View source for Q and R-class destroyer

{{Short description|Class of 16 British destroyers, ordered in 1940}}
{{for|another use|R-class destroyer (1916)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2018}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2018}}
{{more citations needed|date=January 2013}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin|sclass=2}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=File:Aankomst Hr. Ms. Banckert te Den Helder, Bestanddeelnr 903-0116.jpg
|Ship caption= [[HMS Quilliam (G09)|HNLMS ''Banckert'']] on 20 September 1948
}}{{Infobox ship class overview
|Builders=
|Operators=*{{navy|United Kingdom}}
*{{naval|Australia|1913}}
*{{naval|Netherlands}}
*{{naval|India|1950}}
|Class before={{sclass2|O and P|destroyer|4}}
|Class after={{sclass2|S and T|destroyer|4}}
|Subclasses=Q, R
|Built range=
|In commission range=
|Total ships building=
|Total ships planned=
|Total ships completed=16
|Total ships cancelled=
|Total ships active=
|Total ships laid up=
|Total ships lost=2 (+1 expended)
|Total ships retired=13
|Total ships preserved=
}}{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=Q class<ref name="lenton">''British and Empire Warships of the Second World War'', H. T. Lenton, Greenhill Books, {{ISBN|1-85367-277-7}}</ref>
|Ship type= [[Destroyer]]
|Ship displacement=*{{convert|1,692|LT|t|0|abbr=on}}
*{{convert|2,411|LT|t|0|abbr=on}} full load
|Ship length={{convert|358.25|ft|m|1|abbr=on}} [[Length overall|o/a]]
|Ship beam={{convert|35.75|ft|m|1|abbr=on}}
|Ship draught={{convert|9.5|ft|m|1|abbr=on}}
|Ship propulsion=2 × [[Admiralty three-drum boiler]]s, [[Parsons Marine Steam Turbines|Parsons]] geared steam turbines, {{convert|40000|shp|abbr=on}} on 2 shafts
|Ship speed={{convert|36|kn|km/h|abbr=on}}
|Ship range={{convert|4675|nmi|km|abbr=on}} at {{convert|20|kn|km/h}}
|Ship complement=176 (225 as [[flotilla leader]])
|Ship sensors=*Radar Type 290 air warning
*Radar Type 285 ranging & bearing 
|Ship EW=
|Ship armament=* 4 × [[4.7 inch QF Mark IX|QF {{convert|4.7|in|mm|abbr=on}} Mk.IX guns]], single mounts CP Mk.XVIII
* 4 × [[QF 2 pounder naval gun|QF 2 pdr Mk.VIII]] (40 mm L/39), quad mount Mk.VII
* 6 × [[Oerlikon 20 mm cannon|QF 20&nbsp;mm Oerlikon]], single mount P Mk.III
* 8 (2×4) tubes for [[British 21 inch torpedo|{{convert|21|inch|mm|abbr=on|0}} torpedoes Mk.IX]]
* up to 3 × throwers & 3 × racks, to 45 [[depth charge]]s 
|Ship notes=
}}{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption= (R class)
|Ship displacement=*{{convert|1,705|LT|t|0|abbr=on}}
* {{convert|2,425|LT|t|0|abbr=on}} full load
|Ship complement= 176 (237 in leader)
|Ship armament= 4 × throwers & 2 × racks, 70 depth charges
|Ship notes=  Other characteristics as per Q class
}}
|}
The '''Q and R class''' was a [[ship class|class]] of sixteen [[War Emergency Programme destroyers|War Emergency Programme]] [[destroyer]]s ordered for the [[United Kingdom|British]] [[Royal Navy]] in 1940 as the '''3rd''' and '''4th Emergency Flotilla'''. They served as [[convoy]] escorts during [[World War II]]. Three Q-class ships were transferred to the [[Royal Australian Navy]] upon completion, with two further ships being handed over in 1945. ''Roebuck'' had the dubious honour of being [[Ceremonial ship launching|launched]] prematurely by an air raid at [[Scotts Shipbuilding & Engineering Company|Scotts]] shipyard in [[Greenock]], her partially complete hulk lying submerged in the dockyard for nine months before it was salvaged and completed.<ref name="lenton"/>

==Design==
The Q and R class were repeats of the preceding {{sclass2|O and P|destroyer|4}}, but reverted to the larger [[J-, K- and N-class destroyer|J-, K- and N-class]] hull to allow for the inevitable growth in topweight. As they had fewer main guns than the J, K and Ns, some magazine space was replaced by fuel bunkers,<ref name="lenton"/> allowing some {{convert|4675|nmi|km}} to be made at {{convert|20|kn|km/h}}, rather than the {{convert|3700|nmi|km|abbr=on}} of their predecessors. Like the O and Ps, they were armed with what weapons were available: {{convert|4.7|in|mm|adj=on|0}} guns on single mountings that allowed only 40° elevation, which do not compare favourably on paper with many contemporaries. These ships used the [[Fuze Keeping Clock]] HA Fire Control Computer.<ref>Destroyer Weapons of WW2, Hodges/Friedman, {{ISBN|0-85177-137-8}}</ref>

In the Q class, 'Y' gun could be removed, allowing additional depth charges and projectors, or [[minesweeper|minesweeps]], to be carried.

