British World War II Destroyers - Weapon Systems

Weapon Systems

The armament, naturally, reflected the changing circumstances of warfare and technological progress. At first, the destroyers were expected to escort, augment and protect the battle-line, that is, the capital ships. This was reflected in the emphasis on the installation and development of anti-ship weaponry - guns and torpedoes. As a result, the "legacy" and inter-war classes were deficient in anti-submarine (A/S) and anti-aircraft (A/A) weapon systems. The effect can be seen in the particularly high rate of loss to air attack in the early war years.

Attempts to resolve this resulted in both improved new ship designs and in modifications to existing ships. A/A weapons were improved in number, power and fire control, with some classes equipped with main armament capable of A/A use, even at the expense of reduced calibre. Secondary armament progressed from largely ineffective batteries of machine-guns and 2 pdr "pom-pom"s to Bofors and Oerlikon rapid-fire cannon, sometimes at the expense of torpedo tubes. Some classes were fitted with a single 3-inch AA gun, but this was unsatisfactory and discontinued. Effectiveness was further improved by improvements in fire control, such as the adoption of the Dutch Hazemeyer system.

At the outbreak of war, A/S weapons were limited to the depth charge and ASDIC (sonar). The weaknesses of this combination had been known before the start of the war, but the development of a replacement - the ahead-throwing weapon - had not been advanced with much urgency. The Hedgehog spigot mortar arrived in early 1943 and was fitted in older destroyers converted for convoy escort work. Hedgehog was followed by the Squid mortar later in the same year. Although it was trialled on HMS Ambuscade, it was rushed into service in Castle-class corvettes and Loch-class frigates and few destroyers received this weapon before the cessation of hostilities.

The effectiveness against surface threats was improved by new guns and the introduction of radar. Radar, in particular, gave British destroyers a decisive advantage such as in night actions against the Italian Regia Marina, enabling clear victories at Cape Bon and off Sfax. Gun mountings were developed to provide high angle, anti-aircraft capability and all round gun houses.