Destroyers for Great Britain

The Town class ships occupy a unique place in British Naval history. With France out of the war and the United States remaining neutral, Britain was offered 50 American destroyers by Roosevelt. They were not new, but they were tough and versatile. The famous flush deck destroyers had made their first appearance in 1917, and now they were to see action throughout another war. To avoid prejudicing US neutrality, Britain agreed to lease bases in exchange for the destroyers, and 43 arrived in batches in the UK during the autumn of 1940 via Canada. The remaining seven stayed in Canadian waters, as part of the Royal Canadian Navy.

At first the intention was to keep the American names for the ships but plans changed and names common to both countries were chosen. They needed a refit – some of the destroyers had been active, some in reserve and two actually struck from the list at the time of exchange. After refit, some went to Rosyth for East coast escort duty, some to the 1st Minelaying Squadron and others were allocated to North Atlantic escort work. Operational in early 1941, many were passed to second line duty after 1942, some continuing to be operational however to the end of the war. Some found fame such as HMS Broadway, which took part in the vital capture of U110 and its cypher equipment and sank U89, or HMS Stanley, part of the Group commanded by the famous submarine hunter Captain Walker, RN.

Destroyers for Great Britain is an indispensable handbook on these interesting ships, detailing the alterations necessary for British service, illustrating each destroyer and providing information on her commissioning date, final disposal and career after reaching the Royal Navy or the Royal Canadian Navy.