Beagle Class Destroyer

Beagle Class Destroyer

The Beagle class (officially redesignated as the G class in 1913) was a class of sixteen destroyers of the Royal Navy, all ordered under the 1908-1909 programme and launched in 1909 and 1910. The Beagles served during World War I, particularly during the Dardanelles Campaign of 1915.

After the oil-burning Tribal or F class of 1905 and HMS Swift of 1907, the Beagles marked a return to a smaller, more useful design, although still significantly larger than the River or E class. The Admiralty had concern over the availability of oil stocks in the event of a war, so the Beagles were coal-burners, the last British destroyers to be so fueled.

Unlike their predecessors, the Beagles had a more-or-less uniform appearance, with three funnels, although thicknesses varied between ships according to builders' preferences. Although designed to carry five 12-pounder guns, they had the 4-inch (102 mm) gun (introduced in the last of the Tribals) and only three 12-pounder guns, and the 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo (introduced in the singleton Swift) fitted as standard. Importantly, the 12-pounder guns were redistributed, the guns mounted at the fo'c'sle break, which had been standard since the first torpedo boat destroyers, and were prone to being swamped in heavy seas being relocated amidships. Additional improvements included a higher bridge and taller bandstand mount for the 4-inch (102 mm) gun on the fo'c'sle to improve the ability to fight and con the ship in heavy seas.

Being coal-fired, they were obsolete by the end of the First World War and the surviving ships were all scrapped by the end of 1921.