Destroyers
The E class destroyer HMS Esk (H 15) of the Royal Navy. She was lost on 31 Aug 1940.
The destroyer was the most capable and most feared escort vessel the allies possessed early in the war. It was larger and more heavily armed than the destroyer escort and considerably faster. They were also of shallow draught, making it difficult to torpedo them.
The most interesting variant of those were the flush-deckers (or "four-pipers") of WWI vintage that got pulled out of mothballs and 50 of them were sold very expensively to the Royal Navy in 1940. They were ill suited to hunt U-boats due to their age and lack of modern equipment, yet they served all over the North Atlantic.
All Destroyer classes
The list is divided by navy, then ordered by commissioned date of each class (oldest first).
| Commissioned | ||
|---|---|---|
Brazilian Navy | ||
| K (1) | 1922 - 1922 | |
| Marcilio Dias (3) | 1943 - 1943 | |
French Navy | ||
| Bourrasque (13) | 1926 - 1940 | |
| L'Adroit (14) | 1928 - 1931 | |
| Le Hardi (8) | 1940 - 1940 | |
Royal Canadian Navy | ||
| C (4) | 1937 - 1938 | |
Royal Navy | ||
| Admiralty V & W (42) | 1917 - 1933 | |
| Admiralty R (1) | 1917 - 1917 | |
| Admiralty S (11) | 1918 - 1924 | |
| Admiralty Leader (6) | 1918 - 1933 | |
| Admiralty Modified W (16) | 1919 - 1924 | |
| Shakespeare (3) | 1919 - 1925 | |
| Prototype (2) | 1927 - 1927 | |
| A (11) | 1930 - 1931 | |
| B (8) | 1931 - 1931 | |
| D (7) | 1932 - 1933 | |
| E (7) | 1934 - 1934 | |
| F (7) | 1934 - 1935 | |
| H (8) | 1936 - 1937 | |
| G (7) | 1936 - 1936 | |
| I (11) | 1937 - 1942 | |
| Tribal (27) | 1938 - 1948 | |
| J (8) | 1939 - 1939 | |
| K (8) | 1939 - 1939 | |
| Havant (6) | 1939 - 1940 | |
| L (8) | 1940 - 1942 | |
| O (8) | 1941 - 1942 | |
| P (8) | 1941 - 1942 | |
| M (7) | 1941 - 1943 | |
| R (8) | 1942 - 1943 | |
| Q (6) | 1942 - 1943 | |
| T (8) | 1943 - 1944 | |
| U (8) | 1943 - 1944 | |
| W (8) | 1943 - 1944 | |
| S (6) | 1943 - 1943 | |
| V (6) | 1943 - 1944 | |
| Battle (18) | 1944 - 1951 | |
| Ca (8) | 1944 - 1945 | |
| Z (8) | 1944 - 1944 | |
| Ch (8) | 1945 - 1946 | |
| Co (8) | 1945 - 1946 | |
| Cr (8) | 1945 - 1947 | |
Royal Dutch Navy | ||
| Admiralen (8) | 1928 - 1931 | |
| Gerard Callenburgh (1) | 1941 - 1941 | |
Royal Norwegian Navy | ||
| Sleipner (4) | 1937 - 1939 | |
Italian Navy | ||
| Carlo Mirabello (1) | 1917 - 1917 | |
| Turbine (1) | 1927 - 1927 | |
| Navigatori (1) | 1930 - 1930 | |
| Maestrale (1) | 1934 - 1934 | |
| Oriani (1) | 1937 - 1937 | |
| Soldati (1st series) (4) | 1938 - 1939 | |
| Soldati (2nd series) (3) | 1942 - 1942 | |
Polish Navy | ||
| Wicher (2) | 1930 - 1932 | |
| Grom (2) | 1937 - 1937 | |
Royal Hellenic Navy | ||
| Aetos (4) | 1912 - 1912 | |
| Vasilefs Georgios (2) | 1939 - 1939 | |
US Navy | ||
| Caldwell (1) | 1917 - 1917 | |
| Sampson (1) | 1917 - 1917 | |
| Wickes (52) | 1918 - 1920 | |
| Clemson (68) | 1919 - 1922 | |
| Farragut (8) | 1934 - 1935 | |
| Mahan (18) | 1936 - 1937 | |
| Porter (8) | 1936 - 1937 | |
| Bagley (8) | 1937 - 1937 | |
| Somers (5) | 1937 - 1939 | |
| Gridley (4) | 1937 - 1938 | |
| Sims (12) | 1939 - 1940 | |
| Benham (10) | 1939 - 1939 | |
| Benson / Gleaves (24) | 1940 - 1941 | |
| Bristol (72) | 1941 - 1943 | |
| Fletcher (175) | 1942 - 1945 | |
| Allen M. Sumner (70) | 1943 - 1946 | |
| Gearing (98) | 1944 - 1952 | |
Soviet Navy | ||
| Project 7 (28) | 1938 - 1942 | |
74 ship classes.
Please note that we list the classes by navies that initiated/owned the class.
Often vessels of certain classes were then built for other nations (or lent), those ships are not visible here but only through the navies pages or by looking into each class.
War losses: Destroyers
277 Destroyers lost. See all Allied Warship losses.
 The last stand of the tin can sailors Hornfischer, James D. |
Books dealing with this subject include:
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