For the World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

  K-class Destroyers, see K-class destroyer (1938)

J, K and N class destroyer

The J, K and N class was a class of 24 destroyers of the Royal Navy launched in 1938. They were a return to a smaller vessel, with a heavier torpedo armament, after the Tribal class that emphasised guns over torpedoes. The ships were built in three flotillas or groups, eight each of ships with...

The Acasta class (in September 1913 re-designated the K class) was a class

Ship class

A ship class is a group of ships of a similar design. This is distinct from a ship-type, which might reflect a similarity of tonnage or intended use. For example, the is a nuclear aircraft carrier of the Nimitz class....

 of twenty destroyer

Destroyer

In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...

s built for the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

 under the Naval Programme of 1911 - 1912 that saw service during World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

. They were the last class of Royal Navy destroyers to have mixed names with no systematic theme (see naming conventions for destroyers of the Royal Navy

Naming conventions for destroyers of the Royal Navy

The first Torpedo Boat Destroyer in the Royal Navy was HMS Havock of 1893. From 1906, the term "Torpedo Boat Destroyer" began to appear in the shortened form "Destroyer" when referring to Destroyer Flotillas...

 for more information.) When the class was designated as "K", names beginning with that letter were allocated to the ships but never used.No class of ships were designated as J class. The class saw extensive wartime service and seven were lost, including four at the Battle of Jutland

Battle of Jutland

The Battle of Jutland was a naval battle between the British Royal Navy's Grand Fleet and the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet during the First World War. The battle was fought on 31 May and 1 June 1916 in the North Sea near Jutland, Denmark. It was the largest naval battle and the only...

.

Design

The Acastas were larger and heavier armed than the preceding H and I classes (Acorn

Acorn class destroyer

The Acorn class was a class of twenty destroyers of the Royal Navy all built under the 1909-1910 Programme, and completed between 1910 and 1911...

 and Acheron

Acheron class destroyer

The Acheron class was a class of twenty-three destroyers of the British Royal Navy, all built under the 1910-11 Programme and completed between 1911 and 1912, which served during World War I. A further six ships were built to the same design for the Royal Australian Navy as River-class destroyers...

, respectively), displacing about 25% more and with the mixed calibre armament replaced with a uniform fit of QF 4-inch guns, which the Acastas introduced. Previous 4 inches (101.6 mm) weapons had been of the breech-loading (BL) type. The guns were shipped one each on the forecastle

Forecastle

Forecastle refers to the upper deck of a sailing ship forward of the foremast, or the forward part of a ship with the sailors' living quarters...

 and either side abreast the after torpedo tube (or amidships before and after the tube in some ships.) All ships had three funnels, the foremost being tall and narrow, the second short and wide and the third level with the second but narrower. The foremost torpedo tube was sited between the second and third funnels, a distinctive feature of this class.

There were twelve 'standard' vessels built to a common Admiralty design, and eight builders' specials that (except for Garland) had a shorter, less beamy hull; five of the latter were from Thornycroft with 22500 shp, one by Parsons that made 31 knots (60.8 km/h) on trials, a seventh from Fairfields

Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company

The Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, Limited was a British shipbuilding company in the Govan area on the Clyde in Glasgow. Fairfields, as it is often known, was a major warship builder, turning out many vessels for the Royal Navy and other navies through the First World War and the...

, and an eighth by William Denny, Dumbarton.

Service

At the outbreak of World War I until mid-1916, the Acastas were serving in the Grand Fleet as the 4th Destroyer flotilla, with Swift

HMS Swift (1907)

HMS Swift was a unique destroyer leader designed and built for the Royal Navy prior to World War I, another product of Admiral "Jackie" Fisher's relentless quest for speed...

 as leader. By the time of Jutland the leader was the Faulknor-class leader

Faulknor class leader

The Faulknor class were a class of flotilla leaders that were under construction in the United Kingdom for the Chilean Navy at the outbreak of World War I. These ships were purchased by the British, taken over and completed for the Royal Navy for wartime service...

 Tipperary, with Ardent, Fortune, Shark and Sparrowhawk lost in the course of the battle and Acasta was so badly damaged that she had to be practically rebuilt. After Jutland the remainder of the flotilla moved to the Humber

Humber

The Humber is a large tidal estuary on the east coast of Northern England. It is formed at Trent Falls, Faxfleet, by the confluence of the tidal River Ouse and the tidal River Trent. From here to the North Sea, it forms part of the boundary between the East Riding of Yorkshire on the north bank...

 and then to Portsmouth

Portsmouth

Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...

 by the end of 1916, before dispersing, some ships to the 6th Destroyer Flotilla and the Dover Patrol

Dover Patrol

The Dover Patrol was a Royal Navy command of the First World War, notable for its involvement in the Zeebrugge Raid on 22 April 1918. The Dover Patrol formed a discrete unit of the Royal Navy based at Dover and Dunkirk for the duration of the First World War...

 and the remainder to Devonport

HMNB Devonport

Her Majesty's Naval Base Devonport , is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy . HMNB Devonport is located in Devonport, in the west of the city of Plymouth in Devon, England...

