Even after the orders for the earlier, 1942 Battle class had been placed much discussion was still taking place within the naval staff about the final design. There was much debate about the type and disposition of the main armament. In some quarters it was felt that the two main turrets should be distributed one forward and one aft. Many reasons were given for this, but the most logical seems to have been preventing a single hit from disabling both guns. An argument was put forward in some quarters that these ships were underarmed for their size, and there was a call for a third turret to be mounted aft.
Admiral Andrew Cunningham, whilst taking passage in the 1942 Battle-class ship , was rather unflattering in his description of these ships saying that they were "too large" and "had every damned weapon and gadget except guns". Modern naval architects feel this is unfair as the role of destroyers had changed since the admiral commanded a destroyer at the
battle of Jutland. The original role of the destroyers was torpedo attack on enemy ships, but their role in the late 1940s was to protect the fleet (and themselves) from aircraft and submarines. The Battle class were probably better at this task than any other Second World War British destroyer. A further criticism, not just of the Battle-class design, but of British destroyers generally, was of the main machinery layout. Until 1936 all destroyers were laid out with three boiler rooms, as the naval staff considered this the minimum requirement for battle damage survivability. In 1936 the head of the destroyer section of the Constructors Department came up with a radical new design for the
J class. This included a new system of longitudinal framing to both ease construction and increase the integral strength of the ships. It also called for a two-boiler layout with both boilers fitted back to back, allowing them to vent up a single large funnel. This decreased the ships silhouette and gave improved firing arcs for the anti-aircraft armament. This layout and hull design proved very effective and made for good-looking ships. The J-class design was used in all following destroyer designs until the advent of the and classes. However, the boiler-room layout was a continuing source of criticism, as a single well-placed hit could cripple a ship completely. In order to find a solution to these criticisms, it was originally planned that 32 ships (four flotillas) of an improved design would be built under the 1943 and 1944 Naval Estimates and that there would be changes in both armament and layout in the later ships. It was expected that the 4.5-in RP41 BD Mk VI turret, tested by
Saintes from 1946/48, would be available to arm the later ships. Ultimately 26 ships were ordered. These formed two distinct groups, plus two ships of an expanded design. The first 16 ships (two flotillas) were ordered in early 1943. They were based on a slightly widened version of the 1942 ships. They were to be fitted with the American Type 37 DCT which was now becoming available and which would be equipped with the British
Radar Type 275 fire control set and Medium Range System (MRS) 9
fire control system. In an attempt to counter the criticisms that the ships were underarmed for their size, and were incapable of engaging a target right aft, a single 4.5 inch gun on a standard Mk V mounting would be positioned on the original 4 inch gun deck abaft the funnel. In the event, these guns failed to provide a solution as they were restricted to firing on either beam because the midship positioning meant their
arc of fire was fouled by the ships fore and aft superstructure. The ships' AA armament was reduced to eight 40/60 mm Bofors, two twin STAAG Mk. II mountings on top of the after deckhouse, one twin Mk. V on the middle deckhouse controlled by an STD mounted on top of the gun crew shelter, and a single mounting Mk. VII on either bridge wing. All ships would be fitted with a Squid Anti-submarine mortar on the
quarterdeck and ten 21-inch torpedo tubes in two quintuple mountings. The last flotilla of eight ships and two ships of an expanded design were ordered under the 1944 estimates. The first eight ships were to be fitted with two twin 4.5-inch guns forward in the new RP41 Mk VI turrets. These turrets offered improved ammunition handling and a faster rate of fire due to their semi-automatic breech action and it was thought that this was sufficient to preclude the fitting of the single gun amidships. The bridge structure was raised as earlier trials in
Saintes had noted that the higher profile of the Mk VI turret obstructed visibility forward. The AA armament was increased in these ships as the weight saved by dispensing with the single 4.5-inch gun amidships meant that a third twin STAAG could be fitted together with five single 40/60 mm guns giving a total of eleven light AA guns. The two extended ships were intended to bury all criticisms of the design once and for all. The hull dimensions were increased, adding in length and to the beam. This allowed for a third twin 4.5-in Mk VI turret to be mounted aft. The main reason for the increase in length, however, was the planned change in the mechanical layout of these ships. Since the inception of the J class, the boilers had been concentrated together, an arrangement which allowed a reduced hull length. However, plans drawn up for the smaller Weapon class showed that this reduction was, in fact, minimal, so a decision was made to employ a unit arrangement for the propulsion machinery in these ships, based on the same lines as proposed for the Weapon class.
