Purchase includes free access to book updates online and a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Chapters: B Class Destroyer, Hms Boadicea, Hms Bulldog, Hms Blanche, Hms Beagle, Hms Basilisk, Hms Brazen, Hms Brilliant, Hms Boreas, Hms Keith. Excerpt: The B class was a class of nine destroyers of the British Royal Navy, ordered as part of the 1928 Naval Estimates, launched in 1930 and that commissioned in 1931. The class was similar to the preceding A class, with minor modifications. They saw extensive service in World War II and five were sunk in combat; Blanche had the unfortunate distinction of being the first British destroyer lost during the war, when she was mined in the Thames Estuary some 2 months after the declaration of war. The main difference between the As and the Bs was that the latter dispensed with the minesweeping gear of the former in lieu of Asdic (sonar) and depth charges to suit them to anti-submarine work. Unlike the A class the flotilla leader, Keith, was built upon the same hull as her sisters; the enlarged leader HMS Codrington of the A class proved to be tactically incompatible with her flotilla as she was both a number of knots faster and had a much greater tactical radius. As a result, Keith was too small to accommodate the entirety of Captain (D)'s staff, and Blanche was fitted as a divisional leader to carry the surplus. The early losses likely had few modifications; restricted to replacing the after set of torpedo tubes with a QF 12 pounder anti-aircraft (A/A) gun - if at all. Like their contemporary older British destroyers, the B class were cascaded into convoy escort work as new vessels became available for fleet work. Modifications generally involved the aforementioned addition of the 12 pounder and striking the mainmast to improve the weapon's field of fire. 'Y' gun was landed to increase the space available fo. More:
| | B Class Destroyers: B Class Destroyer, Hms Boadicea, Hms Bulldog, Hms Blanche, Hms Beagle, Hms Basilisk, Hms Brazen, Hms Brilliant, Hms Boreas |  | 9.16 |  |