. All survivors of the war were sold out of service for scrapping by 1921.

Admiralty K class

Name	Ship Builder	|Launched	|Fate
Acasta	John Brown and Company John Brown & Company John Brown and Company of Clydebank was a pre-eminent Scottish marine engineering and shipbuilding firm, responsible for building many notable and world-famous ships, such as the , the , the , the , the , and the... , Clydebank Clydebank Clydebank is a town in West Dunbartonshire, in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. Situated on the north bank of the River Clyde, Clydebank borders Dumbarton, the town with which it was combined to form West Dunbartonshire, as well as the town of Milngavie in East Dunbartonshire, and the Yoker and...	10 September 1912	Sold for breaking up 9 May 1921.
Achates	John Brown and Company John Brown & Company John Brown and Company of Clydebank was a pre-eminent Scottish marine engineering and shipbuilding firm, responsible for building many notable and world-famous ships, such as the , the , the , the , the , and the... , Clydebank Clydebank Clydebank is a town in West Dunbartonshire, in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. Situated on the north bank of the River Clyde, Clydebank borders Dumbarton, the town with which it was combined to form West Dunbartonshire, as well as the town of Milngavie in East Dunbartonshire, and the Yoker and...	14 November 1912	Sold for breaking up 9 May 1921.
Ambuscade HMS Ambuscade (1913) HMS Ambuscade was an Acasta-class destroyer of the Royal Navy, launched in 1913 and sold for breaking in 1921.-Pennant Numbers:-Construction:...	John Brown and Company John Brown & Company John Brown and Company of Clydebank was a pre-eminent Scottish marine engineering and shipbuilding firm, responsible for building many notable and world-famous ships, such as the , the , the , the , the , and the... , Clydebank Clydebank Clydebank is a town in West Dunbartonshire, in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. Situated on the north bank of the River Clyde, Clydebank borders Dumbarton, the town with which it was combined to form West Dunbartonshire, as well as the town of Milngavie in East Dunbartonshire, and the Yoker and...	25 January 1913	Sold for breaking up 6 September 1921.
Christopher	Hawthorn Leslie & Company, Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...	29 August 1912	Sold for breaking up 9 May 1921.
Cockatrice	Hawthorn Leslie & Company, Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...	8 November 1912	Sold for breaking up 9 May 1921.
Contest	Hawthorn Leslie & Company, Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...	7 January 1913	Torpedoed and sunk by German U-boat U-boat U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...  in the Western Approaches Western Approaches The Western Approaches is a rectangular area of the Atlantic ocean lying on the western coast of Great Britain. The rectangle is higher than it is wide, the north and south boundaries defined by the north and south ends of the British Isles, the eastern boundary lying on the western coast, and the...  18 September 1917.
Lynx	Harland & Wolff, Govan Govan Govan is a district and former burgh now part of southwest City of Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated west of Glasgow city centre, on the south bank of the River Clyde, opposite the mouth of the River Kelvin and the district of Partick....	20 March 1913	Mined and sunk in Moray Firth Moray Firth The Moray Firth is a roughly triangular inlet of the North Sea, north and east of Inverness, which is in the Highland council area of north of Scotland...  by mine laid from German raider Meteor 9 August 1915.
Midge	Harland & Wolff, Govan	22 May 1913	Sold for breaking up 5 November 1921.
Owl HMS Owl (1913) HMS Owl was an Acasta-class destroyer of the Royal Navy, launched in 1913 and sold for scrap in 1921....	Harland & Wolff, Govan	7 July 1913	Sold for breaking up 5 November 1921.
Shark HMS Shark (1912) HMS Shark, was an Acasta-class destroyer built in 1912 and sunk during the Battle of Jutland on the evening of 31 May 1916.-Construction:She was built at the Wallsend yard of Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson and launched on 30 July 1912...	Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson, Wallsend Wallsend Wallsend is an area in North Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England. Wallsend derives its name as the location of the end of Hadrian's Wall. It has a population of 42,842.-Romans:...	30 July 1912	Disabled by gunfire and torpedoed and sunk at Battle of Jutland 31 May 1916.
Sparrowhawk HMS Sparrowhawk (1912) HMS Sparrowhawk was an Acasta-class destroyer built in 1912 and sunk in 1916 at the battle of Jutland after a collision with the destroyer leader HMS Broke.-Construction:...	Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson, Wallsend Wallsend Wallsend is an area in North Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England. Wallsend derives its name as the location of the end of Hadrian's Wall. It has a population of 42,842.-Romans:...	12 October 1912	Collided with Faulknor-class leader Faulknor class leader The Faulknor class were a class of flotilla leaders that were under construction in the United Kingdom for the Chilean Navy at the outbreak of World War I. These ships were purchased by the British, taken over and completed for the Royal Navy for wartime service...  Broke HMS Broke (1914) HMS Broke was a Faulknor-class destroyer leader of the Royal Navy, initially built for the Chilean Navy as the Almirante Lynch-class destroyer Almirante Goni. The outbreak of the First World War led to her being purchased by the Admiralty in August 1914 shortly after her launching, and renamed HMS...  at Battle of Jutland and torpedoed by HMS Marksman 1 June 1916.
Spitfire HMS Spitfire (1912) HMS Spitfire was an Acasta-class destroyer of the Royal Navy which took part in the battle of Jutland in 1916.-Pennant numbers:-Construction:...	Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson, Wallsend Wallsend Wallsend is an area in North Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England. Wallsend derives its name as the location of the end of Hadrian's Wall. It has a population of 42,842.-Romans:...	23 December 1912	Sold for breaking up 9 May 1921.

