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The C class was a class of 32 destroyers of the Royal Navy that were launched from 1943 to 1945. The class was built in four flotillas of 8 vessels, the "Ca", "Ch", "Co" and "Cr" groups or sub-classes, ordered as the 11th, 12th, 13th and 14th Emergency Flotillas respectively. The sub-class names are derived from the initial 2 letters of the member ships' names, although the "Ca" class were originally ordered with a heterogeneous mix of traditional destroyer names. A fifth flotilla, the "Ce" or 15th Emergency Flotilla, was planned but were cancelled in favour of the s after only the first two ships had been ordered. The pennant numbers were all altered from "R" superior to "D" superior at the close of World War II; this involved some renumbering to avoid duplications. ==Design== They were built as part of the War Emergency Programme, based on the hull and machinery of the pre-war J class, incorporating whatever advances in armament and naval radar were available at the time. Some of the class were completed in time for wartime service. All ships used the Fuze Keeping Clock High Angle Fire Control Computer.〔Destroyer Weapons of WW2, Hodges/Friedman, ISBN 0-85177-137-8〕 The "Ca" flotilla were generally repeats of the preceding Z class, and as such had a main gun armament of four guns on Mk V mounts, which could elevate to 55 degrees to give an anti-aircraft capability. Close-in anti-aircraft armament generally consisted of two 40mm Bofors guns in a twin stabilized Hazemayer mount, supplemented by four single 2-pounder "pom-pom" anti aircraft guns on power operated mounts. ''Caprice'' differed in having a quadruple 2-pounder "pom-pom" instead of the Hazemayer Bofors mount, while ''Cassandra'' had eight Oerlikon 20 mm cannon instead of the single pom-poms. Torpedo armament consisted of eight in two quadruple mounts, while 70 depth charges could be carried.〔Gardiner and Chesneau 1980, p. 43.〕〔 The succeeding "Ch", "Co" and "Cr" flotillas were fitted with the new Mk VI HA/LA Director instead of the Mk I Type K director of the Z and Ca classes, while remote power control (RPC) gunlaying equipment was fitted. The additional weight of the new fire control equipment and the powered mountings for the 4.5 inch guns meant that only one quadruple torpedo mount was fitted, and the depth charge armament was reduced to 35 depth charges.〔Whitley 2000, pp. 136, 138.〕 Most of the ships were fitted with a single Hazemayer Bofors mount, although some of the later ships instead had the lighter and simpler Mk V twin Bofors mount. This was normally supplemented by two power operated single pom-pom mounts and two 20 mm Oerlikon cannon.〔Whitley p138.〕〔Gardiner and Chesneau 1980, p. 44.〕 They also introduced the all-welded hull into Royal Navy destroyer construction, beginning in ''Contest'', with the "Cr" flotilla all being of all-welded construction.〔 Late delivery of the Mk VI directors delayed completion such that all but one of the "Ch"s, "Co"s or "Cr"s entered service after the end of the Second World War.〔Lenton 1970, p. 43.〕 Only ''Comet'' was commissioned before VJ Day, in June 1945, albeit too late to see action. ''Caprice'' was the last destroyer built for the Royal Navy to be fitted with the ubiquitous quadruple QF 2 pounder "pom-pom" mounting Mark VII. The "Ca" flotilla were reconstructed in the late 1950s and early 1960s to be modernised for anti-submarine warfare and to serve as fast fleet escorts. One bank of torpedo tubes and one 4.5 in gun was removed, allowing two Squid triple-barreled anti-submarine mortars to be fitted, while the ships' obsolete gun Mk I Type K director was replaced by a modern Mk 6M director as fitted to Royal Navy frigates, and the remaining 4.5 in guns fitted with RPC. Close in anti-aircraft armament was standardised as a single Mk V twin and two single 40 mm Bofors mounts. The ships were also fitted with new bridges; the post-refit bridge differed between the first four conversions (''Cavendish'', ''Carron'', ''Cavalier'' and ''Carysfort''), with open bridges and the later four (''Caprice'', ''Cassandra'', ''Caesar'' and ''Cambrian'') which were given frigate-type enclosed bridges.〔Gardiner and Chumbley 1995, p. 506.〕〔Hodges and Friedman 1979, p. 85.〕 The remaining "Ch", "Co" and Cr" ships in the Royal Navy were given a less extensive modernisation, with one 4.5 in gun being replaced by twin Squids, modified fire control and a close in anti aircraft armament of 1 twin and four single Bofors guns. ''Chieftain'', ''Chaplet'' and ''Comet'' were fitted as minelayers.〔Gardiner and Chumbley 1995, p. 490.〕〔Hodges and Friedman 1979, p. 92.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「C-class destroyer (1943)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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