River-class torpedo-boat destroyer
.jpg)
HMAS Torrens
|
|
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name: | River-class torpedo-boat destroyer |
| Operators: |
 Royal Australian Navy
|
| In commission: | 1910–1930 |
| Completed: | 6 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Torpedo-boat destroyer |
| Displacement: | 750 tons |
| Length: |
|
| Beam: | 24 ft 3.75 in (7.4105 m) |
| Draught: | 8 ft 6 in (2.59 m) |
| Propulsion: | 3 x Yarrow boilers, Parsons turbines, 10,000 hp (7,500 kW), 3 shafts |
| Speed: | 26 knots (48 km/h; 30 mph) |
| Range: | 2,690 nautical miles (4,980 km; 3,100 mi) at 11.5 knots (21.3 km/h; 13.2 mph) |
| Complement: | 66–73 |
| Armament: |
|
The River class was a class of six torpedo-boat destroyers operated by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Based on the British Acheron class, a batch of three ships was ordered for the Commonwealth Naval Forces in 1909, followed later by a second batch of three. All six vessels are named after Australian rivers.
The Rivers saw service during World War I. Ships of the class participated in the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force capture of German New Guinea, and performed patrols in Australian and Malayan waters. In 1917, the class was deployed as a single unit to the Mediterranean, and assigned to anti-submarine patrols of the Adriatic. The destroyers returned to Australia in 1919, and were placed in reserve.
All six ships of the class were disposed of by the 1930s. Three were sold for use as accommodation hulks (two to the NSW Penal Department, the third to Cockatoo Island Dockyard) and later sank. The other three were sunk as target ships. The bow and stern sections of HMAS Parramatta were recovered in 1973 and are preserved as memorials.
Based on the British Acheron class, the destroyers of this class had a displacement of 750 tons. The first three had a length overall of 246 feet (75 m), while the second three were longer at 250 feet 9 inches (76.43 m). They were powered by three oil-burning Yarrow boilers connected to Parsons turbines, which delivered 10,000 shaft horsepower (7,500 kW) to three propeller shafts. Cruising speed was 11.5 knots (21.3 km/h; 13.2 mph), giving the ship a range of 2,690 nautical miles (4,980 km; 3,100 mi), and maximum speed was 26 knots (48 km/h; 30 mph). Each ship's company consisted of between 66 and 73 personnel, including five officers. The destroyers' main armament consisted of a single BL 4-inch Mark VIII naval gun, supplemented by three QF 12 pounder 12 cwt naval guns. They were also fitted with three .303-inch machine guns and three single 18-inch torpedo tubes.
...
Wikipedia