List of torpedo boat classes of the Royal Navy
This is a list of torpedo boat classes of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom, organised chronologically by entry into service. This article's coverage is restricted to the steam-powered torpedo boats built for or acquired by the British Navy between 1876 (the date on which the Admiralty ordered the first torpedo boat to carry the self-propelled Whitehead torpedo) and 1905; the final batch of 36 steam-turbine-powered torpedo boats from 1906 to 1908 were originally rated as coastal destroyers and will be found under Cricket-class destroyers, while later torpedo boats introduced during World War 1, powered by internal combustion engines, will be found under Motor Torpedo Boats.
Torpedo boats
[edit]Ever since the first use of spar torpedoes in the American Civil War and the Russo-Turkish War (1877–78), the world's sea powers continued to refine the small torpedo craft concept to employ the new automobile torpedoes (Whitehead torpedoes) that could continue the legacy of small and relatively inexpensive vessels able to challenge much larger vessels. The Royal Navy purchased 1st and 2nd class torpedo boats for offensive and defensive combat roles, respectively.
Later – especially to counter the French automobile defense – the British Navy primarily ordered torpedo boat catchers (or torpedo gunboats), which proved too slow for the task of dealing with torpedo boats, and subsequently torpedo boat destroyers (TBDs) - or destroyers as they soon became called.
1st class torpedo boats
[edit]First class torpedo boats were designed for independent inshore operations. They were small, but large enough to patrol coastal waters and enjoy some limited endurance beyond their supporting port or tender. Nevertheless, they were found to be deployed overseas - notably to the Mediterranean - and eventually worldwide.
Lightning-design
[edit]- John I. Thornycroft & Company, Chiswick. The first torpedo boat, TB.1 (originally called Lightning), was ordered on 26 January 1876 and underwent trials on 22 May 1877; her dimensions were slightly different from her successors (TB.2 - TB.12) which were all ordered on 3 October 1877 and notably deleted the coach roof of the prototype.
Number | Builder[1] | Yard No.[2] |
Launched | Disposal |
---|---|---|---|---|
TB.1 | Thornycroft | 47 | 1877 | Sold for scrap 1896 |
TB.2 | Thornycroft | 71 | 1878 | Sold for scrap 1897 |
TB.3 | Thornycroft | 72 | 1878 | Sold for scrap by 1906 |
TB.4 | Thornycroft | 73 | 1879 | Sold for merchant use 1905, renamed Rocket |
TB.5 | Thornycroft | 74 | 1879 | Sold for scrap 1897 |
TB.6 | Thornycroft | 75 | 1879 | Sold for scrap 1906 at Capetown |
TB.7 | Thornycroft | 76 | 1879 | Sold for merchant use 1904, renamed Mosquito |
TB.8 | Thornycroft | 77 | 1879 | Sold for scrap 1903 at Hong Kong |
TB.9 | Thornycroft | 78 | 1879 | Sold for scrap 1900 at Malta |
TB.10 | Thornycroft | 79 | 1879 | Sold for scrap 1904 at Malta |
TB.11 | Thornycroft | 80 | 1880 | Sold for scrap 1904 |
TB.12 | Thornycroft | 81 | 1880 | Sold for scrap 1904 |
- Maudslay, Sons and Field, Lambeth
- TB.13
- Yarrow & Company, Poplar
- TB.14
- Hanna, Donald & Wilson, Paisley
- TB.15
- Stephen Lewin, Poole
- TB.16 – not taken into service
- Yarrow & Company, Limited
These two boats were ordered for Russia, but were purchased by the British Admiralty during the Russo-Turkish war scare.
Number | Builder | Yard No. |
Launched | Disposal |
---|---|---|---|---|
TB.17 | Yarrow | 419 | 1878 | Sold for scrap in 1907 at Malta |
TB.18 | Yarrow | 420 | 1878 | Sold for scrap in 1902 at Gibraltar |
- J. Samuel White, Cowes
- TB.19
- G. & J. Rennie, Paisley
- TB.20
- Des Vignes, Chertsey
- TB.21 – not accepted from RN because of lack of performance; the number was thus re-used for the first of the 113-footer group.
113-Footers
[edit]On 10 December 1883 the Admiralty wrote both to John I. Thornycroft & Company and to Yarrow & Company asking them to tender for one or more improved First Class torpedo boats.
TB.21 class
[edit]on 21 December 1883 Thornycroft replied forwarding their design HO 1992 and the specification in accordance with the Admiralty's letter. The dimensions were similar to those of the Sookhoun (Yard number 167, built 1882 for the Imperial Russian Navy) and the Childers (Yard number 172, built 1882 for the Victorian Government in Australia). Two boats were ordered by the Admiralty on 19 January 1884 for delivery in 9 and 10 months respectively. They ran trials on 30 April and 25 May 1885 respectively.