The R class were repeats of the Qs, except that the officers' accommodation was moved from its traditional location right aft to the more accessible location amidships.<ref name="lenton"/> This facilitated the change in watchkeepers in inclement weather; the main deck of a destroyer would often be entirely awash in heavy seas, and catwalks were not fitted to connect fore and aft until the [[U and V-class destroyer|V class]] ordered in 1941.

In surviving ships, the single 20&nbsp;mm Oerlikon guns in the bridge wings were later replaced by hydraulically operated Mark V twin mountings. ''Rotherham'', ''Raider'' and ''Rocket'' later had the Oerlikons and searchlight amidships replaced by four single [[Bofors 40 mm Automatic Gun L/60|QF 40 mm Bofors]]. The searchlight was later reinstated at the cost of depth charge stowage. ''Raider'' only had an additional pair of twin Mark V Oerlikon mounts added on the after shelter deck. Radar Type 290 was replaced by Type 291, and later by Type 293 in some ships. The centimetric wavelength Type 272 set was added on a platform between the torpedo tubes in ''Rotherham'', ''Racehorse'', ''Rapid'', ''Raider'' and ''Roebuck'', or at the foremast truck in other ships. ''Racehorse'', ''Raider'', ''Rapid'', ''Redoubt'' and ''Relentless'' had [[Huff-Duff]] (High-frequency Direction-finder) added on a lattice mainmast.

==Ships==

===Q class===
{| class="sortable wikitable plainrowheaders" style="font-size:97%;"
|+ Construction data
|-
! scope="col" | Name
! scope="col" | Pennant number
! scope="col" | Builder
! scope="col" | Laid down
! scope="col" | Launched
! scope="col" | Commissioned
! scope="col" | Fate
|-
! scope="row" | {{HMS|Queenborough|G30|2}}
| G70
| [[Swan Hunter]]
| 6 November 1940
| 16 January 1942
| 15 September 1942
| To [[Royal Australian Navy]] as {{HMAS|Queenborough|G30|6}} 1945, later converted to [[Type 15 frigate]], sold for scrapping 1975
|-
! scope="row" | {{HMS|Quadrant|G11|2}}
| G11/G67
| rowspan="2" |[[Hawthorn Leslie and Company|Hawthorn Leslie]]
| 24 September 1940
| 28 February 1942
| 26 November 1942
| To Australia as {{HMAS|Quadrant|G11|6}} 1945, later converted to Type 15 frigate, sold for scrapping 1962
|-
! scope="row" | {{HMS|Quail|G45|2}}
| G45
| 30 September 1940
| 1 June 1942
| 7 January 1943
| Mined off [[Bari]] 15 November 1943, foundered under tow en route for [[Taranto]] 18 June 1944
|-
! scope="row" | {{HMS|Quality|G62|2}}
| G62
| [[Swan Hunter]]
| 10 October 1940
| 6 October 1941
| 7 September 1942
| To Australia as {{HMAS|Quality|G62|6}} 1942, sold for scrapping 1958
|-
! scope="row" | {{HMS|Quentin|G78|2}}
| G78
| rowspan="3" |[[J. Samuel White]]
| 25 September 1940
| 5 November 1941
| 15 April 1942
| Torpedoed and sunk by Italian aircraft off [[Galita Island]] 2 December 1942
|-
! scope="row" | {{HMS|Quiberon|G81|2}}
| G81
| 14 October 1940
| 31 January 1942
| 6 July 1942
| Later converted to [[Type 15 frigate]] To Australia as {{HMAS|Quiberon|G81}}, sold for scrapping 1972
|-
! scope="row" | {{HMS|Quickmatch|G92|2}}
| G92
| 6 February 1941
| 11 April 1942
| 14 September 1942
| Later converted to Type 15 frigate To Australia as {{HMAS|Quickmatch|G92}}, sold for scrapping 1972
|-
! scope="row" | {{HMS|Quilliam|G09|2}}{{efn|name=flotldr}}
| G09
| [[Hawthorn Leslie and Company|Hawthorn Leslie]]
| 19 August 1940
| 29 November 1941
| 22 October 1942
| To [[Royal Netherlands Navy]] as {{HNLMS|Banckert|G09|6}} 1945, sold for scrapping 1957
|}
{{notelist|refs=
{{efn|name=flotldr|[[flotilla leader]]}}
}}

