V&W_ShipList

V & W CLASS DESTROYERS

In the pre 1914 world destroyer names had been allocated somewhat haphazardly but in 1913 Churchill (at that time First Lord of the Admiralty) appointed a committee which proposed that all destroyers of the same type (or class) should have names beginning with the same initial letter. To institute this system would have meant that virtually all the destroyers then in service would have to be renamed and all documentation, fleet orders, signal books etc. would need to be scrapped and reprinted, an expensive operation bound to lead to errors and confusion. To avoid this it was decided to begin with the L class which were then under construction and as yet un-named, and then continue through the alphabet. This sensible approach was not strictly adhered to and rapidly fell apart as the M class included not only Mastiff, Manly, etc. but also names beginning with N, O, P, S and T while some of the R class were named Skate, Telemachus, Ursula and Ulster.

This peculiar approach disappeared with the introduction of the V class which set a new standard of design in that it took tried and tested components such as geared turbines, oil fired boilers, superimposed 4” guns and twin torpedo tubes and mounted them on a larger strong and seaworthy hull. The V class carried two sets of double torpedo tubes while the later W class were upgraded to carry two sets of the newly developed triple tubes though, perhaps as old habits die hard Voyager was built with the triple tubes and so should have been a W. The design proved to be a sturdy, reliable workhorse with sufficient stability to carry a heavier gun armament which led to the Modified W’s in which the 4” guns were replaced with 4.7” to produce what were the fastest and most heavily armed destroyers in the world at that time.

The Destroyer Flotilla

As the design of destroyers developed so did ideas for their tactical use. It was envisaged that they would be deployed in Flotillas of 16 alongside the Battle Fleet and released to create mayhem upon the enemy in concerted torpedo attacks, it would have been quite a sight to see that number of destroyers dashing off at 30+ knots to make their attack. It was soon realised that this number of ships was difficult to control, especially given the state of communications at that time and the flotilla size was reduced to 8 and the flotilla was put under the command of a senior officer who travelled aboard one of their number along with his staff which required a larger ship to accommodate them, hence the leader.

The Flotilla Leaders

The first batch of V’s (Valentine, Valhalla, Valkyrie, Valorous and Vampire) were actually designated as Leaders, the main difference in design being the internal arrangement of accommodation for Captain D and his staff, in 1920 they were re-rated as ordinary destroyers though the internal layout was retained.

SHIP NAME	COMP'D	SUB CLASS	CONVERSION	FATE
Valentine	1917	Admiralty 'V' Class Leader	WAIR	Bombed and abandoned in the Scheldt Estuary on 15 May 1941; broken up, Belgium, 1953
Valhalla	1917	Admiralty 'V' Class Leader	Not converted	Scrapped in 1932
Valkyrie (ex Montrose)	1917	Admiralty 'V' Class Leader	Not converted	Scrapped in 1936
Valorous (ex Malcolm)	1917	Admiralty 'V' Class Leader	WAIR	Scrapped 1947-8
Vampire (ex Wallace)	1917	Admiralty 'V' Class Leader	Not converted	Transferred to RAN in 1933. Bombed and sank by Japanese, Bay of Bengal 9 April 1942.

A further batch of Leaders (Rooke, Keppel, Shakespeare, Spenser and Wallace) was built by Thorneycroft to a larger design, 1,554 tons standard displacement as against 1,188 tons for the first batch and armed with five 4.7-inch guns and two triple torpedo tubes.

Keppel	1925	Thorneycroft Class Leader	Short Range Escort	Broken up 1946.
Rooke (later, Broke)	1925	Thorneycroft Class Leader	Short Range Escort	Sunk off Algiers landings, November 1942.
Shakespeare	1917	Thorneycroft Class Leader	Not converted	Sold for breaking up 1936
Spencer	1917	Thorneycroft Class Leader	Not converted	Sold for breaking up 1936
Wallace	1919	Thorneycroft Class Leader	WAIR Conversion	Sold for breaking up 1945

A third group of leaders (Bruce, Campbell, Douglas, Mackay, Malcolm, Montrose, Scott and Stuart) were designated Admiralty Leaders and built by Cammel Laird. Again, these ships were larger at 1,530 tons with the same armament as the Thorneycroft group.