Number | Builder | Yard No. |
Launched | Disposal |
---|---|---|---|---|
TB.21 | Thornycroft | 201 | 18 March 1885 | Sold for scrap in 1907 at Malta |
TB.22 | Thornycroft | 202 | 5 May 1885 | Sold for scrap in 1907 at Malta |
TB.23 class
[edit]The Admiralty similarly placed orders with Yarrow for two boats (built at Poplar).
Number | Builder | Yard No. |
Launched | Disposal |
---|---|---|---|---|
TB.23 | Yarrow | 666 | 1886 | Sold for scrap in 1905 |
TB.24 | Yarrow | 667 | 1886 | Sold for scrap in 1904 |
125-Footers
[edit]All 53 boats of this group (TB.25 to TB.79, excluding TB.39 and TB.40) carried 5 x 14-in torpedo tubes (one bow tube plus two pairs of deck tubes) and a complement of 16. Alternatively they could carry a gun armament of two 3-pounders and four MGs in lieu of the deck tubes. The bow tubes were later removed.
TB.25 class
[edit]Class overview | |
---|---|
Builders | Thornycroft |
Completed | 25 |
Lost | 3 |
Scrapped | 22 |
General characteristics [3] | |
Displacement |
|
Length | 125 ft (38.10 m) pp |
Beam | 12 ft 6 in (3.81 m) |
Draught | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
Propulsion | 700 ihp (520 kW) |
Speed | 20.25 kn (37.50 km/h; 23.30 mph) |
Complement | 16 |
Armament |
|
The first of these boats was ordered from Thornycroft on 24 February 1885, and another four boats were ordered on 30/31 March 1885.
Number | Builder | Yard No. |
Launched | Disposal |
---|---|---|---|---|
TB.25 | Thornycroft | 212 | 7 October 1885 | Sold for scrap October 1919 |
TB.26 | Thornycroft | 218 | 22 October 1885 | Sold for scrap 2 October 1919 |
TB.27 | Thornycroft | 219 | 26 October 1885 | Sold for scrap 2 October 1919 |
TB.28 | Thornycroft | 220 | 7 November 1885 | Expended as a target at Cape Town in 1898 |
TB.29 | Thornycroft | 221 | 19 November 1885 | Sold for scrap at Cape Town 1 July 1919 |
TB.30 class
[edit]- Yarrow & Company, Limited (1885–86)
These four boats were ordered on 30/31 March 1885.
Number | Builder | Yard No. |
Completed | Disposal |
---|---|---|---|---|
TB.30 | Yarrow | 708 | 1886 | Sold for scrap ca. 1905 |
TB.31 | Yarrow | 709 | 1886 | Sold for scrap 1913 |
TB.32 | Yarrow | 710 | 1886 | Sold for scrap ca. 1905 |
TB.33 | Yarrow | 711 | 1886 | Sold for scrap 1 August 1919 |
TB.34 class
[edit]- J. Samuel White (1885–87). Based on White's TB.19 with "turnabout" stern but enlarged and built with more beam than the Thornycroft and Yarrow boats. All five took part in the 1887 Naval Review. TB.34 spent all her life in Home waters, but TB.35 and TB.36 sailed in March 1888 for the China Station, followed later by TB.37 and TB.38; these four spent all their lives on this station and were eventually sold together at Hong Kong in 1919.
Number | Builder[1] | Yard No.[4] |
Completed | Disposal |
---|---|---|---|---|
TB.34 | White | 683 | August 1886 | Sold for scrap 2 October 1919 |
TB.35 | White | 684 | January 1887 | Sold for scrap 27 November 1919 |
TB.36 | White | 685 | February 1887 | Sold for scrap 27 November 1919 |
TB.37 | White | 686 | February 1887 | Sold for scrap 27 November 1919 |
TB.38 | White | 687 | March 1887 | Sold for scrap 27 November 1919 |
100-Footers (purchases)
[edit]- Yarrow & Company, Limited. These two boats of 40 tons each were ordered for the Chilean Navy as Glaura and Fresia, but were purchased by the British Navy in 1888 and deployed to the West coast of Canada.
Number | Builder | Yard No. |
Completed | Disposal |
---|---|---|---|---|
TB.39 | Yarrow | 511 | 1882 | Sold for scrap 2.1905 at Esquimault |
TB.40 | Yarrow | 525 | 1882 | Sold for scrap 2.1905 at Esquimault |
TB.41 class
[edit]- John I. Thornycroft & Company (1886)
These twenty boats were ordered on 30 April or 1 May 1885, and were identical with the previous four Thornycroft boats.
