By the early 1930s, the Royal Navy had shrunk to two main fleets, the Home Fleet and the Mediterranean Fleet. Cruiser squadrons were maintained at the West Indies, North America, Cape, East Indies and China stations. Later still, economic constraints led to some of these being replaced by sloops and other smaller ships performing ‘cruiser tasks’. In 1939, the Home Fleet was still a significant force but of mixed vintage and inadequately balanced for full tactical efficiency. In addition to the battleships Rodney, Nelson, Ramillies, Royal Oak and Royal Sovereign, the battlecruisers Hood, Renown and Repulse were under command, as were the aircraft carriers Ark Royal and Furious, twelve cruisers, seventeen destroyers and sixteen submarines in addition to minesweepers and support ships. An additional two cruisers and nine destroyers were stationed in the Humber. The battleships Revenge and Resolution with the carriers Hermes and Courageous, three A/A cruisers and nine destroyers were deployed at Portland, in addition to destroyers and light forces in Harwich, Dover, Portsmouth, Plymouth and Milford Haven.2
Battlecruiser Renown was originally commissioned in September 1916. By 1939, she had effectively been reconstructed. Among the improvements were high-pressure boilers and Parson-geared turbines, upgraded 15-inch gun turrets and completely new 4.5-inch dual-purpose secondary gun armament. She could do just over 30 knots but became very wet forward if she did. (Wright and Logan – W&L)
Ramillies, Royal Sovereign, Royal Oak and Repulse lacked modernisation and, although they would be dangerous to most opponents in terms of guns, they were so slow that for all practical purposes they were useless. Only Hood and the modernised Renown were fast enough to catch the German ‘pocket’ battleships, and both would be a match for Scharnhorst and Gneisenau in an equal fight.3 Hood, the pride of the fleet, was ageing and due for extensive upgrades and modernisation in September 1939 – which she would never have. Nelson and Rodney were still relatively modern with powerful main guns and armour, but very slow. The lack of speed in the British capital ships meant that to catch the German battleships they would have to rely on surprise or damage by torpedoes from submarines, destroyers or aircraft – even more difficult as the German capital ships had efficient radars installed.
At the end of WWI, the Royal Navy had some forty modern cruisers in commission and a further nine under construction. Most of these were small, with 6-inch guns, suitable for the North Sea and the Mediterranean. For the protection of Atlantic and Asian trade routes, larger ships were needed. The Washington Treaty allowed for 10,000 tons and 8-inch guns, so eleven County-class cruisers were ordered in 1924–26.4 These were seaworthy ships and could maintain speed in rough seas, being stable gun platforms with a good rate of fire and a superior director system. To stay within the limitations, a top speed of 32 knots had to be accepted, and the ships were vulnerable to bombing throughout their careers, due to reduced armour. Several of them would play important roles in the early years of WWII.
Shortage of funds forced simplifications and in 1928 York was launched, followed by the modified Exeter a year later. These were some 8,000 tons, carrying three twin 8-inch gun turrets. Further reductions were needed, and 6-inch guns became the hallmark of British cruiser design in the 1930s. Although it was half the weight of an 8-inch shell, it was argued that the rapid rate of fire of the 6-inch guns would give a superior weight of broadside if it could shorten the range fast enough to avoid lethal damage from long-range heavier guns.
Five Leander-class,5 three Arethusa-class6 and eight Southampton-class7 cruisers were launched between 1931 and 1937. The Leanders were some 7,200 tons with eight 6-inch guns, while the Arethusas carried six 6-inch guns at 5,250 tons. The Southamptons carried a formidable twelve 6-inch guns in four three-gun turrets, but this required a displacement of over 9,000 tons. In 1938 the even larger Belfast and Edinburgh were launched but these would not be operational until after the outbreak of war. At the start of the war, the Royal Navy had fifty-seven cruisers in commission, of which thirty-seven were modern designs.8
The successful V&W-class and their modifications constituted the mainstay of the Royal Navy destroyer force in the 1920s. New ships were needed, however, and after extensive testing – including prototypes – the Admiralty settled for a new design during 1927–28. Funds were made available and the building of almost eighty fast, agile and seaworthy destroyers commenced. Running through nine batches, these were known as the A- to I-classes, produced, with minor modifications, at a rate of eight per year, with a flotilla leader for each group. The leaders were larger, somewhat better equipped and most of them carried a fifth gun amidships. Building usually took less than a year from the laying down of the the keel to launch. Fitting out took another year, but as the crews were normally transferred from one of the older destroyers in for refit or being paid off, commissioning and working up was smooth.
Cruiser Norfolk, 24 May 1939, at Devonport. The County-class cruisers were 10,000-ton ships with eight 8-inch guns in twin mounts. (Keystone)
Destroyer Firedrake showing off in high seas. She was one of the 1,400-ton F-class destroyers, built in 1934 and commissioned in May 1935. Armament consisted of four 4.7-inch Mk IX guns in single mounts and eight 0.5-inch Vickers machine guns in quad mounts in addition to eight torpedo tubes (in quad mounts) and one rack for twenty depth-charges. Maximum speed exceeded 35 knots. (Crown Copyright)
Three single-reduction steam turbines provided 42,000 horsepower to two shafts. Endurance was 3,400 miles at 15 knots, or 5,340 miles at 12.5 knots. The early ships carried 4-inch guns while the later versions were upgraded with 4.7-inch guns. The elevated forecastle and bridge well aft gave the nimble ships good sea-keeping abilities. Efficient fire control was ensured by a 10-foot base rangefinder and the new ‘Destroyer Director Control Tower’ (DCT). Anti-aircraft (A/A) defences were insufficient, though: initally only two quadruple 0.5-inch machine guns abreast the bridge and some 0.303 Lewis guns. Two quadruple torpedo mountings for 21-inch torpedoes were standard for the early ships, while quintuple mountings were introduced for the later classes.9 In 1934 Esk and Empress were completed as minelayers and used for testing. In spite of increased vibrations and some stability issues, the concept was found acceptable. Ships of the subsequent G-, H- and I-classes were designed for, but not fitted out with, minelaying capacity.
The building of ‘super-destroyers’ in other navies made the Admiralty worry over the relative inferiority of the standard British destroyer, and in the late 1930s the Tribal-class was developed. Arguably an unnecessary concept, the Tribals were formidable warships and among the finest-looking vessels the Royal Navy ever possessed. With even better sea-keeping qualities than the smaller destroyers and armed with four twin 4.7-inch turrets, they would be a match for many light cruisers, all the more so as power ramming of the ammunition meant that a high rate of fire could be kept up in rough seas.10 The 4.7-inch guns had a maximum elevation of only 40 degrees, however, and with insufficient A/A armament, one four-barrel pompom and two quadruple machine guns they would suffer heavily when exposed to the dive-bombers of the Luftwaffe. Still, the Tribals, of which the first, Cossack, was commissioned in June 1938, would have an outstanding war record.
In 1936, the Board of the Admiralty, after discussions with fleet officers, decided there was a justifiable requirement for a destroyer, smaller than the Tribal-class, but still armed with a 4.7-inch twin-mounting high-angle/low-angle (HA/LA) gun, two torpedo mountings and minesweeping gear.11 The result was the highly successful J-, K- and N-classes of, in all, twenty-four ships. The first two flotilla leaders, Jervis and Kelly, were completed