The O and P class was a class of destroyers of the British Royal Navy. Ordered in 1939, they were the first ships in the War Emergency Programme, also known as the 1st and 2nd Emergency Flotilla, respectively. They served as convoy escorts in World War II, and some were subsequently converted to fast second-rate anti-submarine frigates in the 1950s.

Design

The O and P class were based on the hull and machinery of the preceding J class, but with more sheer forward to counter the poor riding qualities of the Js. These ships used the Fuze Keeping Clock HA Fire Control Computer.

O class

The O-class ships were built in two groups of four. The first group had 4.7 inch guns. They were in low-angle mounts which could elevate to only 40 degrees, and were additionally fitted with a 4-inch anti-aircraft gun in place of one set of torpedo tubes. The second group had 4-inch (102 mm) guns in high-angle mounts and were fitted to act as minelayers; they could be recognized by the flat "beaver tail" stern over which the mines were dropped.

When carrying mines they had to land Y gun, their torpedo tubes and depth charges. The designed anti-aircraft armament was one quadruple QF 2-pounder "pom pom" and a pair of quadruple 0.5-inch Vickers A/A machine guns. The latter proved to be outdated, and were replaced by 20 mm Oerlikon guns as they became available, with a total of six single mounts eventually being carried.

P class

The P class were repeats of the O class, armed entirely with 4 inch guns, in high-angle mounts fitted with a new tall design of shield which did not require the ships to lose a set of torpedo tubes to take on further AA guns.

Ships

O class

All ships survived the war. Five of them were involved in the Battle of the Barents Sea, Onslow being badly damaged. After the battle, the ships were refitted with tall lattice masts instead of the normal mast.

Construction data for 4.7-inch-armed ships
NamePennant numberBuilderLaid downLaunchedCompletedFate
Onslow (ex-Pakenham)G17John Brown & Co., Clydebank1 July 194031 March 19418 October 1941To Pakistan 1949 as Tippu Sultan, sold out
OffaG29Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering, Govan15 January 194011 March 194120 September 1941To Pakistan 1949 as Tariq, sold for scrap in 1959.
Onslaught (ex-Pathfinder)G0414 January 19419 October 194119 June 1942To Pakistan 1951 as Tughril, sold out.
Oribi (ex-Observer)G6615 January 194014 January 19415 July 1941To Turkey 1946 as Gayret, sold out.
Construction data for 4-inch-armed ships
NamePennant numberBuilderLaid downLaunchedCompletedFate
ObdurateG39William Denny & Bros., Dumbarton25 April 194019 February 19423 September 1942Sold for scrap in 1964 at J Cashmore's, Newport, Monmouthshire.
ObedientG4822 May 194030 April 194230 October 1942Sold for scrap - 1964.
OpportuneG80Thornycroft, Woolston28 March 194021 February 194214 August 1942Sold for scrap - 1955.
OrwellG9820 May 19402 April 194217 October 1942Converted to Type 16 frigate 1952, sold for scrap – 1965.

All of the O-class ships with 4-inch armament were fitted for minelaying.

P class

They served mainly in the Mediterranean, where four ships were lost.

Construction data for 4-inch-armed ships
NamePennant numberBuilderLaid downLaunchedCompletedFate
Pakenham (ex-Onslow)G06Hawthorn Leslie, Hebburn6 February 194028 January 19414 February 1942Disabled by gunfire from Italian Navy torpedo boats Cassiopea and Cigno off Marsala 16 April 1943 in the Battle of the Cigno Convoy, abandoned and scuttled by sister ship HMS Paladin following the action
PaladinG69John Brown & Co., Clydebank22 July 194011 June 1941December 1941Converted to Type 16 frigate 1954, sold for scrap in 1962
PantherG41Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering, Govan15 July 194028 May 194112 December 1941Bombed and sunk by German Junkers Ju 87 'Stuka' aircraft in Scarpanto Strait on 10 September 1943.
PartridgeG303 June 19405 August 194122 February 1942Torpedoed by German Submarine U-565 off Oran, 18 December 1942.
PathfinderG10Hawthorn Leslie, Hebburn5 March 194010 April 194113 April 1942On 11 February 1945, Pathfinder was hit by a Japanese bomber off Ramree, and was taken out of service. She was used as an aircraft target, sold for scrap in 1948.
PennG77Vickers Armstrongs, Higher Walker26 December 193912 February 194110 February 1942Sold for scrap - 1949.
PetardG5627 March 194115 June 1942Converted to Type 16 frigate, sold for scrap 1967.
PorcupineG9310 June 194131 August 1942Torpedoed by German submarine U-602 in the Mediterranean on 9 December 1942 which broke her in two; she was never repaired, but hulked as Pork and Pine, sold for scrap, 1947.

See also

  • Type 16 frigate: postwar conversion of some O and P class vessels into second-rate fast anti-submarine frigates.

Notes

Further reading

  • Destroyers of the Royal Navy, 1893–1981, Maurice Cocker, Ian Allan, ISBN 0-7110-1075-7
  • Connell, G. G. (1982). Arctic Destroyers: The 17th Flotilla. London: William Kimber. ISBN 0-7183-0428-4.
  • English, John (2001). Obdurate to Daring: British Fleet Destroyers 1941–45. Windsor, UK: World Ship Society. ISBN 978-0-9560769-0-8.
  • Friedman, Norman (2006). British Destroyers & Frigates: The Second World War and After. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-86176-137-6.
  • Lenton, H. T. (1998). British & Empire Warships of the Second World War. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-048-7.
  • March, Edgar J. (1966). British Destroyers: A History of Development, 1892–1953; Drawn by Admiralty Permission From Official Records & Returns, Ships' Covers & Building Plans. London: Seeley Service. OCLC .
  • Raven, Alan; Roberts, John (1978). War Built Destroyers O to Z Classes. London: Bivouac Books. ISBN 0-85680-010-4.
  • Rohwer, Jürgen (2005). Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945: The Naval History of World War Two (Third Revised ed.). Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-59114-119-2.
  • Whitley, M. J. (1988). Destroyers of World War Two: An International Encyclopedia. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-326-1.

External links