Bruce	1918	Admiralty Class Leader	Not converted	Used as a target and sunk on 22nd November 1939, off the isle of Wight
Campbell	1918	Admiralty Class Leader	Short Range Escort	Sold for breaking up 1947
Douglas	1918	Admiralty Class Leader	Short Range Escort	Sold for breaking up 1945
Mackay	1918	Admiralty Class Leader	Short Range Escort	Sold for breaking up 1947
Malcolm	1919	Admiralty Class Leader	Short Range Escort	Sold for breaking up 1945
Montrose	1919	Admiralty Class Leader	Short Range Escort	Sold for breaking up 1945
Scott	1918	Admiralty Class Leader	Short Range Escort	Torpedoed and sunk on 15th August 1918.
Stuart	1918	Admiralty Class Leader	Short Range Escort	Transferred to Australia in 1933 and sold for scrapping in February 1947

In theory we could now have a V type leader heading a flotilla of V destroyers and on occasions between the wars it did happen. In the early part of WW2 the losses at Dunkirk and Narvik together with the ever expanding role of the destroyer as maid of all work meant that the ideal of a flotilla of 8 plus a leader became a pipe dream, perhaps the nearest example came in February 1942 when the 16th and 21st Destroyer Flotillas attacked the German Battle Fleet in what became known as the Channel Dash. It may sound impressive but the 16th DF consisted of the Leader Mackay with Whitshed, Worcester and Walpole while the 21st DF led by Campbell had Vivacious as the rest of the flotilla, a far cry from the original concept.

SHIP NAME	COMP'D	SUB CLASS	CONVERSION	FATE

Valentine	1917	Admiralty 'V' Class Leader	WAIR	Bombed and abandoned in the Scheldt Estuary on 15 May 1941; broken up, Belgium, 1953.
Valhalla	1917	Admiralty 'V' Class Leader	Not converted	Scrapped in 1932
Valkyrie (ex Montrose)	1917	Admiralty 'V' Class Leader	Not converted	Scrapped in 1936
Valorous (ex Malcolm)	1917	Admiralty 'V' Class Leader	WAIR	Scrapped 1947-8
Vampire (ex Wallace)	1917	Admiralty 'V' Class Leader	Not converted	Transferred to RAN in 1933. Bombed and sank by Japanese, Bay of Bengal 9 April 1942.

