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The River class were the first ocean going destroyers built for the Algarvian Navy. The previous classes were more harbour defence torpedo boats. Almost 300 feet, the ships were as large as any being built anywhere else in the world. Algarves problem was in the time it took to build a flotilla (8 ships) of this class places like the UK, US, Germany, Japan would build 2-3 flotillas of similar vessels. The ships were laid down in 1906 to 1908 and were completed in 1909 to 1910.
The armament was five 4"/40 calibre guns, with four 18" torpedo tubes as the main armament against larger targets. Speed was moderate at 30 knots and range was on the short side. However they were economical steamers and well liked by their crews. Despite the heavy use the ships took during WW1 as escorts for convoys from Algarve to Gibraltar and Algarve to Port Said the eight ships remained intact and were still in service in the late 1920's. All eight had been scrapped or sold by 1935.
Displacement: 920 tons standard, 1,160 tons full load.
Dimensions: 295 x 30 x 11 feet
Machinery: 2 shaft, steam turbines, 23,000shp
Speed: 30 knots
Endurance: 2,500 miles @ 14 knots.
Armour: nil
Armament:
5 x 4" (5x1)
4 x 18" torpedoes (2x2)
Crew: 80
Valotte River (1909) Service/Fate