HMS Musketeer (DD-1940)

HMSAS Drakensberg (DD-1941)

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The J-N class were the result of the Tribal class. These ships were the same size as the Tribals but sacrificed a turret to add an extra set of torpedo tubes. The first of each of the first 2 classes (J & K) were to be the leaders of the flotilla and also were earmarked for Captain Lord Mountbatten to be appointed to. The fittings to these two ships were a bit more sumptuous than their sisterships. With a decent dual purpose turret available there was no need for the JKN type with the open mountings. Those classes could be grouped with the LM type for a much larger class with better overall capabilities.

The moment you get rid of the Low angle guns and give the turret an 85 degree dual purpose arrangement with 4.5" guns, you give these ships a boost in usefulness. They were great looking ships and my favourite destroyers of WW2. But why oh why did the RN designers keep with those low angle guns.. It meant that when the twin 4.7" of the original timeline had a problem and some of the L class had to be fitted with twin 4" the RN designers actually ended up with a better armed ship than the originals. The L4 type had a better AA capability and in DD-v-DD battles the 8x4" outperformed the slower firing 4.7".  AND it had the added benefit of not having to have any of the torpedoes removed to enhance the AA capability.

The J&K classes were completed with quad torpedo tubes while the L-N's had quintuple sets. Because of the popularity of the classes a double class of the L's was built, 8 L4.5 and 8 L4. All of the ships of these classes were heavily engaged in the Mediterranean where their AA capabilities were badly needed.

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