Vanessa	1918	Admiralty 'V' Class	Long Range Escort	Converted to Air Target Ship, 1944. Sold for disposal 1947
Vanity	1918	Admiralty 'V' Class	WAIR	Sold for disposal 1947
Vanoc	1917	Admiralty 'V' Class	Long Range Escort	Wrecked, salvaged and scrapped 1946.
Vanquisher	1917	Admiralty 'V' Class	Long Range Escort	Sold for disposal 1947
Vansittart	1919	Admiralty Modified 'W' Class, 1st Grp	Long Range Escort	Sold for disposal 1946
Vectis	1917	Admiralty 'V' Class	Not converted	Sold for disposal 1936
Vega	1917	Admiralty 'V' Class	WAIR	Sold for disposal 1947
Vehement	1917	Admiralty 'V' Class	Not converted	Mined 1 August 1918 in North Sea, wreck sunk by gunfire next day.
Velox	1918	Admiralty 'V' Class	Front boiler removed.	Converted to Air Target Ship, 1944. Sold for disposal 1947
Vendetta	1917	Admiralty 'V' Class	Not converted	Transferred to the Royal Australian Navy - scuttled off Sydney 2 July 1948.
Venetia	1917	Admiralty 'V' Class	Not converted	Mined 19 Oct 1940 and sank in the Thames Estuary.
Venomous (ex Venom)	1919	Admiralty Modified 'W' Class, 1st Grp	Front boiler removed.	Converted to Air Target Ship, 1944. Sold for disposal 1947
Venturous	1917	Admiralty 'V' Class	Not converted	Handed over for disposal in 1936.
Verdun	1917	Admiralty 'V' Class	WAIR (Chatham, 1938-9)	Sold for disposal 1946.
Verity	1919	Admiralty Modified 'W' Class, 1st Grp	Long Range Escort	Sold for disposal 1947.
Versatile	1917	Admiralty 'V' Class	Long Range Escort	Sold for disposal 1946.
Verulam	1917	Admiralty 'V' Class	Not converted	Mined and sunk, Gulf of Finland 1919.
Vesper	1918	Admiralty 'V' Class	Long Range Escort	Sold for disposal 1947.
Veteran	1919	Admiralty Modified 'W' Class, 2nd Grp	Short Range Escort	Torpedoed and sunk by U-404 SW of Iceland 26 Sept 1942. Lost with all hands.
Viceroy	1918	Thorneycroft 'V & W' Class	WAIR	Sold for disposal 1948.
Vidette	1917	Admiralty 'V' Class	Long Range Escort	Sold for disposal 1947.
Vimiera	1917	Admiralty 'V' Class	WAIR	Mined and sunk 9 January 1942 off the Nore, Thames Estuary.
Vimy (ex Vancouver)	1918	Admiralty 'V' Class	Long Range Escort (1941)	Sold for disposal 1947.
Violent	1917	Admiralty 'V' Class	Not converted	Handed over for disposal 1937.
Viscount	1918	Thorneycroft 'V & W' Class	Long Range EScort (1941)	Sold for disposal 1945.
Vittoria	1918	Admiralty 'V' Class	Not converted	Torpedoed and sunk by Bolshevik submarine Gulf of Finland 1919
Vivacious	1917	Admiralty 'V' Class	Short Range Escort	Sold for disposal 1947.
Vivien	1918	Admiralty 'V' Class	WAIR	Sold for disposal 1947.
Volunteer	1919	Admiralty Modified 'W' Class, 1st Grp	Long Range Escort	Sold for disposal 1947.
Vortigern	1918	Admiralty 'V' Class	Not converted	Torpedoed by E-Boat off Cromer, 1942.
Voyager	1918	Admiralty 'W' Class	Not converted	Transferred to Royal Australian Navy. Bombed by Japanese aircraft and beached 1942.
Wakeful	1917	Admiralty 'W' Class	Not converted	Torpedoed and sank during the Dunkirk evacuation
Walker	1918	Admiralty 'W' Class	Not converted	Sold for disposal 1946
Walpole	1918	Admiralty 'W' Class	Short Range Escort	Mined North Sea 6 Jan 1945 and written off and sold for disposal.
Walrus	1918	Admiralty 'W' Class	Not converted	Stranded in Filey Bay 12 Feb 1938 and written off.
Wanderer	1919	Admiralty Modified 'W' Class, 1st Grp	Long Range Escort	Sold for disposal 1946
Warwick	1918	Admiralty 'W' Class	Long Range Escort	Torpedoed and sunk by U-413 off Trevose Head 20 Feb 1944.
Watchman	1918	Admiralty 'W' Class	Long Range Escort	Sold for disposal 1945
Waterhen	1918	Admiralty 'W' Class	Not converted	Transferred to the Australian Navy in 1933. Bombed and sunk off Libya 30 June 1941.
Wessex	1918	Admiralty 'W' Class	Not converted	Sunk by Luftwaffe off Calais 24 May 1940.
Westcott	1918	Admiralty 'W' Class	Short Range Escort	Sold for disposal 1945
Westminster	1918	Admiralty 'W' Class	WAIR	Sold for disposal 1947
Whirlwind	1918	Admiralty 'W' Class	Not converted	Torpedoed and sunk by U-34 SW of Ireland 5 July 1940.
Whitehall	1924	Admiralty Modified 'W' Class, 1st Grp	Long Range Escort	Sold for disposal 1945
Whitley (not Whitby)	1918	Admiralty 'W' Class	WAIR	Bombed by the Luftwaffe and beached off Ostend Belgium 19 May 1940.
Whitshed	1919	Admiralty Modified 'W' Class, 2nd Grp	Short Range Escort	Sold for disposal 1947
Wild Swan	1919	Admiralty Modified 'W' Class, 2nd Grp	Not converted	Bombed and sunk by the Luftwaffe in Bay of Biscay 17 June 1942.
Winchelsea	1918	Admiralty 'W' Class	Long Range Escort	Sold for disposal 1945.
Winchester	1918	Admiralty 'W' Class	WAIR	Sold for disposal 1946.
Windsor	1918	Admiralty 'W' Class	Short Range Escort	Sold for disposal 1947.
Wishart	1919	Thorneycroft Modified 'W' Class	Short Range Escort	Sold for disposal 1945
Witch	1924	Thornycroft Modified 'W' Class	Short Range Escort	Sold for disposal 1945
Witherington	1919	Admiralty Modified 'W' Class, 2nd Grp	Short Range Escort	Sold for disposal 1947 but wrecked enroute to breakers.
Wivern	1919	Admiralty Modified 'W' Class, 2nd Grp	Short Range Escort	Sold for disposal 1947
Wolfhound	1918	Admiralty 'W' Class	WAIR	Sold for disposal 1948.
Wolsey	1918	Thorneycroft 'V & W' Class	WAIR (Malta, 1938-9)	Sold for disposal 1945
Wolverine	1919	Admiralty Modified 'W' Class, 2nd Grp	Short Range Esxcort	Sold for disposal 1947
Wooolston	1917	Thorneycroft 'V & W' Class	WAIR	Scrapped in 1947
Worcester	1922	Admiralty Modified 'W' Class, 2nd Grp	Short Range Escort	Mined 23 Dec 1943, written off & used as accommodation hulk, Yeoman.
Wren	1923	Admiralty Modified 'W' Class, 1st Grp	Not converted	Sunk by Luftwaffe off Aldeburgh, North Sea 27 July 1940.
Wrestler	1918	Admiralty 'W' Class	Long Range Escort	Mined off Juno Beach on 6 June 1944 and written
Wryneck	1918	Admiralty 'W' Class	WAIR	Bombed and sunk by Luftwaffe on 27 Apr 1941 during evacuation of Crete.

