HMS destroyer Lance

The 'L' class of eight destroyers and their sister-flotilla, the 'M' class, were the last British fleet destroyers to be laid down before the Second World War broke out. They continued the trend towards greater size initiated by the 'Tribal' class, and were enlarged editions of the preceding Javelin type. Although they retained the single funnel and three twin gun-positions introduced in that class, they differed from them in having the first power-worked, dual-purpose 4.7-inch guns in the Royal Navy.

The 'L' design was drawn up to meet a Naval Staff requirement for a faster destroyer to match rising battleship speeds. In the past it had been normal for fleet destroyers to have a 10-knot advantage in sea-speed over the battle-fleet (approximately 33 knots as against 23), but with the King George V and Lion classes capable of a sea-speed of 25-26 knots, it was felt that existing destroyers mi~t have difficulty in escorting the Fleet. Not surprisingly, the designers' answers to this problem were too large and too costly. and the Admiralty wisely chose a course which would give the numbers of new destroyers priority over individual quality.

The first four 'L' class were completed to the original design, with three imposing twin 4.7-inch turrets, but in July 1940 the dire shortage of destroyers and gun-mountings led the Admiralty to suggest that the remaining four might be completed sooner if they were armed with a more readily available type of gun. Accordingly the Lance, Legion, Larne and Lively were completed with four twin 4-inch high-angle mountings, two forward and two aft. Henceforward they were known as Anti-ajrcraft Destroyers to distinguish them from normal fleet destroyers with heavier armament.

The 'L' class showed all the benefits which accrue from an increase in overall size: weatherliness, habitability and heavier armament- The 4-inch guns lacked the weatherproof enclosed gunhouse which went with the 4.7-inch Mark XX D.P. mounting, but there were eight of them instead of six, and the good seakeeping qualities of the hull ensured good command for all weapons. Had a more advanced radar control system than the Mark V been available for them, they might have been better anti-aircraft escorts, but as it turned out they rendered valuOOle service in the darkest days of the war. The 4-inch gun was far more effective than the 4.7-inch dual-purpose weapon against aircraft, on account of its high elevation, and in practice proved almost as effective against surface targets on account of its greater volume of fire.

The Lance and her sisters had considerable beam, and had they survived would have been able to take many more additions to topweight in the shape of radar a"ays and close-range A.A. weapons. As it was they had Type 286 (surface warning) radar replaced by Type 291 (air warning) in the autumn of 1941. This meant that they were now without surface warning radar; this deficiency may have been offset by taking surface bearings off the Type 285 gunnery set, but information on this point is very hard to obtain. Looking at the A-A 'Ls' as a group, and comparing them with other Royal Navy destroyers of the same period, th~re is no doubt in the writer's mind that these four unique vessels compromise ships - were the most successful destroyers of the time.

In July 1941 the four Anti-aircraft destroyers were serving in Western Approaches Command, forming a special Escort Group. This deployment did not last long, and Lance and Lively later served with the Home Fleet. They were then transferred to the Mediterranean, and formed part of Force Kat Malta.
I n November 1941 they supported the cru isers Aurora and Penelope in two classic actions which accounted for the destruction of two Italian supply convoys, Lance was sunk five months later during the aerial onslaught on Malta; she had been docked for repairs, and was hit on 5th April and 9th April 1942 so badly as to be written off as a constructive total loss. She lay a useless hulk in the submarine dock at Malta until 1944, when she was salvaged. towed home and sold for scrap in June 1944. The scrapping was done at Grays, Essex by T.W. Ward.

The drawing shows Lance in 1941-2. Note the big funnel and low bridgestructure of the 'L' class, and the small 4-inch twin mountings in shields, in 'A', 'B', 'X' and 'Y' positions. The Mark V director on top of the bridge is unique to the 4-inch gunned 'Ls', with its Type 285 radar aerial. Note also the Type 291 air warning aerial on the tripod foremast; the office for the 291 radar is situated on top of the galley at the base of the bridge (enclosed by the tripod legs). Note the direction-finding loop just below the 291 aerial, and the single yardarm carrying the main wireless aerials to the mainmast

On the foremast can be seen the M.F./D.F. hut. Lance was the only ship in the Navy to have this arrangement, and would account for only one yardarm fitted, topweight being critical.

The boats carried are a 27-ft whaler, two 25-ft motor boats and a 16-ft pulling dinghy. The torpedo-tubesare quadruple 21-inch, of the pattern used throughout the war in subsequent classes. Note the interesting arrangement of the after superstructure, with a tripod mainmast. The elongated after superstructure contains not only the two twin 4-inch gun-mountings, but also a shelter for the gun-crews, and an air-Iookout's position on top of the ready-use magazine.

Other interesting features are the 44-inch searchlight between the torpedo-tubes, and the 20-mm guns which had been added on small platforms to port and starboard during 1941, The only other close-range anti-aircraft weapons are the 4-barrelled .5-inch machine-guns mounted in the wings of the bridge and the pom-pom. Although the 'L' class were fleet destroyers, their anti-submarine equipment was very extensive - four depth-charge. throwers port and starboard of the after superstructure, in addition to depth-charge racks.