Number | Builder | Yard No. |
Launched[1] | Disposal |
---|---|---|---|---|
TB.41 | Thornycroft | 222 | 1885 | Sold for scrap 1 August 1919 |
TB.42 | Thornycroft | 223 | 4 December 1885 | Sold for scrap 2 October 1919 |
TB.43 | Thornycroft | 224 | 1885 | Sold for scrap at Malta 18 December 1919 |
TB.44 | Thornycroft | 225 | 1885 | Sold for scrap at Malta 18 December 1919 |
TB.45 | Thornycroft | 226 | 21 December 1885 | Sold for scrap 1 August 1919 |
TB.46 | Thornycroft | 227 | 4 January 1886 | Wrecked 27 December 1915 in Mediterranean, but salved and sold for scrap 1920 |
TB.47 | Thornycroft | 228 | 28 June 1886 | Sold for scrap ca. 1908 |
TB.48 | Thornycroft | 229 | 1886 | Sold for scrap ca. 1915 |
TB.49 | Thornycroft | 230 | 1886 | Sold for scrap 1 August 1919 |
TB.50 | Thornycroft | 231 | 17 June 1886 | Sold for scrap 23 February 1920 |
TB.51 | Thornycroft | 232 | 30 July 1886 | Sold for scrap ca. 1913 |
TB.52 | Thornycroft | 233 | 1886 | Sold for scrap 19 December 1919 |
TB.53 | Thornycroft | 234 | 16 August 1886 | Sold for scrap 1913 |
TB.54 | Thornycroft | 235 | 28 August 1886 | Sold for scrap 1 August 1919 |
TB.55 | Thornycroft | 236 | 29 August 1886 | Sold for scrap 23 February 1920 |
TB.56 | Thornycroft | 237 | 1 October 1886 | Foundered off Damietta 17 May 1906 |
TB.57 | Thornycroft | 238 | 2 October 1886 | Sold for scrap 2 October 1919 |
TB.58 | Thornycroft | 239 | 18 October 1886 | Sold for scrap 19 December 1919 |
TB.59 | Thornycroft | 240 | 11 November 1886 | Sold for scrap ca. 1913 |
TB.60 | Thornycroft | 241 | 10 December 1886 | Sold for scrap at Cape Town 1 July 1919 |
TB.61 class
[edit]This batch was ordered on 30 April or 1 May 1885, one month after the TB.30 to TB.33 batch with which they were identical.
The last two (TB.79 and TB.80) differed in detail and in dimensions; the 75-ton TB.79 was 128ft 8in in oa length; the 105-ton TB.80 was 134ft 9in bp by 14ft beam.
Number | Builder | Yard No. |
Completed | Disposal |
---|---|---|---|---|
TB.61 | Yarrow | 715 | 1886 | Sold for scrap 1909 |
TB.62 | Yarrow | 716 | 1886 | Sold for scrap 1905 |
TB.63 | Yarrow | 717 | September 1886 | Sold for scrap 18 December 1919 at Malta |
TB.64 | Yarrow | 718 | September 1886 | Wrecked 21 March 1915 in the Aegean |
TB.65 | Yarrow | 719 | October 1886 | Sold for scrap 2 October 1919 |
TB.66 | Yarrow | 720 | August 1886 | Sold for scrap 30 June 1920 |
TB.67 | Yarrow | 721 | August 1886 | Sold for scrap 27 January 1920 |
TB.68 | Yarrow | 722 | August 1886 | Sold for scrap 30 June 1920 |
TB.69 | Yarrow | 723 | 1886 | Sold for scrap ca. 1906 |
TB.70 | Yarrow | 724 | August 1886 | Sold for scrap 18 December 1919 at Malta |
TB.71 | Yarrow | 725 | 1886 | Sold for scrap 5 July 1923 |
TB.72 | Yarrow | 726 | July 1886 | Sold for scrap 19 December 1919 |
TB.73 | Yarrow | 727 | 1886 | Sold for scrap 6 February 1923 |
TB.74 | Yarrow | 728 | December 1886 | Sold for scrap 27 January 1920 |
TB.75 | Yarrow | 729 | 1886 | Sunk 8 August 1892 in collision with TB.77. |
TB.76 | Yarrow | 730 | 1886 | Sold for scrap 30 June 1920 |
TB.77 | Yarrow | 731 | August 1886 | Sold for scrap 27 March 1920 |
TB.78 | Yarrow | 732 | January 1887 | Sold for scrap 2 October 1919 |
