find this questionable.
The plans called for arctic fittings, and they lacked adequate climate
control or water coolers. Improvements were eventually made, but
they were always uncomfortable in hot climates. Only one ship (BARFLEUR)
reached the Pacific before V.J. Day. She joined Task Force 57 (the
British Pacific fleet) and saw some action. On V.J. day others were
already en-route in the Mediterranean. ARMADA, TRAFALGAR, and CAMPERDOWN
continued out to the Far East to join up with BARFLEUR to form the 19th
Destroyer flotilla, and were shortly joined by HOGUE and LAGOS.
SOLEBAY
and FINISTERRE were returned to the Home Fleet.
Of the remaining ships, GRAVELINES went
straight into Reserve in 1946 after completion, and MATAPAN was put into
Reserve in 1947 immediately on completion of trials and before commissioning
.
In
1959 work commenced on converting four of the ships (CORUNNA, AGINCOURT,
AISNE, and BARROSA) to radar pickets. This involved major
rebuilding, with the installation of a large lattice radar mast, remodelling
of the after superstructure, removal of the secondary armament and installation
of a Seacat missile launcher. These four ships remained operational
until the late 1960's. However, a few Battles continued to serve
with foreign navies, and the ex-SLUYS was believed to have still been afloat
with the Iranian Navy until the mid 1990's - a life span of nearly 50 years.
The
longest serving Battle in the Royal Navy was, however, HMS MATAPAN.
Placed in reserve in 1947, before being commissioned, she was to languish
for 23 years before being towed to Portsmouth in 1970 for conversion to
become a Sonar Trials Ship. The conversion was so extensive that
only the hull and engines or the original design remained. Once converted,
she entered service for the first time in 1973 - some 26 years after first
completion, and 10 years after the last of her sister ships in the RN had
decommissioned. She continue to serve, attached to AUWE Portland,
until 1978, when she was finally paid off.
The disposal of MATAPAN in 1979 was the closing
curtain on a class of ships which had first entered service 34 years before,
had suffered the ups-and-downs of various defence cuts and policy changes,
and had provided the core of the Royal Navy's destroyer strength during
the late 1950's and early 1960's. They came too late to be tested
in war, and at a time when the needs of the fleet were changing.
They were under-gunned at a time when guns were the main armament of surface
ships, and were unsuited to anti-submarine work. They were, however,
considered by many to be the last of the RN destroyers with classic
warship lines. To many, the were indeed the Beautiful Battles.
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