G-class destroyer (1944)
{{For|the G-class Royal Navy destroyers produced in the 1930s|G and H-class destroyer}}
{{more citations needed|date=January 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}}
| {{Infobox ship begin |sclass=2}}
{{Infobox ship class overview |Builders= |Operators={{navy|United Kingdom}} |Class before= |Class after= |Subclasses= |Built range= |In commission range= |Total ships building= |Total ships planned=8 |Total ships completed= |Total ships cancelled=8 |Total ships active= |Total ships laid up= |Total ships lost= |Total ships retired= |Total ships preserved= }} {{Infobox ship characteristics |Hide header= |Ship type=Destroyer |Ship displacement=*{{convert|1995|LT|t|0|abbr=on}} standard
|Ship length={{convert|365|ft|m|2|abbr=on}} o/a |Ship beam={{convert|39|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on}} |Ship draught={{convert|14|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on}} |Ship propulsion= geared steam turbines, {{convert|40000|shp|abbr=on}} on 2 shafts |Ship speed={{convert|33.75|kn|abbr=on}} |Ship range= |Ship complement= |Ship sensors= |Ship EW= |Ship armament=*4 × QF 4.5-inch Mk I – V naval guns DP
|Ship armour= |Ship aircraft= |Ship aircraft facilities= |Ship notes= }} |
The G-class destroyers were a proposed class of eight destroyers of the Royal Navy ordered during the Second World War under the 1944 Programme. Two were ordered (from Yarrow) on 24 July 1944, and six more on 30 August 1944, but all were cancelled on 13 December 1945, after the end of the war.
The class was to be an improvement on the {{sclass2|Weapon|destroyer|4}}. It has been referred to as the Gael class or Gallant class of destroyers.
Design
The G-class destroyers were proposed for the Royal Navy's shipbuilding programme as a follow-on to the Weapon class. Like the Weapons, the G class were meant as a smaller destroyer, capable of being built in facilities that could not manage the larger {{sclass2|Battle|destroyer|5}} or {{sclass|Daring|destroyer (1949)|0}} ships. The major change was to replace the Weapons' main gun armament of six 4-inch guns with four 4.5 inch guns in the new Mk. VI twin mountings.Lenton 1970, p. 79.Whitley 2000, p. 142.
The new class used the same machinery as the Weapon class, arranged in the "unit" system, with two separate boiler rooms and engine rooms, meaning that a single hit was unlikely to cause a total loss of power.Whitley 2000, pp. 141–142. Two Foster Wheeler boilers fed steam at {{convert|400|psi}} and {{convert|750|F}} to a pair of geared steam turbines, generating {{convert|40000|shp|kW}} and driving two propeller shafts. This was intended to give a maximum speed of {{convert|34|kn}}.Lenton 1970, p. 81.{{#tag:ref|Sources differ as to the speed of the G class, ranging from {{convert|33.75|kn}}Gardiner and Chesneau 1980, p. 45. to {{convert|36.75|kn}}.|group=Note}} While the hull, with a length of {{convert|341|ft|6|in|m}} between perpendiculars and {{convert|365|ft|m|2}} overall, was of similar design to that of the Weapons, the design's beam increased from {{convert|38|ft|m|2}} to {{convert|39|ft|6|in|m|2}} to accommodate the greater top-weight of the ships' armament and fire control equipment.
The two dual-purpose (anti-surface and anti-aircraft) 4.5 inch mounts, capable of firing a {{convert|55|lb}} shell to a range of {{convert|20000|yd|m}} (with a maximum altitude in anti-aircraft fire of {{convert|19700|ft|m}}) at a rate of 12 rounds per barrel per minute,Friedman 1997, p. 458. were mounted one forward and one aft. Close in anti-aircraft armament consisted of six Bofors 40 mm guns, with two twin mounts and two single mounts. Ten 21 inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes were fitted, in two quintuple mounts.
Ships
| class="wikitable" |
| Ship
! Pennant number ! Builder ! Laid down ! Launched ! Completed ! Fate |
|---|
| Gael
| G07 | Yarrow | 1944 | | | Cancelled |
| Gallant
| G03 | Yarrow | 1944 | | | Cancelled |
| Gauntlet
| G59 | John I. Thornycroft & Company, Woolston | 1944 | | | Cancelled |
| Guernsey
| G19 | Denny | 1944 | | | Cancelled |
| Glowworm
| G45 | Thornycroft | 1944 | | | Cancelled. ex Gift.This vessel was originally called HMS Gift, but was renamed in October 1945 to HMS Glowworm (G45). Construction was cancelled on 12 December 1945 before completion. |
| Grafton
| G76 | White | 1944 | | | Cancelled |
| Greyhound
| G88 | White | 1944 | | | Cancelled |
| Gift
| G67 | Denny | 1944 | | | Cancelled. ex Glowworm, |
Notes
{{Reflist|group=Note}}
Citations
{{Reflist}}
References
- {{cite book|last=Friedman|first=Norman|title=The Naval Institute Guide to World Naval Weapon Systems 1997–1998|year=1997|publisher=Naval Institute Press|location=Annapolis, Maryland, USA|isbn=1-55750-268-4}}
- {{cite book|last1=Gardiner|first1=Robert|last2=Chesneau|first2=Roger|title=Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946|year=1980|publisher=Conway Maritime Press|location=London|isbn=0-85177-146-7}}
- {{cite book|last=Lenton|first=H. T.|title=Navies of the Second World War: British Fleet & Escort Destroyers Volume Two|year=1970|publisher=Macdonald|location=London|isbn=0-356-03122-5}}
- {{cite book|last=Whitley|first=M.J.|title=Destroyers of World War Two: An International Encyclopedia|year=2000|publisher=Cassell and Co|location=London|isbn=1-85409-521-8}}
- Warships of World War II, Pt 2, HT Lenton and JJ Colledge, Ian Allan 1962?
{{G-class destroyer (1944)}}
{{WWII British ships}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:G-class destroyer (1944)}}