TB.79 | Yarrow | 733 | December 1886 | Sold for scrap 19 November 1919 |
TB.80 | Yarrow | 748 | May 1887 | Sold for scrap 22 October 1921 |
153-Footer (HMS Swift)
[edit]- J. Samuel White
130-Footers
[edit](ordered under 1887-88 Programme, as repeats of TB.79)
- Yarrow & Company, Limited
Number | Builder | Yard No. |
Completed | Disposal |
---|---|---|---|---|
TB.82 | Yarrow | 800 | June 1889 | Sold for scrap 27 March 1920, then re-sold 22 October 1921. |
TB.83 | Yarrow | 801 | June 1889 | Sold for scrap 12 October 1919 |
TB.84 | Yarrow | 802 | 1889 | Sunk in collision 17 April 1906 with HMS Ardent |
TB.85 | Yarrow | 803 | September 1889 | Sold for scrap 27 March 1920, then re-sold 22 October 1921. |
TB.86 | Yarrow | 803 | September 1889 | Sold for scrap 27 March 1920, then re-sold 22 October 1921. |
TB.87 | Yarrow | 805 | September 1889 | Sold for scrap 27 March 1920. |
140-Footers
[edit]Ten "140-footer" were ordered to four different builders' designs under the 1892-93 Programme. They were built in the same period as the first of the 26-knotter TBDs (torpedo boat destroyers) which rapidly superseded the traditional torpedo boat, and like them carried the new 18-in torpedoes, which marked a step-change both in size and capability. All these vessels were quickly deployed to the Mediterranean and stayed there throughout the rest of their service lives, based primarily on Gibraltar.
TB.88 class
[edit]Number | Builder | Yard No. |
Completed | Disposal |
---|---|---|---|---|
TB.88 | Yarrow | 1894 | Sold for scrap 13 October 1919 | |
TB.89 | Yarrow | 1894 | Sold for scrap 13 October 1919 | |
TB.90 | Yarrow | 1894 | Capsized 25 April 1918 in heavy weather off Gibraltar |
TB.91 class
[edit]These three boats were ordered from John I. Thornycroft & Company on 4 July 1892, exactly one week after the orders were placed for Thornycroft's Daring and Decoy torpedo-boat destroyers, and thus followed them in sequence of Yard numbers.
Number | Builder | Yard No. |
Completed | Disposal |
---|---|---|---|---|
TB.91 | Thornycroft | 289 | 1894 | Sold for scrap 13 October 1919 |
TB.92 | Thornycroft | 290 | 1894 | Sold for scrap 1920 at Gibraltar |
TB.93 | Thornycroft | 291 | 1894 | Sold for scrap 13 October 1919 |
TB.94 class
[edit]- J. Samuel White
Number | Builder | Yard No. |
Launched | Disposal |
---|---|---|---|---|
TB.94 | White | 910 | 27 July 1893 | Sold for scrap 13 October 1919 |
TB.95 | White | 911 | 1894 comp. | Sold for scrap 13 October 1919 |
TB.96 | White | 912 | 1894 comp. | Sunk in collision 1 November 1919 with s.s. Tringa off Gibraltar |
TB.97
[edit]- Laird Brothers, Birkenhead
Number | Builder | Yard No. |
Launched | Disposal |
---|---|---|---|---|
TB.97 | Laird | 16 September 1893 | Sold for scrap 1920 at Gibraltar |
135-Footers
[edit](ex Royal Indian Marine boats, taken over by RN in 1892 and given numbers in 1900 instead of their original names)
- John I. Thornycroft & Company
- TB.100 (ex-Baluchi)
- TB.102 (ex-Karen)
- TB.103 (ex-Pathan)
- Hanna, Donald & Wilson
- TB.101 (ex-Gurkha)
- J. Samuel White
- TB.104 (ex-Mahratta)
- TB.105 (ex-Sikh)
- TB.106 (ex-Rajput)
160-Footers
[edit]The Royal Navy's thirteen 160 Footers comprised three distinct classes, each built to their constructors' own designs.
