Rocket-class destroyer

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

File:HMS Surly during manoeuvres, D Squadron, Preliminary Cruise 25 July 1901 RMG PU0300.jpg

HMS Surly during manoeuvres, 25 July 1901

Three Rocket-class destroyers served with the Royal Navy.

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.

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)