Destroyer tender

Short description: Type of naval auxiliary ship

The destroyer tender  missing name with a flotilla of Script error: The function "sclass" does not exist.s, Subic Bay, Philippines, November 1963

A destroyer tender or destroyer depot ship is a type of depot ship: an auxiliary ship designed to provide maintenance support to a flotilla of destroyers or other small warships. The use of this class has faded from its peak in the first half of the 20th century as the roles and weaponry of small combatants have evolved (in conjunction with technological advances in propulsion reliability and efficiency).

## Contents

* 1 Background
* 2 Evolution
* 3 See also
* 4 Notes
* 5 Sources

## Background

As the Industrial Revolution progressed, steam-powered steel ships replaced sail-powered wooden ships; but naval artillery remained the preferred weapon. The first large warship to be sunk by a torpedo was the Chilean ironclad missing name in 1891. As major naval powers realized the vulnerability of their expensive battleships to inexpensive torpedo boats, they started building defensive flotillas of torpedo boat destroyers or destroyers for short.[1]

The earliest torpedo boat destroyers were small, to maximize maneuverability, and powered by large steam engines, to maximize speed to intercept enemy torpedo boats before they could get close to the battleships.[1] These torpedo boat destroyers were so full of machinery, coal, quick-firing guns and ammunition that there was not enough room for living quarters for their crew. Destroyer tenders with berthing and dining accommodations for the destroyer crews joined the fleet train of colliers accompanying the battle fleet. The destroyer tenders also carried cooks, administrative and medical personnel, and senior ratings qualified to repair the destroyer machinery. Although individual destroyers were too small for these specialized personnel, the skills of those aboard the tender were available to the whole destroyer flotilla. The tender also carried a supply of spare parts for destroyer machinery.[2]

## Evolution

When the Great White Fleet circled the globe in 1907, it was accompanied by a tender,  missing name, and a repair ship,  missing name.[2] Repair ships did not offer the personnel services of a tender, but offered a broader range of repair capability, including equipment and personnel for repair of more significant machinery failures or battle damage.[3] Repair ships carried a fully equipped machine shop and foundry capable of completing any repair not requiring a drydock.[4]

Destroyer displacement had increased to 1,000 tons by World War I and to 2,000 tons for destroyers accompanying the Fast Carrier Task Forces of World War II.[5] United States destroyer tenders of World War II carried some destroyer ammunition and depth charges, and performed torpedo maintenance and resupply, but focused on repair work. The Script error: The function "sclass" does not exist. had a foundry, forge, metal lathes, and welders for heavy repairs, plus an optical shop and clockmakers to repair binoculars, sextants, marine chronometers, optical rangefinders, and fire-control system computers. These tenders operated stills and electric generators to supply fresh water and electrical power to destroyers moored alongside for boiler repair.[6]

Each increment of size enabled destroyers to carry more of the personnel and equipment previously found on the tender. Destroyers reached the size of cruisers during the Cold War, and with that size acquired a cruiser's capability for independent action. Surviving tenders became functionally indistinguishable from repair ships.[7]

Some destroyer tenders were designed and built to attend a flotilla of destroyers, while others were converted from ships built for other purposes. Tabled below is a comparison of ships designed as destroyer tenders:

Name  | Date  | Number  | Nation  | Displacement  | Speed  | Crew

|
|
|
|
|
|

missing name[8] | 1915  | 1  | US  | 5,250 tons  | 15 knots  | 600
HMS Greenwich[9] | 1915  | 1  | UK  | 8,100 tons  | 11 knots  | 224
Script error: The function "sclass" does not exist. | 1918  | 3  | US  | 6.250 tons  | 10.5 knots  | 481
Dobbin class[8] | 1921  | 2  | US  | 8,325 tons  | 16 knots  | 600
Script error: The function "sclass" does not exist.[8] | 1939  | 5  | US  | 9,450 tons  | 19 knots  | 1,262
Script error: The function "sclass" does not exist. | 1940  | 2  | US  | 8,560 tons  | 17 knots  | 857
Hecla class[10] | 1940  | 2  | UK  | 10,850 tons  | 17 knots  | 818
Script error: The function "sclass" does not exist.[8] | 1944  | 4  | US  | 8,560 tons  | 18 knots  | 860
Script error: The function "sclass" does not exist. | 1944  | 6  | US  | 11,755 tons  | 18 knots  | 1,035
Script error: The function "sclass" does not exist.[11] | 1966  | 2  | US  | 21,000 tons  | 18 knots  | 1,803
Script error: The function "sclass" does not exist.[7] | 1979  | 4  | US  | 20,224 tons  | 18 knots  | 1,595

## See also

* List of auxiliaries of the United States Navy § Destroyer Tenders (AD)
* Submarine tender