TB.98 class
[edit]Class overview | |
---|---|
Builders | Thornycroft |
Completed | 4 |
Lost | 0 |
Scrapped | 4 |
General characteristics [3] | |
Displacement |
|
Length | 160 ft (48.77 m) pp |
Beam | 17 ft 0 in (5.18 m) |
Draught | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) |
Propulsion | 3,000 ihp (2,200 kW) |
Speed | 25 kn (46 km/h; 29 mph) |
Complement | 32 |
Armament |
|
These four boats, discontinuously numbered because the seven boats built for the Royal Indian Marine in 1892 were given the numbers 100 to 106, were built by Thornycroft at Chiswick to a common design. The first two (Yard numbers 346 and 347) were ordered on 21 November 1899 under the 1899-1900 Programme and were completed in July 1902. The later pair (Yard numbers 351 and 352) were ordered on 25 April 1900 under the 1900-1901 Programme and were completed in September 1902.
Number | Builder | Launched[1] | Trials [5] | Notes[1] |
---|---|---|---|---|
TB.98 | Thornycroft | 22 January 1901 | 16 May 1901 | Sold for scrap 30 June 1920 |
TB.99 | Thornycroft | early 1901 | 10 June 1901 | Sank 19 June 1907 off Berry Head, but salvaged and returned to service in 1909;[6] Sold for scrap 29 July 1920 |
TB.107 | Thornycroft | 2 July 1901 | 23 September 1901 | Sold for scrap 29 July 1920 |
TB.108 | Thornycroft | 30 August 1901 | 18 November 1901 | Sold for scrap 29 July 1920 |
TB.109 class
[edit]Class overview | |
---|---|
Builders | Thornycroft |
Completed | 5 |
Lost | 0 |
Scrapped | 5 |
General characteristics [3] | |
Displacement |
|
Length | 164 ft 9 in (50.22 m) wl |
Beam | 17 ft 3 in (5.26 m) |
Draught | 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) |
Propulsion | 3,050 ihp (2,270 kW) |
Speed | 25 kn (46 km/h; 29 mph) |
Complement | 32 |
Armament |
|
Five more Thornycroft boats were built under the 1901-02 Programme to a different design, about 7% greater in displacement and being four feet longer than the TB.98 boats. The first four of these boats were ordered from Thornycroft on 11 November 1901, and the fifth on 14 December 1901. Their yard numbers were 359 to 363 respectively.
Number | Builder[1] | Launched[1] | Trials [7] | Disposal[1] |
---|---|---|---|---|
TB.109 | Thornycroft | 22 July 1902 | 18 February 1903 | Sold for scrap 27 March 1920 |
TB.110 | Thornycroft | 5 September 1902 | 20 February 1903 | Sold for scrap 27 March 1920 |
TB.111 | Thornycroft | 31 October 1902 | 24 March 1903 | Sold for scrap 10 February 1920 |
TB.112 | Thornycroft | 15 January 1903 | 23 April 1903 | Sold for scrap 10 February 1920 |
TB.113 | Thornycroft | 12 February 1903 | 7 June 1903 | Sold for scrap 19 December 1919 |
TB.114 class
[edit]Class overview | |
---|---|
Builders | White |
Completed | 4 |
Lost | 1 |
Scrapped | 3 |
General characteristics [3] | |
Displacement |
|
Length | 165 ft 9 in (50.52 m) bp |
Beam | 17 ft 6 in (5.33 m) |
Draught | 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) |
Propulsion | 3,050 ihp (2,270 kW) |
Speed | 25 kn (46 km/h; 29 mph) |
Complement | 32 |
Armament |
|
The remaining four boats, similar in scale to the TB.109 models, were constructed by J. Samuel White at Cowes, and were all commissioned on 3 January 1905.
Number | Builder[1] | Yard No. | Launched[1] | Disposal[1] |
---|---|---|---|---|
TB.114 | J Samuel White | 1155 | 8 June 1903 | Sold for scrap 1919 |
TB.115 | J Samuel White | 1156 | 19 November 1903 | Sold for scrap 1919 |
TB.116 | J Samuel White | 1157 | 21 December 1903 | Sold for scrap 22 October 1921 |
TB.117 | J Samuel White | 1158 | 18 February 1904 | Sunk following collision with merchant vessel ss Kamourska in English Channel 10 June 1917 (3 killed)[8] |
Cricket class
[edit]No further 1st Class torpedo boats were ordered until 1905, when twelve new vessels were projected to meet the needs for coastal defence. Such new torpedo boats were proposed in December 1904 to be vessels not exceeding 165ft in length and 250 tons, carrying two 12-pounder guns and three torpedo tubes, and capable of 26 knots for 8 hours with an endurance of 1,000 nautical miles at 15 knots. Such criteria would have closely paralleled the original 27-knotter torpedo-boat destroyers of 1893-4, although the new type were to have steam turbines and oil fuel, and so the new ships were quickly re-designated as 'coastal destroyers'. Thornycroft, Yarrow and White were invited to tender, and each produced plans for a three-shaft propulsion with an astern turbine on the centre shaft; each project was larger than first required, being between 175ft and 180ft in length. These twelve coastal destroyers, given names rather than simply numbers, were ordered under the 1905-06 Programme to the three builders' own designs. In October 1906 these were re-classified as torpedo boats and their original names were replaced by the numbers TB.1 to TB.12. To avoid confusion with the surviving early 1st Class torpedo boats, those survivors bearing numbers up to TB.79 inclusive were renumbered to include a "0" before the number (e.g. TB.79 became TB.079). Twelve more of these new torpedo boats were ordered in the 1906-07 Programme, to enlarged designs, and a final twelve in the 1907-08 Programme; these were numbered TB.13 to TB.36.
