HMS Saumarez (DDL-1915 (1937-mod))

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The Marksman and Later Marksman class leaders were built to act as leaders to the L-M class destroyers of which the Royal Navy ended up with over a 100 of. The 12 RN leaders were meant to take care of 96 of these. The two parts to the class were most recognisable from the 1st batch having 4 funnels and the 2nd batch having 3.

Unlike the later Australis Navy ships the RN vessels had a hard war and were at the limit of their usefulness. Their survival again relied on the survival of some R and S class destroyers as escorts and those ships still requiring leaders. Because of this the RN was loathe to spend to much money in upgrading the ships. A twin 4" mounting fore and aft on the Early Marksmans with a quad 2 pounder and a few 20mm gave the ships a more than adequate armament.

The Later Marksman class ships having been completed later missed out on the largest battles and had an easier war than the Early's. This made them a better bet to spend a bit more money on and give them a heavier offensive armament with the torpedoes going from 3 twin 18" to 2 triple 21" sets. The 2 Canadian Marksmans were both Later type and were converted on similar llines to the RN Later type.

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