===R class===
{| class="sortable wikitable plainrowheaders" style="font-size:97%;"
|+ Construction data
|-
! scope="col" | Name
! scope="col" | Pennant number
! scope="col" | Builder
! scope="col" | Laid down
! scope="col" | Launched
! scope="col" | Commissioned
! scope="col" | Fate
|-
! scope="row" | {{HMS|Rotherham|H09|2}}{{efn|name=flotldr}}
| H09
| rowspan="2" |[[William Denny and Brothers|John Brown]]
| 10 April 1941
| 21 March 1942
| August 1942
| To [[Indian Navy]] as ''Rajput'' 1949; scrapped 1976
|-
! scope="row" | {{HMS|Racehorse|H11|2}}
| H11
| 25 June 1941
| 1 June 1942
| 30 October 1942
| Sold for scrapping 1949
|-
! scope="row" | {{HMS|Raider|H15|2}}
| H15
| rowspan="2" |[[Cammell Laird|Cammel Laird]]
| 16 April 1941
| 1 April 1942
| 16 November 1942
| To India as ''Rana'' 1949
|-
! scope="row" | {{HMS|Rapid|H32|2}}
| H32
| 16 June 1941
| 16 July 1942
| 20 February 1943
| Converted to Type 15 frigate 1953, expended as target 3 September 1981
|-
! scope="row" | {{HMS|Redoubt|H41|2}}
| H41
| rowspan="2" |[[William Denny and Brothers|John Brown]]
| 19 June 1941
| 2 May 1942
| 1 October 1942
| To India as ''Ranjit'' 1949
|-
! scope="row" | {{HMS|Relentless|H85|2}}
| H85
| 20 June 1941
| 15 July 1942
| 30 November 1942
| Converted to Type 15 frigate 1951, sold for scrapping 1971
|-
! scope="row" | {{HMS|Rocket|H92|2}}
| H92
| rowspan="2" |[[Scotts Shipbuilding and Engineering Company|Scotts]]
| 14 March 1941
| 28 October 1942
| 4 August 1943
| Converted to Type 15 frigate 1951, sold for scrapping 1967
|-
! scope="row" | {{HMS|Roebuck|H95|2}}
| H95
| 19 June 1941
| 10 December 1942
| 10 June 1943
| Converted to Type 15 frigate 1953, sold for scrapping 1968
|}
{{notelist|refs=
{{efn|name=flotldr|[[flotilla leader]]}}
}}

==See also==
{{Commons category|Q and R class destroyer}}
* [[Type 15 frigate]] – most surviving Q and R-class ships were given this conversion post-war.

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
* ''Destroyers of the Royal Navy, 1893–1981'', Maurice Cocker, Ian Allan, {{ISBN|0-7110-1075-7}}
*{{cite book|last=English|first=John|title=Obdurate to Daring: British Fleet Destroyers 1941–45|publisher=World Ship Society|location=Windsor, UK|year=2001|isbn=978-0-9560769-0-8}}
* {{cite book|last=Friedman|first=Norman|title=British Destroyers & Frigates: The Second World War and After|publisher=Naval Institute Press|location=Annapolis, Maryland|date=2006|isbn=1-86176-137-6|author-link=Norman Friedman}}
* ''Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946'', Ed. Robert Gardiner, Naval Institute Press, {{ISBN|0-87021-913-8}}
* ''Warships of Australia'', Ross Gillett, Illustrations Colin Graham, Rigby Limited, 1977, {{ISBN|0-7270-0472-7}}
* {{cite book|last=Lenton|first=H. T.|author-link=Henry Trevor Lenton|title=British & Empire Warships of the Second World War|publisher=Naval Institute Press|location=Annapolis, Maryland|year=1998|isbn=1-55750-048-7}}
* ''Royal Navy Destroyers since 1945'', Leo Marriott, Ian Allan, {{ISBN|0-7110-1817-0}}
* {{cite book|last=Raven|first=Alan|last2=Roberts|first2=John |title=War Built Destroyers O to Z Classes|publisher=Bivouac Books|location=London|year=1978|isbn=0-85680-010-4|name-list-style=amp}}
* {{cite book|last=Rohwer|first=Jürgen|title=Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945: The Naval History of World War Two|publisher=Naval Institute Press|location=Annapolis, Maryland|year=2005|edition=Third Revised|isbn=1-59114-119-2|author-link=Jürgen Rohwer}}
* {{cite book|last=Whitley|first=M. J.|title=Destroyers of World War 2|publisher=Naval Institute Press|year=1988|isbn=0-87021-326-1|location=Annapolis, Maryland|author-link=Michael J. Whitley}}

{{Q and R class destroyer}}
{{War Emergency Programme destroyers}}
{{WWII British ships}}
{{Ship classes of the Indian Navy}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Q And R Class Destroyer}}
[[Category:Destroyer classes]]
[[Category:Q and R-class destroyers| ]]
[[Category:Ship classes of the Royal Navy]]