Builders' special K class

Name	Ship Builder	|Launched	|Fate
Ardent HMS Ardent (1913) HMS Ardent was an Acasta-class destroyer and the seventh Royal Navy ship to bear the name. She was launched in 1913 and was sunk at the battle of Jutland in 1916.-Pennant Numbers:-Construction:...	William Denny & Brothers Limited, Dumbarton	8 September 1913	Sunk by secondary gunfire from German Kaiserliche Marine The Imperial German Navy was the German Navy created at the time of the formation of the German Empire. It existed between 1871 and 1919, growing out of the small Prussian Navy and Norddeutsche Bundesmarine, which primarily had the mission of coastal defense. Kaiser Wilhelm II greatly expanded...  dreadnought Dreadnought The dreadnought was the predominant type of 20th-century battleship. The first of the kind, the Royal Navy's had such an impact when launched in 1906 that similar battleships built after her were referred to as "dreadnoughts", and earlier battleships became known as pre-dreadnoughts...  SMS Westfalen SMS Westfalen SMS Westfalen "SMS" stands for "Seiner Majestät Schiff", or "His Majesty's Ship" was one of the s, the first four dreadnoughts built for the German Imperial Navy. Westfalen was laid down at AG Weser in Bremen on 12 August 1907, launched nearly a year later on 1 July 1908, and commissioned into the...  at Battle of Jutland Battle of Jutland The Battle of Jutland was a naval battle between the British Royal Navy's Grand Fleet and the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet during the First World War. The battle was fought on 31 May and 1 June 1916 in the North Sea near Jutland, Denmark. It was the largest naval battle and the only...  1 June 1916.
Fortune HMS Fortune (1913) HMS Fortune was an Acasta-class destroyer, and the twenty-first ship of the Royal Navy to bear the name. She was launched in 1913 and was sunk at the battle of Jutland in 1916.-Pennant Numbers:-Construction:...	Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company The Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, Limited was a British shipbuilding company in the Govan area on the Clyde in Glasgow. Fairfields, as it is often known, was a major warship builder, turning out many vessels for the Royal Navy and other navies through the First World War and the... , Govan Govan Govan is a district and former burgh now part of southwest City of Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated west of Glasgow city centre, on the south bank of the River Clyde, opposite the mouth of the River Kelvin and the district of Partick....	17 March 1913	Sunk by secondary gunfire from German dreadnought SMS Westfalen at Battle of Jutland Battle of Jutland The Battle of Jutland was a naval battle between the British Royal Navy's Grand Fleet and the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet during the First World War. The battle was fought on 31 May and 1 June 1916 in the North Sea near Jutland, Denmark. It was the largest naval battle and the only...  on night of 31 May / 1 June 1916.
Garland	Parsons Marine Steam Turbine Company Parsons Marine Steam Turbine Company Parsons Marine Steam Turbine Company was a British engineering company based in Wallsend, North England, on the River Tyne.-History:The company was founded by Charles Algernon Parsons in 1897 with £500,000 of capital, and specialised in building the steam turbine engines that he had invented for... , Wallsend Wallsend Wallsend is an area in North Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England. Wallsend derives its name as the location of the end of Hadrian's Wall. It has a population of 42,842.-Romans:...  (hull sub-contracted to Cammell Laird & Company, Birkenhead Birkenhead Birkenhead is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in Merseyside, England. It is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite the city of Liverpool... )	23 April 1913	Sold for breaking up 6 September 1921.
Hardy	John I. Thornycroft & Company Limited, Woolston	10 October 1913	Sold for breaking up 9 May 1921.
Paragon HMS Paragon (1913) HMS Paragon was an Acasta-class destroyer that served in the Royal Navy during the First World War. She was launched in 1913, and joined the Fourth Flotilla upon completion. Serving with the Grand Fleet in August 1914, Paragon moved to the Humber in the summer of 1916, then to Portsmouth, then to...	John I. Thornycroft & Company Limited, Woolston	21 February 1913	Torpedoed and sunk by German destroyer in action in the Straits of Dover 18 March 1917.
Porpoise	John I. Thornycroft & Company Limited, Woolston	7 July 1913	Sold 23 February 1920 back to Thornycroft for resale to Brazil; became Brazilian Alexandrino Deaenca, later Maranhao.
Unity	John I. Thornycroft & Company Limited, Woolston	18 September 1913	Sold for breaking up 25 October 1922.
Victor	John I. Thornycroft & Company Limited, Woolston	28 November 1913	Sold for breaking up 20 January 1923.

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