2nd class torpedo boats
[edit]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1a/Torpedo_boat%2C_2nd_class_and_HMS_Hecla_RMG_PU6279.jpg/220px-Torpedo_boat%2C_2nd_class_and_HMS_Hecla_RMG_PU6279.jpg)
These 74 small (generally 60ft to 66ft in length) torpedo boats were to be carried on larger ships or given to dedicated torpedo boat carriers, such as HMS Vulcan and HMS Hecla. With a single (US-built) exception, all were constructed by Thornycroft at Chiswick (45 boats), by Yarrow at Poplar (16 boats) or by White at Cowes (12 boats, with wooden hulls). These boats were designed as harbour defence and coastal boats, but their small size meant their endurance and sea-keeping abilities would be quite modest. Note that their numbering was in a separate sequence from that of the 1st Class boats. Similar boats were built for the naval services of New Zealand (4 boats) and the Australian colonies of Victoria (3 boats), Queensland (2 boats), and Tasmania (1 boat); all of these were built by Thornycroft.
Thornycroft 2nd class orders 1877
[edit]- John I. Thornycroft & Company. 60ft Length overall, and 10.75 tons. Ordered 3 October 1877, completed 1878 (first six) and 1879 (last six). The first four were attached to HMS Hecla after their completion.[9]
Number | Builder | Yard number |
Launched | Disposal |
---|---|---|---|---|
TB.51 | Thornycroft | 82 | October 1878 | Sold for scrap 1907 |
TB.52 | Thornycroft | 83 | October 1878 | Sold for scrap 1904 |
TB.53 | Thornycroft | 84 | September 1878 | Sold for scrap 1904 |
TB.54 | Thornycroft | 85 | October 1878 | Sold for scrap 1904 |
TB.55 | Thornycroft | 86 | December 1878 | Sold for scrap 1902 |
TB.56 | Thornycroft | 87 | December 1878 | Sold for scrap 1904 |
TB.57 | Thornycroft | 88 | June 1879 | Sold for scrap 1904 |
TB.58 | Thornycroft | 89 | February 1879 | Sold for scrap 1902 |
TB.59 | Thornycroft | 90 | February 1879 | Sold for scrap 1902 |
TB.60 | Thornycroft | 91 | June 1879 | Sold for scrap 1902 |
TB.61 | Thornycroft | 92 | September 1879 | Sold for scrap 1902 |
TB.62 | Thornycroft | 93 | September 1879 | Foundered in North America 21 October 1890, in tow of HMS Buzzard |
Herreschoff purchase
[edit]Thornycroft 2nd class orders 1879
[edit]- John I. Thornycroft & Company. An improvement on the previous batch, being 62ft 10in in length and 13 tons. Ordered 27 May 1879 or 11 July 1879, completed 1880 (first two) and 1881-82 (other eight).[10]
Number | Builder | Yard number |
Trial date[11] |
Disposal |
---|---|---|---|---|
TB.64 | Thornycroft | 104 | 16 July 1880 | Sold for scrap ?1907 |
TB.65 | Thornycroft | 105 | 12 July 1880 | Sold for scrap 1907 |
TB.66 | Thornycroft | 106 | 4 January 1882 | Sold for scrap 1905 |
TB.67 | Thornycroft | 107 | 10 January 1882 | Sold for scrap 1905 |
TB.68 | Thornycroft | 108 | 27 February 1882 | Transferred to Newfoundland |
TB.69 | Thornycroft | 109 | 17 October 1881 | Sold for scrap 1906 |
TB.70 | Thornycroft | 110 | 23 August 1881 | Sold for scrap 1906 |
TB.71 | Thornycroft | 111 | 3 March 1882 | Sold for scrap 1909 |
TB.72 | Thornycroft | 112 | 23 February 1881 | Sold for scrap 1898 |
TB.73 | Thornycroft | 113 | 23 February 1881 | Sold for scrap 1905 |
Yarrow & Company TB.74 Class
[edit]Number | Builder | Yard number |
Launched | Disposal |
---|---|---|---|---|
TB.74 | Yarrow | 457 | 1883 | Sold for scrap 1906 |
TB.75 | Yarrow | 456 | 1883 | Sold for scrap 1903 |
Thornycroft 2nd class orders 1880
[edit]- John I. Thornycroft & Company. Ordered 28 February 1880 (contract 3 March 1880). The first two (TB.76 and TB.77) differed from the others by being fitted experimentally with the Herreschoff spiral water tube boiler (first seen in Royal Navy service with 2nd Class TB.63 built by Herreschoff).
