Allied Warships

Escort destroyers

Hunt (Type I) class

20 ships


The escort destroyer HMS Tynedale (L 96) of the Royal Navy. She was lost on 12 Dec 1943.

Technical information

TypeEscort destroyer
Displacement1000 BRT 
Length85.3 m 
Complement146 men 
Armament

4 4" AA guns (2x2)
4 2pdr AA (1x4)
2 20mm AA (2x1) 

Max speed29 knots
EnginesGeared turbines, 2 shafts 
Power19000 HP 
Notes on class

Conventional modern destroyers like the Tribal class were too expensive to be built in the numbers required for escort of merchant shipping. The Hunt class was a comparatively inexpensive updated turn of the century "torpedo boat destroyer" with modern quick firing guns also suitable for anti-aircraft protection. Endurance was inadequate for trans-Atlantic escort work.

The Hunt Class destroyer were conceived as a destroyer for use in the confines of coastal operation such as the North Sea and Mediterranean, they were required to have a good all round armament of 6 4" HA guns plus lighter weapons. They were not required to be fitted with torpedo tubes. Due to a substantial error in the design it is reported that HMS Atherstone 'lent against the dock' when fitting her "X" twin 4 inch mount. This gun was removed and several changes made, All the first group had 50 tons of steel ingots in their bottom to correct their stability problem. Some of the Hunt Class ships never left home waters, these were mostly the Type I ships, many being fitted with a 2 pdr bow chaser pom pom. 


All ships of the Hunt (Type I) class


Royal Navy Royal Navy (more on Royal Navy)

HMS Atherstone (L 05)
HMS Berkeley (L 17) Lost on 19 Aug 1942
HMS Cattistock (L 35)
HMS Cleveland (L 46)
HMS Cotswold (L 54)
HMS Cottesmore (L 78)
HMS Eglinton (L 87)
HMS Exmoor (i) (L 61) Lost on 25 Feb 1941
HMS Fernie (L 11)
HMS Garth (L 20)
HMS Hambledon (L 37)
HMS Holderness (L 48)
HMS Mendip (L 60)
HMS Meynell (L 82)
HMS Pytchley (L 92)
HMS Quantock (L 58)
HMS Quorn (L 66) Lost on 3 Aug 1944
HMS Southdown (L 25)
HMS Tynedale (L 96) Lost on 12 Dec 1943
HMS Whaddon (L 45)


20 Escort destroyers of the Hunt (Type I) class. 4 of them were lost.

See all Escort destroyer classes.


Hunt (Type I) class ships hit by U-boats (1)

12 Dec 1943HMS TynedaleSunkU-593

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