List of destroyer classes of the Royal Navy

This is a list of destroyer classes of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom, organised chronologically by entry into service.

For further information on naming conventions, please see the article naming conventions for destroyers of the Royal Navy

Ships of the Royal Navy

A – B – C – D – E – F – G H – I – J – K – L – M – N O – P – Q – R – S – T – U V – W – X – Y – Z

fleet aircraft carriers

escort aircraft carriers

seaplane carriers

amphibious assault shipping

battlecruisers

dreadnought battleships

pre-dreadnought battleships

ironclads

bomb vessels

corvettes and sloops

cruisers

destroyers

fireships

frigates

gun-brigs, gunboats & gunvessels

mine countermeasure vessels

monitors

patrol and attack craft

royal yachts

ships of the line

submarines

support ships

survey vessels

shore establishments

hospitals and hospital ships

air stations

aircraft wings

fleets and major commands

squadrons and flotillas

early English ships • early Scots ships

Torpedo Boat Destroyers

In 1913, the surviving members of the large heterogeneous array of older 27-knot and 30-knot Torpedo Boat Destroyer types (all six of the original 26-knot ships had been disposed of by the end of 1912) were organised into the A, B, C and D classes according to their design speed and the number of funnels they possessed. All were of a turtleback design and, excepting a few "builder's specials", powered by reciprocating engines. It should be stressed that these classes did not exist before 1913, and only applied to those "turtle-backed" destroyers surviving to that time.

• A class; (26-knot and 27-knot classes)
• "26-knotter" type
  • Daring class — 2 ships, 1893–1894
  • Havock class — 2 ships, 1893
  • Ferret class — 2 ships, 1893–1894
• "27-knotter" type
  • Ardent class — 3 ships, 1894–1895
  • Charger class — 3 ships, 1894
  • Hardy class — 2 ships, 1895
  • Janus class — 3 ships, 1895
  • Salmon class — 2 ships, 1895
  • Banshee class — 3 ships, 1894
  • Fervent class — 2 ships, 1895
  • Conflict class — 3 ships, 1894–1895
  • Handy class — 3 ships, 1895
  • Sunfish class — 3 ships, 1895
  • Rocket class — 3 ships, 1894
  • Sturgeon class — 3 ships, 1894–1895
  • Swordfish class — 2 ships, 1895
  • Zebra class — 1 ship, 1895

• B class (4-funnelled, 30-knot classes)
  • Quail class — 4 ships, 1895
  • Earnest class — 6 ships, 1896–1897
  • Spiteful class — 2 ships, 1899
  • Myrmidon class — 2 ships, 1900

• C class (3-funnelled, 30-knot classes)
  • Star class — 6 ships, 1896–1897
  • Avon class — 3 ships, 1896–1897
  • Brazen class — 4 ships, 1896–1898
  • Violet class — 2 ships, 1897
  • Mermaid class — 2 ships, 1897–1898
  • Gipsy class — 3 ships, 1897
  • Bullfinch class — 3 ships, 1898
  • Fawn class — 6 ships, 1897–1899
  • Falcon class — 2 ships, 1899–1900
  • Greyhound class — 3 ships, 1900–1901
  • Thorn class — 3 ships, purchased 1901
  • Hawthorn special type — 2 ships, 1899, steam turbine specials
  • Thornycroft special — 1 ship, 1898
  • Armstrong-Whitworth special, — 1 ship, 1900

• D class; (2-funnelled, 30-knot classes) Unlike the A, B and C classes, the D class comprised a series of similar ships built by one contractor (Thornycroft), although there were small variations between the batches ordered in each year.
  • 1893-94 Programme — 4 ships, 1896
  • 1894-95 Programme — 2 ships, 1897
  • 1895-96 Programme — 3 ships, 1897–1898
  • 1896-97 Programme (special type) — 1 ship, 1899

• Taku type — 1 ship, 1900, ex-Chinese prize

Conventional destroyers

In 1913, lettered names were given to all Royal Navy destroyers, previously known after the first ship of that class. The River or E class of 1913 were the first destroyers of the Royal Navy with a recognisable modern configuration.