Number | Builder | Yard number |
Launch date[12] |
Trial date[13] |
Disposal |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
TB.76 | Thornycroft | 117 | 3 January 1883 | 12 Match 1883 | Sold for scrap 1906 |
TB.77 | Thornycroft | 118 | 24 January 1883 | 10 March 1883 | Sold for scrap 1906 |
TB.78 | Thornycroft | 119 | December 1882 | 9 December 1882 | Sold for scrap 1906 |
TB.79 | Thornycroft | 120 | 16 January 1882 | 21 January 1882 | Sold for scrap 1902 |
TB.80 | Thornycroft | 121 | September 1882 | 20 September 1882 | Sold for scrap 1907 |
TB.81 | Thornycroft | 122 | 5 October 1882 | 27 October 1882 | Sold for scrap 1902 |
TB.82 | Thornycroft | 123 | 17 October 1882 | 27 October 1882 | Sold for scrap 1906 |
TB.83 | Thornycroft | 124 | 11 November 1882 | 7 December 1882 | Sold for scrap 1898 |
TB.84 | Thornycroft | 125 | 24 November 1882 | 8 December 1882 | Sold for scrap 1904 |
TB.85 | Thornycroft | 126 | 17 January 1883 | 5 February 1883 | Sold for scrap by 1912 |
TB.86 | Thornycroft | 127 | 1 February 1883 | 6 February 1883 | Sold for scrap by 1912 |
TB.87 | Thornycroft | 128 | 17 February 1883 | 2 March 1883 | Sold for scrap 1905 |
TB.88 | Thornycroft | 129 | 20 February 1883 | 3 March 1883 | Sold for scrap by 1912 |
TB.89 | Thornycroft | 130 | 2 March 1883 | 13 March 1883 | Sold for scrap 1907 |
TB.90 | Thornycroft | 131 | 3 March 1883 | 8 March 1883 | Sold for scrap 1902 |
TB.91 | Thornycroft | 132 | 9 March 1883 | 14 March 1883 | Sold for scrap 1902 |
TB.92 | Thornycroft | 133 | 4 April 1883 | 10 April 1883 | Sold for scrap 1902 |
TB.93 | Thornycroft | 134 | 5 April 1883 | 11 April 18832 | Sold for scrap 1898 |
TB.94 | Thornycroft | 135 | 18 April 1883 | 23 April 1883 | Sold for scrap 1906 |
TB.95 | Thornycroft | 136 | 20 April 1883 | 25 April 1883 | Sold for scrap 1912 |
Yarrow & Company TB.96 Class
[edit]Number | Builder | Yard number |
Completed | Disposal[14] |
---|---|---|---|---|
TB.96 | Yarrow | 495 | 1883 | Sold for scrap 1906 |
TB.97 | Yarrow | 510 | 1883 | Sold for scrap 1902 |
Thornycroft water-jet propelled 2nd class
[edit]This was an experimental craft designed by Nathaniel Barnaby (when chief naval architect for Thornycroft). Ordered 21 December 1880.[15]
Number | Builder | Yard number |
Launched | Disposal |
---|---|---|---|---|
TB.98 | Thornycroft | 141 | 13 September 1883 | Fate unknown |
Thornycroft 2nd class orders 1884
[edit]- John I. Thornycroft & Company. Ordered 17 November 1884.
