Puneet Varma (Editor)

Sunfish class destroyer

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Name
  
Sunfish class

Preceded by
  
Handy class

Built
  
1894–1896

Operators
  
Royal Navy

Succeeded by
  
Rocket class

Sunfish-class destroyer

Builders
  
Hawthorn Leslie, Hebburn

The Sunfish-class destroyers, also referred to as Opossum-class destroyers, was a group of three torpedo boat destroyers which served with the Royal Navy from the 1890s to the 1920s. They were all built by the Hebburn-on-Tyne shipyard of Hawthorn Leslie.

Contents

Design

Powered by 8 Yarrow boilers, this was the same 8 boiler configuration originally used on HMS Hornet. The ships produced 4,000 hp (3,000 kW) and could make 27 knots (50 km/h; 31 mph). They were armed with one twelve pounder gun and two torpedo tubes and carried a complement of 53 officers and men.

History

Ordered under the 1893-94 Programme, the contract was placed on 7 February 1894. All three "turtle-back" destroyers were laid down in 1894, launched in 1895 and completed in 1896.

In 1912 all three, like the other surviving 27-knotter destroyers, were re-classed as A-class destroyers. They served in Home waters throughout the First World War, and all three were sold for breaking up in 1920.

Ships in class

  • HMS Sunfish
  • HMS Opossum
  • HMS Ranger
  • References

    Sunfish-class destroyer Wikipedia