G AND H CLASS DESTROYER

The 'G and H class destroyers' were a class of twenty-four destroyers of the Royal Navy (two later transferred to the Royal Canadian Navy and one to the Polish Navy) launched in 1935–1939. They served in World War II and seventeen were lost. Other ships were built for the navies of Argentina, Brazil, and Greece.

Contents

General characteristics

Royal Navy ships

G class

H class

''Havant'' class

Argentinian ships

Acre class (Brazil)

Sources and references

External links

General characteristics

''Source Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922-1946''

★ Displacement: 1,340 tons standard, 1980 tons deep load

★ Length: 323 ft (98 m)

★ Beam:

★ Draught: 12 ft 5 inch (13 ft 4 inch deep load)

★ Complement: 145 men

★ Armament:

★
★ four 4.7 inch (120 mm) guns,

★
★ eight 0.5 inch (12.7 mm) AA machine guns,

★
★ eight 21 inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes,

★
★ 45 depth charges.

★
★ Later during the war some ships were modified as escort destroyers with fewer guns and the Hedgehog anti-submarine mortar. The ex-Brazilian ships had only three guns but carried 110 depth charges.

★ Speed: 36 knots (70 km/h)

★ Propulsion: Parsons geared turbines, 2 shafts, 3 boilers, 34,000 hp (30 MW)

★ '''Grenville''' and '''Hardy''' were built as destroyer leaders or flotilla flagships and were somewhat larger.

★ Displacement: 1456 tons standard

★ Length:

★ Armament: five guns in single mountings
Other details as rest of the class

Royal Navy ships

G class

Ship	Pennant number	Builder	Launched	Fate
''Gallant'',	H59	Stephen	26 September 1935,	Constructive total loss after striking a mine near Malta on 20 January 1941.
''Garland'',	H37	Fairfield, Govan	24 October 1935.	Transferred to the Polish Navy as ORP ''Garland'' in 1940. Post war transferred to Dutch navy and scrapped in 1964
''Gipsy'',	H63	Fairfield, Govan	7 November 1935	sunk by a mine near Harwich on 21 November 1939.
''Glowworm''	H92	Thornycroft,	22 July 1935	sunk while ramming the German cruiser ''Admiral Hipper'' on 8 April 1940.
''Grafton'',	H89	Thornycroft	18 September 1935,	Sunk by U 69 on 29 May 1940
''Grenade''	H86	Stephen	12 November 1935	sunk by air attack at Dunkirk on 29 May 1940.
''Grenville''	H03	Yarrow	15 August 1935,	sunk by a mine on 19 January 1940.
''Greyhound'',	H05	Vickers-Armstrong, Barrow	15 August 1935	sunk by German dive-bombers in the Battle of Crete on 22 May 1941.
''Griffin'',	H31	Vickers-Armstrong, Barrow	15 August 1935.	Transferred to the Canada as HMCS ''Ottawa''.

H class

''Hero'' and ''Hereward'' introduced a new design of bridge that was to become standard on all Royal Navy fleet destroyers from the "''I''" class to the "Battle" class of 1944. This was necessary as ''Hereward'' carried a prototype 4.7 in mounting CP Mark XIX that was to be fitted to the "Tribal" and "''J'', ''K'' and ''N'' classes. This weapon had a trunion height 13 inches taller than the previous single mount CP Mark XVIII, therefore it was necessary to raise the wheelhouse in order that the helmsman had a forward field of view. As a result, the armoured wheelhouse was raised and placed forward of, rather than below, the bridge. This resulted in a characteristic "wedge" shape, with a sloping roof to give the bridge a view of the fo'c'sle.

