G e n e r a l I n f o r
m a t i o n
One of the
lessons learned at the expense of many lives and the loss of many merchant ships
was that the survival of Great Britain in war depended on the safe passage of
shipping to and from the United Kingdom. This requirement was satisfied when
after much reluctance the convoy system was introduced in 1917. Ships in convoy
then had to be escorted by warships able to counter the threat of submarines and
surface craft. By 1938 it was clear that the Royal Navy did not have sufficient
suitable ships to meet this obvious threat, to which a third dimension had been
added. The use of aircraft by any enemy to attack shipping simply made the
matter of even greater importance.
HMS Mendip, Type I (Navy Photos/Mark Teadham)
For this
reason, amongst the re-armament measures introduced when the possibility of war
with Germany had reluctantly been recognised, was the authorisation of the build
of a new class of Escort Destroyers. These ships were needed to be available
for service without an inordinate delay and had to be armed to deal with the
submarine, surface and air threat. They were originally designed to carry three
twin 4in gun mountings capable of dealing with the submarine, surface and
aircraft threats. For anti-submarine attacks the design called for 60 depth
charges with two throwers and two sets of rails. The speed requirement called
for in the build specification was between 28 and 30 knots.
HMS Cowdray, Type II (Navy Photos/Michael Pocock)
Tenders for
build were issued in December 1938 for the first 10 of a new Class of Escort
which were known as the HUNT-Class and named after Foxhunt Hunts mainly in the
British Isles (one was in Gibraltar). A class of minesweeping sloops built at
the end of WW1 had also been given these names. The new ship design ships
displaced 1,380 tons at full load, but before the first ships had been completed
several design problems arose which resulted in construction being stopped. As a
result of investigations related to the stability of these ships it was decided
to reduce top-weight and to fit only two twin 4in mountings in the first 20
ships. These became known as Type I HUNT-Class. By increasing the beam by 18in
it was possible to return to the original design in the subsequent ships which
became the Type II HUNTS. The change in design increased the displacement to
1,490 tons. In order to fit torpedo tubes in ships ordered under the 1940
Programme their main armament had to be reduced to two 4" mountings. These
became Type III HUNTS and had the same displacement as the Type II. Two other
ships built to a modified commercial design were designated Type IV and had
many improved features but proved more costly and had increased displacement of
1,590 tons. No other Type IV were built.
HMS Easton, Type III (Navy Photos/Mark Teadham)
In all 86
HUNT Class were built and apart from the differences in gun and torpedo fits had
the same type of propulsion machinery with a shaft horsepower of 19,000 driving
two shafts. A larger complement of 168 was required in the ships with three
twin mountings or with the torpedo tubes.
HMS Brissenden, Type IV (Navy Photos)
Once in
service the HUNT Class played a vital part in sea operations. Their 4in armament
with a dual purpose AA and surface capability made them effective escorts. All
Types did however have the disadvantage of requiring frequent fuelling during
long voyages, as for example when used for escort of Russian convoys. They were
not comfortable ships and their accommodation was cramped. The first ships
completed were used for coastal convoy escorts but as more became available the
HUNT-Class were deployed in the Mediterranean and in the Arctic. They
participated in the sinking of 21 submarines and in many actions in defence of
UK coastal shipping. Thirteen were manned by allied navies some of whom
retained them after May 1945. A heavy price was paid for the contribution made.
Nineteen ships were lost in action and a further six damaged beyond economic
repair with no less than 17 others being out of operational use due to action
damage which needed many months under repair.
After the
end of hostilities, apart from 19 which were transferred to foreign navies and
two which were retained for special trials, all the remainder were placed in
Reserve.
Addendum
Our thanks to those contributors who have sent in
corrections/additional material for the Hunt-class escort destroyers, including
Jon Summers