The D class as so named in 1913 (previous to this they were known as the Desperate class) was a heterogeneous group of torpedo boat destroyers (TBDs) 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...

 in the mid-1890s. They were all constructed to the individual designs of their builder, John I. Thornycroft & Company

John I. Thornycroft & Company

John I. Thornycroft & Company Limited, usually known simply as Thornycroft was a British shipbuilding firm started by John Isaac Thornycroft in the 19th century.-History:...

 of Chiswick

Chiswick

Chiswick is a large suburb of west London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It is located on a meander of the River Thames, west of Charing Cross and is one of 35 major centres identified in the London Plan. It was historically an ancient parish in the county of Middlesex, with...

, to meet Admiralty specifications. The uniting feature of the class was a top speed of 30 knots (58.8 km/h) and they all had two funnels. In 1913 the nine surviving "30 knotter" vessels with 2 funnels (all ten had been built by Thornycroft, but Ariel was lost before their renaming as D class) were classified by the Admiralty as the D class to provide some system to the naming of HM destroyers

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...

. In the same way those with 3 funnels were classified as the C class and those with 4 funnels as the B class. All these vessels had a distinctive "turtleback" 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...

 that was intended to clear water from the bow, but actually tended to dig the bow in to anything of a sea, resulting in a very wet conning position. They were better constructed than their A-class forebears (the "26 knotter" and "27 knotter" groups), but still were poor seaboats unable to reach top speed in anything but perfect conditions.

They generally displaced 355 to 370 tons and had a length of 210 feet (64 m). All were powered by triple expansion steam engines

Steam engine

A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid.Steam engines are external combustion engines, where the working fluid is separate from the combustion products. Non-combustion heat sources such as solar power, nuclear power or geothermal energy may be...

 for 5700 ihp and had coal-fired

Coal

Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...

 water-tube boiler

Water-tube boiler

A water tube boiler is a type of boiler in which water circulates in tubes heated externally by the fire. Fuel is burned inside the furnace, creating hot gas which heats water in the steam-generating tubes...

s, except for the final vessel (Stag) in which the engine power was slightly raised to 5800 ihp. Armament was one QF 12 pounder on a bandstand on the forecastle, five QF 6 pounder (two sided abreast the conning tower, two sided between the funnels and one on the quarterdeck

Quarterdeck

The quarterdeck is that part of a warship designated by the commanding officer for official and ceremonial functions. In port, the quarterdeck is the most important place on the ship, and is the central control point for all its major activities. Underway, its importance diminishes as control of...

) and 2 single tubes for 18 inches (457.2 mm) torpedo

Torpedo

The modern torpedo is a self-propelled missile weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with it or in proximity to it.The term torpedo was originally employed for...

es.

Ships

All ten of the "D" Class were built by Thornycroft

John I. Thornycroft & Company

John I. Thornycroft & Company Limited, usually known simply as Thornycroft was a British shipbuilding firm started by John Isaac Thornycroft in the 19th century.-History:...

 at Chiswick

Chiswick

Chiswick is a large suburb of west London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It is located on a meander of the River Thames, west of Charing Cross and is one of 35 major centres identified in the London Plan. It was historically an ancient parish in the county of Middlesex, with...

, comprising four batches.

Desperate group (ordered 10 May 1895 under 1894-95 Programme);

• Desperate.
• Fame.
• Foam.
• Mallard - ordered 30 May vice 10 May.

Angler group (ordered 23 January 1895 under 1895-96 Programme) - identical with the preceding group;

• Angler.
• Ariel.

Coquette group (ordered 21 April 1896 under 1896-97 Programme) - modified from the previous six vessels;

• Coquette.
• Cygnet.
• Cynthia.

Stag (ordered 7 September 1897 under 1897-98 Programme) - with slightly enhanced engine power;

• Stag
  HMS Stag (1899)
  HMS Stag was a Royal Navy destroyer built by John I. Thornycroft & Company at Church Wharf, Chiswick on the River Thames and launched in 1899. She was constructed, like other Thornycroft destroyers of the period, of a new high tensile steel to save weight and was an improvement on the Ardent-class...
  
  .

Name	Shipyard Serial number	Laid down	Launched	Completed	Fate
Desperate	305	1 July 1895	15 February 1896	February 1897	Sold for scrap 20 May 1920, to Ward, Milford Haven Milford Haven Milford Haven is a town and community in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It is situated on the north side of the Milford Haven Waterway, a natural harbour used as a port since the Middle Ages. The town was founded in 1790 on the north side of the Waterway, from which it takes its name...
Fame	306	4 July 1895	15 April 1896	June 1897	Sold for scrap 31 August 1921, at Hong Kong.
Foam	307	16 July 1895	8 October 1896	July 1897	Sold for scrap 26 May 1914, at Chatham
Mallard	308	13 September 1895	19 November 1896	October 1897	Sold for scrap 10 February 1920, to South Alloa Shipbreaking Co.
Angler	313	21 December 1896	2 February 1897	July 1898	Sold for scrap 20 May 1920, to Ward, Milford Haven Milford Haven Milford Haven is a town and community in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It is situated on the north side of the Milford Haven Waterway, a natural harbour used as a port since the Middle Ages. The town was founded in 1790 on the north side of the Waterway, from which it takes its name...
Ariel	314	23 April 1896	5 March 1897	October 1898	Wrecked at Malta 19 April 1907
Coquette	319	8 June 1896	25 November 1897	January 1899	Mined and sunk in the North Sea, 7 March 1916
Cygnet	320	25 September 1896	3 September 1898	February 1900	Sold for scrap 29 April 1920, to Ward, Rainham
Cynthia	321	16 July 1896	8 January 1898	June 1899	Sold for scrap 29 April 1920, to Ward, Rainham
Stag HMS Stag (1899) HMS Stag was a Royal Navy destroyer built by John I. Thornycroft & Company at Church Wharf, Chiswick on the River Thames and launched in 1899. She was constructed, like other Thornycroft destroyers of the period, of a new high tensile steel to save weight and was an improvement on the Ardent-class...	334	16 April 1898	18 November 1899	September 1900	Sold for scrap 17 March 1921, to Ward, Grays Grays Grays is the largest town in the borough and unitary authority of Thurrock in Essex and one of the Thurrock's traditional parishes...