"W" class Utility Destroyers
 
Individual Specifications
Name Pennant Builder Completed Fate
Kempenfelt * R03 Clydebank 25/10/43 To Yugoslavia as Kotor 1956, scrapped 1971
Wrangler R48 Vickers Armstrong 14/7/44 To South Africa as Vrystaat 1950, sunk as target off 1976
Wakeful R59 Fairfield 17/2/44 Scrapped 1971
Wager R98 Clydebank 14/4/44 To Yugoslavia as Pula 1956, scrapped 1972
Wessex R78 Fairfield 11/5/44 To South Africa as Jan Van Reibeck 1950, sunk as target off Cape Town 1980
Whelp R37 Hawthorn Leslie 26/4/44 To South Africa as Simon Van Der Stel 1950, scrapped later
Whirlwind R87 Hawthorn Leslie 20/7/44 Expended as air target, Cardigan Bay, 29/10/74
Wizard R72 Vickers Armstrong 30/3/44 Scrapped 1967

* - Flotilla leaders

1:600 view of the "standard" for the "W" class. The Mark 3 HA/LA DCT was this classes major innovation. © Andrew Arthur.
1:600 HMS Wessex. Wessex shipped a quad pom-pom due to short supply of twin 40mm Bofors, and had no wing 20mm guns, again for supply reasons. © Andrew Arthur.
Wrangler had the midships 20mm guns replaced by single 2pdr's to deal with Kamikaze's. © Andrew Arthur.

"S" class repeats again, the light AA armament became less uniform as ships recieved different fits when destined for Far East - and Kamikaze attacks. They all had tall lattices forward, and pole mainmasts, and the seperate low and high andle DCT's were replaced by a combined Mark 3 HA/LA DCT.
SW type 272 on the foremast, AR type 285 on the DCT, 282 on the twin Bofors ( where carried ) and AW type 291 on the mainmast was the RDF fit.
See below for light AA armaments.

Dimensions
Full Displacement 2530 tons Length 362.75'
Empty Displacement 1710 tons Beam 35.75'
Load 820 tons Draft 10'

 

Performance & Propulsion
Machinery 2 x Admirality 3 drum boilers, 2 x Parsons geared steam turbines @ 40000 hp
Speed 36 kts, 32 kts full Range 4675 nm @ 20 kts.

 

Armament & Complement
Complement Officers & Ratings,  in Flotilla Leaders
Armament
Designed
  • Gun
    • 4 x 1 x 4.7" DP
    • 1 x 2 x 40mm Bofors AA
    • 4 x light AA positions carrying either;
      • 4 x 2 x 20mm Oerlikon AA or;
      • 4 x 1 x 2pdr pom-pom AA or;
      • 4 x 1 x 40mm Bofors AA or;
      • any combination of the above three
    • some others carried 1 x 1 x 40mm Bofors AA amidships
  • Torpedoes
    • 2 x 4 x 21" tubes
  • ASW
    • 4 x DC lobbers
    • 2 x DC rails
    • 70 x DC's
   
Light AA armament as launched
Wessex & Whelp
  • 1 x 4 x 2pdr pom-pom AA
  • 2 x 2 x 20mm Oerlikon AA
Some others
  • 1 x 2 x 40mm Bofors AA
  • 2 x 1 x 2pdr pom-pom / 2 x 1 x Bofors AA
  • 2 x 2 x 20mm Oerlikon AA
 
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