• River or E class — 33 ships, 1903–1905
• Tribal or F class — 13 ships, 1907–1909
• Beagle or G class — 16 ships, 1909–1910
• Acorn or H class — 20 ships, 1910–1911
• Acheron or I class — 23 ships, 1910–1915
• Acasta or K class — 20 ships, 1912–1913
• Swift type — 1 ship, 1907, large leader prototype
• Laforey or L class — 22 ships, 1913–1915
• Arno type — 1 ship, 1914, ex-Portuguese purchase
• Admiralty M class — 74 ships, 1914–1917
• Hawthorn M class — 2 ships, 1915
• Yarrow M class — 10 ships, 1914–1916
• Thornycroft M class — 6 ships, 1914–1916
• Talisman class — 4 ships, 1914–1916, ex-Turkish purchases
• Medea class — 4 ships, 1915, ex-Greek purchases
• Faulknor class leader — 4 ships, 1914, ex-Chilean purchases
• Marksman class leader — 7 ships, 1915–1916
• Parker class leader — 6 ships, 1916–1917
• Admiralty R class — 39 ships, 1916–1917
• Yarrow Later M class — 7 ships, 1916–1917
• Thornycroft R class — 5 ships, 1916–1917
• Admiralty modified R class — 11 ships, 1916–1917
• Admiralty S class — 55 ships, 1916–1924
• Yarrow S class — 7 ships, 1917–1919
• Thornycroft S class — 5 ships, 1917–1919
• Admiralty V class — 28 ships, 1916–1918
• Admiralty W class — 19 ships, 1916–1918
• Thornycroft V and W class — 4 ships, 1918
• Thornycroft modified W class — 2 ships, 1918–1924
• Admiralty modified W class — 15 ships, 1918–1922
• Admiralty type leader — 8 ships, 1917–1919
• Thornycroft type leader or Shakespeare class — 5 ships, 1917–1921

• Inter-war standard classes
• Ambuscade type — 1 ship, 1926, Yarrow prototype of new design.
• Amazon type — 1 ship, 1926, Thornycroft prototype of new design.
  • A class — 9 ships, 1928–1931
  • B class — 9 ships, 1929–1931
  • C class — 5 ships, 1930–1934
  • D class — 9 ships, 1931–1933
  • E class — 9 ships, 1933–1934
  • F class — 9 ships, 1933–1935
  • G class — 9 ships, 1934–1936
  • H class — 9 ships, 1935–1937
    • ex-Brazilian H class — 6 ships, 1938–1940, ex-Brazilian purchases
  • I class — 9 ships, 1936–1937
    • ex-Turkish I class — 2 ships, 1939–1941, ex-Turkish purchases
• Tribal class — 27 ships, 1936–1944
• J, K and N class — 24 ships, 1938–1941
• Hunt class — 83 ships (20 Type I, 33 Type II, 28 Type III, 2 Type IV), 1939–1942, "escort destroyers"
• L and M class — 16 ships, 1939–42
• Town class — 50 ships from three classes of United States Navy destroyers, built 1917–1920, transferred 1940

• World War II War Emergency Programme classes
  • O and P class — 16 ships, 1941–1942
  • Q and R class — 16 ships, 1941–1942
  • S and T class — 16 ships, 1942–1943
  • U and V class — 16 ships, 1942–1943
  • W and Z class — 16 ships, 1943–1944
  • C class — 32 ships, (8 Ca-, 8 Ch-, 8 Co-, 8 Cr-), 1943–1945

• Battle class — 23 ships (16 Group I, 7 Group II), 1943–1946
• Weapon class — 4 ships, 1945–1946
• Daring class — 8 ships, 1949–1952

Guided-missile destroyers

• County class — 8 ships (4 Batch I, 4 Batch II), 1961–1967
• Type 82 — 1 ship, 1969
• Type 42 — 14 ships (6 Sheffield, 4 Exeter, 4 Manchester), 1971–1983
• Type 45 — 6 ships, scheduled for commissioning 2009–2014

See also

• List of destroyer classes