C-class destroyer (1913)
The C class as designated in 1913 was a heterogeneous group of torpedo boat destroyers (TBDs) built for the Royal Navy in the late-1890s.They were constructed to the individual designs of their builders to meet Admiralty specifications.The uniting feature of the class was a top speed of 30 knots, a "turtleback" forecastle and that they all had three funnels.All vessels had the distinctive turtleback that was intended to clear water from the bows but actually tended to dig the bow in to anything of a sea, resulting in a very wet conning position and poor seaboats that were unable to reach top speed in anything but perfect conditions.All were powered by triple expansion steam engines for 5,800 shaft horsepower (4,300 kW) and had coal-fired water-tube boilers, except some unique "specials" that used steam turbines in addition to, or in lieu of, the reciprocating engines.