V & Ws can be identified and dated by the pendant numbers painted on their hulls. For example, the pendant (pennant) number of HMS Venom (renamed Venomous by June 1919) was G98 from September 1918 until September 1919 when it changed to D75. In early 1940 it changed again from D75 to I75.

All the V & Ws also carried Screen badges on the superstructure of the bridge, boat badges on their whalers and tampion badges on the plugs which sealed the barrels of their 4 inch and 4.7 inch guns. Click on the link to see a selection of these from the collection of Alan Dowling, an Associate member of the V & W Destroyer Association.

Reuse of 1917 V&W Class Names

A number of destroyers built under the War Emergency Programme had names beginning with V or W, and five inherited names previously assigned to WW1 V&W class ships which had been sunk.

The U and V class
The U and V class was a batch of 16 ships launched in 1942 and 1943; seven were given V names, of which two (Valentine and Verulam) were inherited.

The W and Z class
The W and Z class was a batch of 16 ships launched in 1943 and 1944; seven were given W names, of which three (Wakeful, Wessex and Whirlwind) were inherited.

Most of these destroyers were converted after the war into fast Type 15 ASW frigates and their appearance was very different from that of the V & W Class destroyers whose names they inherited. To avoid any possible confusion further details and a photograph of HMS Vigilant are given by Frank Donald who served in HMS Vigilant.

Wartime Conversions of V & W Class destroyers

The experience of World War I showed that in the destroyer the Royal Navy had a maid of all work, a ship suitable for screening the Grand Fleet, escorting convoys, engaging enemy destroyers, (hopefully) detecting and dealing with submarines and mine-laying together with any other odd jobs that could be found for them.

Between the wars it was realised that this multiplicity of roles demanded some changes in destroyer design leading to two main types – the fleet and the escort destroyer. As the name suggests the fleet destroyer would work with a fleet of larger capital ships acting as a screen against attack and engaging enemy destroyers before they could get within range to release their torpedoes – hence the earlier name of Torpedo Boat Destroyer (TBD).

When the V & W’s were designed battleships were relatively slow, the Royal Sovereign Class had a speed of 21 knots and the Queen Elizabeth Class was a little faster at 25 knots. The destroyers were likely to spend much of their time at reduced (and therefore more economical) speeds and so have an ample range; for example the V’s had a radius of action of 1,000 miles at full speed but more than three times this at 15 knots, travelling quickly takes a lot more fuel!

Between the wars technology advanced, improvements in boiler and turbine design led to faster battleships, the King George V Class achieving 28 knots while Hood, Repulse and Renown were nearer 30 knots so the fleet (and its screen) could be expected to move more rapidly; the V & W’s had the speed to keep up but lacked the fuel stowage to maintain it for long.

Aircraft were also improving in design and in numbers and it was recognised that ships would need some defence against air attack. The anti-aircraft provision of the V & W’s consisted of one or two 2 pounder pom-poms mounted on a platform between the funnels. The main armament had a maximum elevation of 30 degrees and was only of use against surface targets.

The V & W’s had proved to be fast, seaworthy and rugged but the world had changed around them and it was recognised that in any future conflict their duties would also change, for instance escorting convoys of merchant ships long distances would not require high speed but would need increased fuel capacity, also lessons had been learned from the use of aircraft in the Spanish Civil War which demonstrated the need for improved anti-aircraft defence.