Orders and construction Twenty-four ships (plus two of an enlarged/extended design) were included in the 1943 Programme. Six were ordered on 10 March 1943, with names commemorating land, as well as sea, battles:
Agincourt and
Alamein (from Hawthorn Leslie);
Aisne and
Albuera (from Vickers, Tyne); and
Barrosa and
Matapan (from John Brown, Clydebank). Fifteen ships were ordered on 24 March 1943:
Corunna,
Oudenarde and
River Plate (from Swan Hunter);
Dunkirk, (original)
Malplaquet and
St Lucia (from Stephen);
Belle Isle and
Omdurman (from Fairfield);
Jutland,
Mons and
Poictiers (from Hawthorn Leslie;
Poictiers is the spelling used for
Poitiers at the time of
the battle); and
Namur,
Navarino,
San Domingo and
Somme (from Cammell Laird). Five ships were ordered on 5 June 1943:
Talavera and
Trincomalee (from John Brown);
Waterloo and
Ypres (from Fairfield); and
Vimiera (from Cammell Laird). The last two were the extended design and would eventually be built as the
Daring Class.
Service Although all of the ships were laid down between late 1943 and mid 1945 they, like previous members of the class, were plagued by delays in the provision of equipment. As a result, few had been launched by the end of hostilities and it became obvious that not all of them would be required. As a result, in September 1945, the Admiralty ordered work stopped on sixteen of the ships. As a result, seven ships,
Mons,
Omdurman,
Somme,
River Plate,
St. Lucia,
San Domingo and
Waterloo, were broken up on the slipway. A further five,
Belle Isle,
Navarino,
Poictiers,
Talavera and
Trincomalee were scrapped immediately upon launching. The uncompleted hulls of four ships,
Albuera,
Jutland,
Namur and
Oudenarde were laid up with the possibility that they could be completed at a later date. This policy was adopted with other classes of ship, notably cruisers and carriers, some of which were completed up to fourteen years after the end of the war. Although consideration was given to completing these vessels in 1950, it was never done and they were all scrapped between 1957 and 1961. The two extended ships,
Vimiera and
Ypres were not scrapped at this time but eventually became a part of the
Daring class, programme authorised in 1946. The original order was for sixteen ships, but construction was a long drawn out affair and eventually the Admiralty cancelled eight of the ships. At this time
Vimiera, which had been renamed
Danae was scrapped but
Ypres was finally commissioned into the Royal Navy as . This left a flotilla of eight ships,
Agincourt, ,
Alamein,
Barrosa,
Corruna,
Dunkirk,
Jutland (ex-
Malplaquet) and
Matapan to be completed for service in the Royal Navy and, as with other ships built after the end of hostilities, work proceeded at a very slow pace. The first ship
Agincourt was laid down in December 1943 but not completed until the end of June 1947.
Alamein, laid down less than three months behind her sister ship, was not completed until May 1948. It was originally intended that all eight ships would form the
4th Destroyer Flotilla, but by 1947 the post-war manning crisis had reached its peak and so
Alamein,
Barrosa,
Corunna and
Matapan went into reserve. This left only
Agincourt,
Aisne,
Jutland (the original
Malplaquet which had been renamed
Jutland after launching) and
Dunkirk in service. 1948, however, saw all but
Matapan back in service with the
Home Fleet, but just over a year later another reduction took place. In 1950 a decision was made to pay off several destroyers in the Home and
Mediterranean Fleets and replace them with s.
Dunkirk,
Barrosa and
Alamein paid off into reserve and
Aisne and
Jutland were temporarily laid up for nearly a year. In 1951 the
4th Destroyer Squadron was back in business. Consisting of
Agincourt,
Aisne,
Jutland and
Corunna and converted to General Service Commissions the squadron deployed between the Home and Mediterranean Fleets for the next few years. In 1953
Barrosa replaced
Jutland and in 1957
Aisne was replaced by
Alamein. In March 1959 there was a collision in the Bay of Biscay between
Barrosa and
Corunna. The following month the 4th Squadron was disbanded.
Alamein went into reserve and was broken up at Blyth in 1964.
Agincourt,
Aisne,
Barrosa and
Corunna were placed in dockyard hands for conversion to radar pickets. In 1958
Jutland and
Dunkirk recommissioned as part of the 7th Destroyer Squadron. Led by the 1942 Battle
Trafalgar, the squadron completed two General Service Home / Mediterranean Fleet deployments before
Jutland paid off into reserve in 1961. She was broken up at
Blyth in 1965.
Dunkirk did a further two-year General Service deployment with the squadron before paying off in 1963. She was broken up at
Faslane in 1965.
