DD 1928 Achlys

Achlys Class Destroyers.

Inter-war destroyers built to replace the early Anax class destroyers which had had a hard war and/or taken battle damage that had impacted adversely to their longevity. The ships had the same armament as the earlier Anax class but were slightly wider and a foot longer at 344 feet. The extra breadth at 37 feet did not slow them down at all with the class making 40,000shp for 35 knots. Five lots of four ships per year were built.

With the older Anax class being scrapped 1928-30, the Achlys took those ships roles over. With the new destroyer classes starting from 1933-34 with dual purpose weapons, the Achlys class started being moved into secondary roles. 1935 and the rise of the aircraft shows that the major ships will need as much covering fire as the fleet escorts could produce. To that end the Achlys class started converting to AA escorts from 1936, coming back to the fleet from 1937 onwards. Note that the single 5" mounting weighs 13 tons while the twin 4" weighs 13.4 tons. To help with the extra topweight fitted to the ships the forward quad bank of torpedoes is removed while the after set is exchanged for a triple removed from the Anax class.

As Completed 1927-28 to 1932:
Displacement: 2400 tons standard, 2,900 tons full load.
Dimensions: 344 x 37 x 12 feet
Machinery: 2 shaft, steam turbines, 40,000shp
Speed: 35 knots
Endurance: 4,500 miles at 15 knots
Armament:
4 x 5" (4x1)
4 x 25.4mm (2x2)
Torpedoes: 8 x 21" (2x4)
Crew: 190

As refitted 1937+:
Displacement: 2500 tons standard, 3,050 tons full load.
Dimensions: 344 x 37 x 12 feet
Machinery: 2 shaft, steam turbines, 40,000shp
Speed: 35 knots
Endurance: 4,500 miles at 15 knots
Armament:
8 x 4" (4x2)
4 x 40mm (1x4)
12 x 25.4mm (6x2)
Torpedoes: 3 x 21" (1x3)
Crew: 205

Service/Fate:

Of the twenty ships of the Achlys type twelve survived the war and were laid up and sold for scrap 1945 onwards.
Of the eight ships lost:

1940, one lost at Dunkirk by Stukas, providing AA fire for the beach pick-up areas.
1941, one lost to Italian sub, one lost by bombs in Crete withdrawal.
1942, one lost taking torpedo meant for Zeus off Malaysian coast, one lost in air strike at Midway in defence of Athena.
1943, one lost to bombs off Anzio beach landings, one lost on Arctic convoy to Russia.
1944, last one lost to Jap Fleet attack off Philipines.

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