Long Range Escorts

The lack of endurance (range) was more easily corrected in the earlier V’s and some of the W’s. All the V & W’s had three boilers in two boiler rooms but in these early ships the forward boiler room contained a single boiler (hence the forward thin ‘woodbine’ funnel), the removal of this boiler (and funnel) would allow an additional 130 tons of oil to be carried and also provide much needed accommodation and storage space. The reduction in power reduced their speed to 24 knots but this was felt to be sufficient for their duty as Long Range Escorts (LRE) for convoys. Ships so converted were Vimy, Viscount, Vanessa, Winchelsea, Whitehall, Volunteer, Vidette, Vanquisher, Vesper, Walker, Wrestler, Warwick, Wanderer, Vansittart, Versatile, Verity, Vanoc, Watchman and Velox. It was long thought that Venomous was converted to an LRE since its front boiler and tall thin front funnel were removed in 1944 but the Admiralty cancelled plans to use the space freed for storing fuel to extend its range and she spent the last nine months of the war towing targets for air launched torpedoes in the Irish Sea and off the east coast of Scotland.

WAIR Conversion

The airborne menace was countered by the WAIR conversion where High Angle (HA) 4 inch guns replaced the original Low Angle 4 inch or 4.7 inch and a variety of close range machine guns, pompoms and Oerlikons were fitted together with improved fire control and ranging systems. They retained all three boilers making them fast short-range anti-aircraft escorts. WAIR conversions were the Leader Wallace and Whitley, Wolsey, Valorous, Vivien, Winchester, Valentine, Woolston, Vega, Vimiera, Wryneck, Verdun, Westminster, Vanity, Viceroy and Wolfhound. All the V&Ws in the Rosyth Escort Force were WAIR conversions. Their HA guns provided defence against German aircraft attacking the East Coast convoys.

Short Range Escorts

Some of the V & W’s, particularly the later Modified W’s were unsuitable for conversion to Long Range Escorts due to the disposition of the boiler rooms. They had two boilers in the forward room as opposed to the one boiler in the earlier ships and were easily identifiable by having a short stubby front funnel instead of the tall thin “Woodbine”. The loss of two thirds of the boiler power would have resulted in too great a reduction in speed and the use of the after boiler room for fuel stowage was not possible as it would have led to problems of stability so they were reclassified as Short Range Escorts (SRE). This group consisted of the Leaders Broke, Campbell, Douglas, Keppel, Mackay, Malcolm, Montrose and Stuart together with Whitshed, Witherington, Wivern, Veteran, Wolverine, Windsor, Walpole, Wishart, Witch, Worcester and Vivacious. These ships retained their high-speed and tended to be used as convoy escorts in areas such as the North Sea where long periods away from refuelling bases were unlikely.

Armament

The armament of all V & W’s changed throughout their Second World War service as new weapons became available; for example Westcott became the guinea pig for the Hedgehog anti-submarine mortar fitted in place of A gun and eventually it was added to most of the LRE conversions. Worcester emerged from a 1938 – 40 refit largely as built but after Dunkirk one set of torpedo tubes was removed and replaced by a 3 inch anti-aircraft gun. Early 1943 saw her undergo major surgery when twin 6 pounder guns were fitted in place of a 4.7 inch, the searchlight platform removed and a larger radar array fitted making her better able to deal with E-Boats.

Vic Green
Honorary Secretary, V & W Destroyer Association

Sea Cadet Units named after a V & W Class destroyer
Click on the Training Ship (TS) to link to the Sea Cadet Unit and click on the name of the V & W after which it is named to find out more about the ship

TS Vancouver	Kings Lynn	HMS Vimy
TS Vanquisher	Nuneaton & Bedworth	HMS Vanquisher
TS Venomous	Loughborough	HMS Venomous
TS Veteran	New Romney	HMS Veteran
TS Whirlwind	Orpington	HMS Whirlwind
TS Whitley	Whitley Bay	HMS Whitley
TS Worcester	Worcester	HMS Worcester
TS Wyvern	Sittingbourne & Milton	HMS Wivern

We are hoping the Sea Cadet Units whose Training Ships are named after a V & W Class destroyer will help us research these ships

If you want to find out more about the wartime service of a member of your family who served on a V & W Class destroyer you should first obtain a copy of their service record
To find out how follow this link: http://www.holywellhousepublishing.co.uk/servicerecords.html

If you have stories or photographs you would like to contribute to the web site please contact Bill Forster or Vic Green

Learn how to research the story of the V & W destroyers and the lives of the men who served on them

Return to the Home Page of the V & W Destroyer Association