Destroyer

:This article is about the warship. For other meaning, see destroyer (disambiguation).

World War I

Torpedo Boat destroyers grew in size and effectiveness in the early part of the 20th century. Innovations such as Turbine propulsion, oil rather than coal fired boilers, and longer ranged "heater" torpedoes, led to effective ships being designed by Britain and Germany.

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The threat evolved by World War I with the introduction of the submarine. In general terms the submarine, or U-boat, is nothing more than a torpedo boat with the ability to submerge for a short period of time. However this change allowed the submarine to hide from the guns of the destroyers and close to torpedo range while underwater. This led to an equally rapid evolution of the destroyer during the war, which was quickly equipped with depth charges and sonar for countering this new threat.

Related Topics:
World War I - Submarine - U-boat - Depth charge - Sonar

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At the end of the war the state of the art was represented by the British V and W class destroyer.

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