Ship	Pennant number	Builder	Launched	Fate
''Hardy''	(H87) Flotilla Leader	Cammell Laird, Birkinhead	7 April 1936	Sunk by gunfire from German destroyer ''Georg Thiele'' on 10 April 1940 in the First battle of Narvik.
''Hasty'',	H24	Denny	5 May 1936	torpedoed by the German motor torpedo boat ''S-55'' on 14 June 1942, sunk near Derna by ''Hotspur'' on 15 June 1942.
''Havock'',	H43	Denny	7 July 1936,	grounded near Kelibia, Tunisia and scuttled on 6 April 1942.
''Hereward'',	H93	Vickers Armstrong, Tyne	10 March 1936,	sunk by German Ju 87 dive-bombers near Plaka, Crete on 29 May 1941.
''Hero'',	H99	Vickers Armstrong, Tyne	10 March 1936	Transferred to the Royal Canadian Navy as HMCS ''Chaudiere''.
''Hostile'',	H55	Scotts	24 January 1936	damaged by a mine on 23 August 1940 and sunk by ''Hero''.
★ ''Hotspur''	H01	Scotts	23 March 1936.	Sold to the Dominican Republic's Navy 1949
★ ''Hunter''	H35	Swan Hunter, Tyne	25 February 1936,	sunk by German destroyers on 10 April 1940 in the battle of Narvik.
''Hyperion'',	H97	Swan Hunter, Tyne	8 April 1936,	sunk by a mine near Pantelleria on 22 December 1940.

''Havant'' class

These six ships were ordered by the Brazilian Navy but on the outbreak of World War II they were requisitioned by the Royal Navy. They are usually included with the H class.

Ship	Pennant Number	Builder	Launched	Fate
''Harvester'', formerly ''Handy'', originally ''Jurua''	H19	Vickers Armstrong, Barrow	29 September 1939	Sunk by ''U-432'' on 11 March 1943.
''Havant'', originally ''Javary''	H32	J. Samuel White	17 July 1939	Damaged by air attack during the battle of Dunkirk on 1 June 1940 and sunk by HMS ''Saltash''
''Havelock'', originally ''Jutahy''	H88	J. Samuel White	16 October 1939	broken up 1946
''Hesperus'', formerly ''Hearty'', originally ''Juruena''	H57	Thornycroft	1 August 1939	Broken up 1946
''Highlander'', originally ''Juguaribe''	H44	Thornycroft	19 October 1939.	Broken up in 1947
''Hurricane'', originally ''Japarua''	H06	Vickers Armstrong, Barrow	29 September 1939	sunk by ''U-415'' on 24 December 1943

Argentinian ships

Seven ships were built for the Argentine Navy as the ''Buenos Aires'' class, they were delivered in 1938.

Acre class (Brazil)

Brazil ordered six ''Jarua'' class ships from Britain in 1938. These ships were purchased by Britain on the outbreak of war in 1939 and are described above. The Brazilians decided to produce indigenous destroyers at the ''Ihla das Cobras'' shipyard, Rio de Janeiro, The design was based on the ''H'' class plans supplied by Britain but with guns supplied by the USA. Although laid down in 1940, the ships were not completed until 1949-51.
==Royal Hellenic Navy ships==
Two ships, modified versions of the ''G'' class, were built for the Greeks.

★ ''Vasilefs Georgios'': Named after King George I, she served with the RHN during the Greco-Italian War. Damaged by German aircraft, she managed to reach the Salamis Navy Yard and was put in drydock for repairs, where after further damage during German air attacks, she was finally scuttled to prevent capture. The Germans raised and repaired her and she was commissioned into the Kriegsmarine as ''Hermes'' (ZG3) on 21 March 1942. ''Hermes'' was heavily damaged off Cape Bon on 30 April 1943 and scuttled on 7 May 1943.

★ ''Vasilissa Olga'': Named after Queen Olga, she served with the RHN during the Greco-Italian War. Along with other ships, escaped to Alexandria in May 1941 and joined the Allied forces. She was lost to German aircraft while anchored in Lakki Bay, Leros on 26 September 1943.
Two further ships, the ''Vasilefs Konstantinos'' and ''Vasilissa Sofia'', named after King Constantine I and Queen Sofia respectively, were to be built in Greece, but construction halted due to the outbreak of the Second World War.

Sources and references

★ English, John. ''Amazon to Ivanhoe - British Standard Destroyers of the 1930s''.

★ March, Edgar J. ''British Destroyers, 1892-1953''.

★ Whitley, M J., ''Destroyers of World War Two : An International Encyclopedia'', Arms and Armour Press, 1999, ISBN 1-85409-521-8.

External links