## Notes

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Potter & Nimitz, p.335
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Potter & Nimitz p.640
3. ↑ Lenton & Colledge, p.333
4. ↑ Fahey, p.39
5. ↑ Silverstone, pp.103&135
6. ↑ "USS Dixie's 40th Anniversary Cruise Book, page 24". USS Dixie. http://navysite.de/cruisebooks/ad14-80/024.htm.
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Cooney, pp.6&13
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Silverstone, pp.283&285
9. ↑ Lenton & Colledge, p.336
10. ↑ Lenton & Colledge, p.338
11. ↑ Blackman, p.524

## Sources

* Blackman, Raymond V.B. (1970–1971). Jane's Fighting Ships. London: Jane's Yearbooks.
* Cooney, David M. (1980). Ships, Aircraft and Weapons of the United States Navy. Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office.
* Fahey, James C. (1978). The Ships and Aircraft of the U.S. Fleet (Two Ocean Fleet ed.). Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-634-1.
* Lenton, H.T.; Colledge, J.J. (1964). British and Dominion Warships of World War II. Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Company.
* Potter, E.B.; Nimitz, Chester W. (1960). Sea Power. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall.
* Silverstone, Paul H. (1968). U.S. Warships of World War II. Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Company.

* v
* t
* e

Naval ships and warships in 19th and 20th centuries

* Naval ship classes in service
* submarine
* auxiliary
* Operational zones
* Brown-water navy
* Green-water navy
* Blue-water navy
* Gun placement
* Broadside
* Central battery
* Casemate
* Turrets

Aircraft carriers|

* Aircraft cruiser
* Amphibious assault ship
* Anti-submarine warfare carrier
* Balloon carrier
* Battlecarrier
* CAM ship
* Drone carrier
* Escort carrier
* Fighter catapult ship
* Fleet carrier
* Flight deck cruiser
* Helicopter carrier
* Light aircraft carrier
* Merchant aircraft carrier
* Seaplane tender
* Supercarrier

Battleships|

* Coastal defence ship
* Dreadnought
* Fast battleship
* Pre-dreadnought battleship
* Super-dreadnought (Standard-type battleship)
* Treaty battleship

Cruisers|

* Armored cruiser
* Battlecruiser
* Guided missile cruiser
* Heavy cruiser
* Pocket battleship
* Light cruiser
* Merchant raider
* Protected cruiser
* Scout cruiser
* Strike cruiser
* Torpedo cruiser
* Unprotected cruiser

Escort|

* Aviso
* Convoy rescue ship
* Destroyer
* Destroyer escort
* Destroyer leader
* Escort destroyer
* Escorteur
* Frigate
* Guided-missile destroyer
* Kaibōkan
* Sloop

Transport|

* Amphibious transport dock
* Amphibious warfare ship
* Attack transport
* Dock landing ship
* Landing craft
* Landing craft carrier
* Landing Craft Support
* Landing Ship Heavy
* Landing ship, infantry
* Landing Ship Logistics
* Landing Ship Medium
* Landing Ship, Tank
* Landing Ship Vehicle
* Troopship

Patrol craft|

* Armed boarding steamer
* Armed yacht
* Coastal motor boat
* Corvette
* Gunboat
* Harbour defence motor launch
* Motor launch
* Naval drifter
* Naval trawler
* Ocean boarding vessel
* Patrol boat
* Q-ship
* Submarine chaser
* Torpedo boat

Fast attack craft|

* E-boat
* MAS
* MGB
* Missile boat
* MTB
* MTM
* MTSM
* PT boat
* Shin'yō

Mine warfare|

* Danlayer
* Destroyer minesweeper
* Mine countermeasures vessel
* Mine planter
* Minehunter
* Minelayer
* Minesweeper

Command and support|

* Amenities ship
* Ammunition ship
* Auxiliary repair dock
* Auxiliary ship
* Collier
* Combat stores ship
* Command ship
* Crane vessel
* Depot ship
* Destroyer tender
* Dispatch boat
* Fast combat support ship
* Flotilla leader
* General stores issue ship
* Hospital ship
* Joint support ship
* Naval tugboat
* Net laying ship
* Repair ship
* Replenishment oiler
* Submarine tender

Submarines|

* Amphibious assault submarine
* Attack submarine
* Ballistic missile submarine
* Coastal submarine
* Cruise missile submarine
* Cruiser submarine
* Deep-submergence vehicle
* DSRV
* Fleet submarine
* Human torpedo
* Midget submarine
* Submarine aircraft carrier
* Wet sub

Miscellaneous|

* Armed merchantman
* Arsenal ship
* Barracks ship
* Breastwork monitor
* Capital ship
* Flagship
* Floating battery
* Littoral combat ship
* Monitor
* Mother ship
* River monitor

Related|

* Ship types
* Sailing vessels

0.00

(0 votes)

Original source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Destroyer tender. Read more

|

Retrieved from "https://handwiki.org/wiki/index.php?title=Engineering:Destroyer_tender&oldid=4123361"
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template