The Markham class were being built when the Senate authorised more small Patrol/Anti-aircraft cruisers to be built. Antarctica always seemed to be short of small cruisers to do the 'maids of all work' duties. This new class would provide two new streams with the Larsen class being the CLA version and the Klink class the CL type. They would share the same hull and machinery with the Larsen armed with 10x5" and the Klink with 9x6".



The first pair completed in late 1940, then another four in 1941, four more in 1942, and the final pair in 1943. These were the first Antarctican ships to mount the new 40mm Bofors mountings. Radar predictors were eventually fitted for all of the mountings. These ships were tied to the fleet and were used as guard ships for the big carriers. Not only as AA guards but also torpedo guards, where these ships would deliberately put themselves in front of torpedoes aimed at the carrier it was guarding. Cheaper to replace a small cruiser than a large carrier.

Ten of the twelve ships survived the war. Both being lost to guided bombs. The Troup was sunk in the Mediterranean after being hit by a Fritz X guided bomb. The Boult was lost to a hit from a Japanese Ohka guided rocket bomb. Part of the Kamikaze equipment. The Boult was guarding the CV Albanon at the time. A hit on the Albanon from an Ohka may well have been fatal. The ten survivors were a part of the Fleet till 1948 when they were put up for sale. Four found overseas buyers, the remaining six were sent to the reserve Fleet. They were reactivated in 1951 to guard the carriers going to Korea, then Vietnam. Those six were finally sold for scrap in 1974. They had proved very useful AA ships. When compared to the Dido and Atlanta classes their longevity speaks for itself. The Atlanta class were discarded quickly after wars end, they were too unstable for the armaments the US had tried to fit them with. The same applied to the Dido class, the 5.25" turret, mountings and associated equipment were too big and heavy for the size of ship they were mounted on. The Improved Dido's with four turrets instead of five performed much better.

I like RN ships, I use their designs all the time. But I am also very aware of their flaws. The British were very good at designing and building their ships to the last ton of the Treaty values. Often to the detriment of the ships themselves. One major flaw is that RN ships are notoriously 'wet' forward. The armament (and its weight) are too far toward the bow. This creates 'plunging' motions, like a porpoise and makes the bow end of the ship 'wet'. Of course all the mess decks for the ordinary seaman are forward, near the bow. Conditions in those mess decks in some RN ships were absolutely horrible. Dank, mouldy places where tuberculosis could run rife. In response to that flaw, when I am using RN hulls for my Alternate ships, the first thing I do is move the forward armament further aft. This also has the benefit of allowing my designs to maintain higher speeds with the more weatherly designs.

 

Displacement	7,000 tons standard, 8,800 tons full load
Length	540 ft
Breadth	55 ft
Draught	16 ft
Machinery	4 shaft, steam turbines, 80,000ihp
Speed	33 knots
Range	7,000 miles at 12 knots
Armour	3" side, 2" deck
Armament	As completed 10 x 5" (5x2) 16 x 2pd AA (4x4) 8 x 20mm (8x1)
Torpedoes	8 x 21" (2x4)
Complement	460
Notes	Senator Larsen Senator Hadlee Senator Troup - sunk 1943 Senator Southee Senator Vettori Senator Boult - sunk 1945 Senator Wagner Senator Martin Senator Cairns Senator Morrison Senator Chatfield Senator Collinge

286 Radar as fitted to the Larsen Class.


Japanese Ohka, rocket bomb, that sank the Senator Boult.



The Ohka required a mothership to get it to its release point near the Allied Fleets.