Number | Builder | Yard number |
Launched | Disposal |
---|---|---|---|---|
TB.99 | Thornycroft | 207 | 28 September 1885 | Sold for scrap 1907 |
TB.100 | Thornycroft | 208 | 5 April 1886 | Sold for scrap 22 October 1908 |
Yarrow & Company TB.39 Class
[edit]Number | Builder | Yard number |
Completed | Disposal |
---|---|---|---|---|
TB.39 | Yarrow | 806 | 1889 | Sold for scrap 1907 |
TB.40 | Yarrow | 807 | 1889 | Sold for scrap 1907 |
TB.41 | Yarrow | 808 | 1889 | Sold for scrap 1907 |
TB.42 | Yarrow | 809 | 1889 | Sold for scrap 1907 |
TB.43 | Yarrow | 810 | 1889 | Sold for scrap 1907 |
TB.44 | Yarrow | 811 | 1889 | Sold for scrap 1907 |
TB.45 | Yarrow | 812 | 1889 | Sold for scrap 1912 |
TB.46 | Yarrow | 813 | 1889 | Sold for scrap 1912 |
TB.47 | Yarrow | 814 | 1889 | Sold for scrap 1912 |
TB.48 | Yarrow | 915 | 1889 | Sold for scrap 1912 |
Yarrow & Company TB.49 Class
[edit]Number | Builder | Yard number |
Completed | Disposal[16] |
---|---|---|---|---|
TB.49 | Yarrow | 765 | 1888 | Sold for scrap 1906 |
TB.50 | Yarrow | 764 | 1888 | Sold for scrap 1904 |
J. Samuel White wood TBs
[edit]The first nine were ordered in 1883, another two in 1887, and the last in 1888. Unlike the Thornycroft and Yarrow boats, they were wooden-hulled and were precursors of the 56ft steam pinnaces which superseded the Second Class steel boats (in a multi-role function).[17]
Number | Builder | Yard number |
Launched | Disposal |
---|---|---|---|---|
WTB.1 | White | 587 | 1883 | Sold for scrap by 1905 |
WTB.2 | White | 588 | 1883 | Sold for scrap 1900 |
WTB.3 | White | 591 | 1883 | Sold for scrap by 1905 |
WTB.4 | White | 592 | 1883 | Sold for scrap by 1905 |
WTB.5 | White | 602 | 1883 | Sold for scrap 1909 |
WTB.6 | White | 603 | 1884 | Sold for scrap by 1907 |
WTB.7 | White | 605 | 1884 | Sold for scrap by 1905 |
WTB.8 | White | 646 | 1885 | Sold for scrap by 1905 |
WTB.9 | White | 647 | 1885 | Sold for scrap 1912 |
WTB.10 | White | 731 | 1887 | Sold for scrap by 1905 |
WTB.11 | White | 732 | 1887 | Sold for scrap 1912 |
WTB.12 | White | 745 | 1888 | Sold for scrap 1910 |
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Dittmar and Colledge 1972, p. 80.
- ^ David Lyon, The Thornycroft List (1981).
- ^ a b c d Friedman 2009, p. 289.
- ^ David L. Williams, White's of Cowes (Silver Link Publishing, 1993)
- ^ David Lyon, The Thornycroft List (1981)
- ^ Roberts 1979, p. 104.
- ^ David Lyon, The Thornycroft List (1981)
- ^ Kindell, Don. "1st - 30th JUNE 1917: in date, ship/unit & name order". World War 1 - Casualty Lists of the Royal Navy and Dominion Navies. naval-history.net. Retrieved 22 April 2014.
- ^ Winfield & Lyon, The Sail and Steam Navy List (2004), p.313.
- ^ Winfield & Lyon, The Sail and Steam Navy List (2004), p.313.
- ^ David Lton, The Thornycroft list (1981).
- ^ David Lyon, The Thornycroft list (1981).
- ^ David Lyon, The Thornycroft list (1981).
- ^ Winfield & Lyon, The Sail and Steam Navy List (2004), p.313-314.
- ^ David Lyon, The Thornycroft List, 1981.
- ^ Winfield & Lyon, The Sail and Steam Navy List (2004), p.315.
- ^ Winfield & Lyon, The Sail and Steam Navy List (2004), p.315.
Bibliography
[edit]- Brown, Les (2023). Royal Navy Torpedo Vessels. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-3990-2285-9.
- Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben & Bush, Steve (2020). Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy from the 15th Century to the Present (5th revised and updated ed.). Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-5267-9327-0.
- Dittmar, F.J. and Colledge, J.J. British Warships 1914–1919. London: Ian Allan, 1972. ISBN 0-7110-0380-7.
- Friedman, Norman (2009). British Destroyers From Earliest Days to the Second World War. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-59114-081-8.
- Roberts, John (1979). "Great Britain (including Empire Forces)". In Chesneau, Roger & Kolesnik, Eugene M. (eds.). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. Greenwich: Conway Maritime Press. pp. 1–113. ISBN 0-8317-0302-4.
- Winfield, Rif & Lyon, David The Sail and Steam Navy List: All the Ships of the Royal Navy 1815-1889. Chatham Publishing, 2004. ISBN 1-86176-032-9.