Rocket-class destroyer

Three Rocket-class destroyers served with the Royal Navy.

Class overview
Name	Rocket class
Builders	J & G Thomson, Clydebank
Operators	Royal Navy
Preceded by	Sunfish class
Succeeded by	Sturgeon class
Built	1894–1895
In commission	1894–1920
Completed	3
Scrapped	3
General characteristics
Type	Torpedo boat destroyer
Displacement	280 long tons (284 t)
Length	200 ft (61 m)
Propulsion	4 x Normand boilers, 2 x triple expansion steam engines rated 4,100 hp (3,057 kW)
Speed	27 knots (50 km/h; 31 mph)
Complement	53
Armament	1 × 12 pounder gun 2 × torpedo tubes

HMS Surly during manoeuvres, 25 July 1901

Under the 1893–1894 Naval Estimates, the British Admiralty placed orders for 36 torpedo-boat destroyers, all to be capable of 27 knots (50 km/h; 31 mph), the "27-knotters", as a follow-on to the six prototype "26-knotters" ordered in the previous 1892–1893 Estimates. As was typical for torpedo craft at the time, the Admiralty left detailed design to the builders, laying down only broad requirements.^[1][2]

HMS Rocket, HMS Shark and HMS Surly were built by J & G Thomson and launched at Clydebank in 1894. The ships displaced 280 tons, were 200 ft (61 m) long and their Normand boilers produced 4,100 horsepower (3,100 kW). to give a top speed of 27 knots (50 km/h; 31 mph). They were armed with one 12-pounder and two torpedo tubes. They carried a complement of 53 officers and men.

In September 1913 the Admiralty re-classed all the surviving 27-knotter destroyers as A Class although this only applied to Surly as the other two ships had been sold for scrap in 1912.

See also

• A-class destroyer (1913)