Hi all!
A little necropost (but with drawings, so probably OK): British A-, B-, and C-class destroyers / Palmer 27- and 30-knotters
Early British destroyers were built to a broad Admiralty specifications, the particulars left to the builders. All had the same armament (1 - 76mm, 5 - 57mm and 2 - 457mm torpedo tubes), and none were able to sustain their design speed. There were twelve different yards involved, and all boats differed from each other (although some not much). These boats were designated A-Class (27-knotters), B-Class (four-funnel 30-knotters), C-Class (three-funnel 30-knotters) and D-Class (2-funnel 30-knotters) in 1912/3.
Palmer delivered three 27-knotters in 1895 (Janus, Lightning and Porcupine).
Palmer then built thirteen 30-knotters in 1897 through 1901 (Star, Whiting, Bat, Crane, Chamois, Flying Fish, Fawn, Flirt, Peterel, Spiteful, Myrmidon, Syren and Kangaroo). Of the 30-knotters, the first eight were three-funnel C-class vessels with the exhausts of the center boilers trunked together.
The newer ones had one funnel for each of their four boilers.
To replace accident losses, two additional destroyers were purchased from Palmers in 1909, named Albacore and Bonetta. Both were turbine-powered, but only good for 26,5 knots (although sustained; the lower figure likely resulted from a more realistic trials regime). They were beamier and heavier and had more freeboard forward.
Greetings
GD