Aircraft Direction Conversion As early as 1944 it had been suggested that the 1943 Battle class could be fitted with a long range early warning radar fitted to a mast amidships, albeit at the expense of some of the torpedo tubes and AA armament. The idea was not taken up at the time but in the early post-war years a need was identified for a Fast Air Detection Escort (FADE). These ships would accompany the fleet and detect, identify and track potential targets and direct friendly aircraft to engage them, a role known as
Aircraft Direction (A/D). A new frigate, the
Type 61, was designed to carry out this role, however, it became clear that with a top speed of only these ships would not be able to keep up with a carrier group. Consideration was therefore given to converting existing ships to carry out this role with carrier groups. The latest long range radar available at that time was the
Type 965. The Radar Type 965 came with two aerial configurations, the AKE-1, known as "the bedstead", and the AKE-2, known as "the double bedstead". The AKE-1 weighed in at almost two tons and the AKE-2 at a massive four tons. It soon became clear that only a large ship, like a "Battle" class destroyer would be able to carry such a load. In 1955 a decision was made to convert four Battle class ships to Fast Air Detection Escorts, although the work was not started until 1959. The four ships chosen for conversion were
Agincourt,
Aisne,
Barrosa and
Corunna. On completion of the conversions only the hull, engines, funnel, forward superstructure and main armament remained of the original ships. A huge new lattice foremast was fitted immediately abaft the bridge. The base of this mast straddled the entire width of the ship and was surmounted by a large 4 ton Type 965 AKE-2 double bedstead aerial, with a
Type 293Q mounted on a platform below. All torpedo tubes and light AA armament were removed and a large deckhouse containing generators and radar offices was built abaft the funnel. A new lattice mainmast carried a
Radar Type 277Q height finder and an array of ESM and DF aerials. The after deckhouse was extended and a
GWS 21 Sea Cat SAM system was mounted on top. The ships retained the
Squid A/S mortar on the quarterdeck. The conversions of
Corunna at
Rosyth Dockyard and
Aisne at
Chatham Dockyard were completed in 1962 and both ships joined the 7th Destroyer Squadron in the Mediterranean. On completion of her refit at
Portsmouth,
Agincourt joined the 5th DS in home waters.
Corunna, however, ended up further afield. On completion of her refit at Devonport she joined the
8th Destroyer Squadron in the Far East. These arrangements were short lived as, in 1963, the Admiralty reorganised the frigate and destroyer squadrons into escort squadrons. Each escort squadron comprised a mix of ships of varying type in order to provide an increased capability within each group.
Corunna transferred to the 21st Escort Group which included a deployment to the
Far East from September 1964 to August 1965. On returning home she began a refit at Rosyth in September 1965 and on completion in 1967 went into operational reserve at Portsmouth where she remained until put on the disposal list in 1972. In 1974 she was towed from Portsmouth to
Sunderland for breaking but was then towed to Blyth and broken up in 1975.
Aisne transferred to the 23rd Escort Group and after a short spell joined 30th Escort Group in January 1964 and served in the Mediterranean from April to September 1964 and in the Far East from September to December 1964 and from July to December 1965. She recommissioned in January 1966 and served in the Far East from August 1966 to April 1967. In December 1967 she was sent to the
West Indies, returning in March 1968. She paid off in August of that year and was broken up at
Inverkeithing in 1970.
Agincourt spent four and a half years rotating between Home and Mediterranean waters, first as part of the 5th DS and then, after the reorganisation into Escort Squadrons, with 23ES and 27ES. Reduced to reserve at Portsmouth in October 1966 she was put on the disposal list in 1972. She was broken up at Sunderland in 1974.
Barrosa transferred to the 24ES and, apart from two spells at home between July 1966 and August 1967 and July to September 1968, spent all of her life as a radar picket serving in the Far East. She paid off into reserve at Devonport in December 1968. In 1971 she joined her sister ships at Portsmouth and was put on the disposal list in 1972. She was used as a stores hulk at Portsmouth until being towed to Blyth to be broken up in 1978. The short life of these ships after their conversion was due to changes in defence policy made by the
Labour Government which came to power in 1964. The decision to run down the carrier fleet, together with the withdrawal of British forces from the Far East, reduced the need for fast air direction ships. Moreover, the general purpose frigates then being built, such as the Leander class, were fitted with Type 965 radar and modern operations rooms, so they could replace the converted 'Battles' in most circumstances. ;Armament summary • 2 × twin
4.5 in guns QF Mark III on mount BD Mk. IV • 1 × quad
Sea Cat GWS-20 Surface-to-air missile system • 2 ×
20 mm Oerlikon guns • 1 ×
Squid A/S mortar HMS Matapan Laid up on completion of her trials in 1947, having carried out only 150 hours steaming, the need to replace
Verulam as Sonar Trials Ship for the Admiralty Underwater Weapons Establishment at
Portland saw the conversion and eventual commissioning of
Matapan. In 1971
Matapan was towed to Portsmouth to begin her conversion to sonar trials ship. She was stripped of all armament and the forecastle deck was extended right to the stern to provide increased space to accommodate scientists and trials equipment, plus a large Sick Bay. She was fitted with a second funnel for the exhausting of fumes from the extra generators required to power the sonar equipment. A plated foremast carried radar and communications aerials, and a new fully enclosed bridge was fitted. A new after deckhouse, which ran from the after funnel to the quarterdeck was fitted with a helicopter landing deck on the top. Her refit took two years but she finally commissioned in 1973. After 24 years in the Devonport reserve
Matapan had finally found a role in the navy of the seventies. Her trials period lasted for five years, with a major deployment to the United States in 1976, working with US Navy submarines, much of the work of this vessel remains classified. She paid off at Portsmouth in 1977 and was broken up at Blyth in 1978. =="1944" or "Australian Battle" class==