Kil-class sloop
 HMS Kildangan, pictured in 1918 with dazzle camouflage
| |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Builders | George Brown; Hall Russell; Smiths Dock; Cochrane; Cook, Welton & Gemmell |
| Operators |  Royal Navy |
| Preceded by | P class sloop |
| Built | 1917-1919 |
| Planned | 85 |
| Completed | 55 |
| Cancelled | 30 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Sloop |
| Displacement | 895 tons |
| Length | 182 feet (55 m) |
| Beam | 30 feet (9.1 m) |
| Draught | 10.5 feet (3.2 m) |
| Propulsion | Machinery: 1400 IHP to 1 shaft |
| Speed | 13 knots |
| Complement | 57 |
| Armament |
|
The Kil class, were a class of sloops, also referred to as gunboats, built for the Royal Navy during the First World War.
Design
The Kil class were designed to counter the U-boat threat posed by the Imperial German Navy during the First World War. They were designed to be equipped with depth charges and hydrophones to detect and destroy enemy submarines before they posed a threat to allied convoys.[1] The class began to be launched towards the end of 1917, in order to be constructed, an order for 85 anti-submarine trawlers were cancelled across six shipyards in order to free up enough berths for the Kil class to be constructed. Each ship took around six months to be constructed. The class was named after villages in Scotland and Ireland.[1]
Similar to the 24 class sloop, the ships were built with a double ended design in order to confuse enemy observers who were trying to work out which direction the ships were due to travel in.[2] They had a single central funnel, and deckhouses both fore and aft were designed to be similar in order to enhance the effect. The class were painted in dazzle camouflage.[1]
The class entered service after the main threat of the U-boats had passed, and so their effectiveness in anti-submarine warfare is not known. Only 38 of the 85 ships ordered were completed by the time the Armistice with Germany was signed on 11 November 1918. The ships were put into reserve following the war, and were put up for sale by the Admiralty. On 14 February 1920, 48 ships of the Kil class were sold to two different civilian owners for conversion to cargo carriers.[1] Ships were used as whalers, while others were used as coastal cargo vessels around the United Kingdom.[3]
Ships
- Kilbeggan - built by George Brown, launched 1918
- Kilberry - built by George Brown, launched 1918
- Kilbirnie - built by George Brown, launched 1919. Floundered on 6 September 1920 on Seven Stones reef.[2]
- Kilbride - built by Hall Russell, launched 1918
- Kilburn - built by Hall Russell, launched 1918
- Kilcavan - built by Hall Russell, launched 1918
- Kilchattan - built by Cook, Welton & Gemmell, launched 1918
- Kilchreest - built by Smiths Dock, launched 1918
- Kilchrenan - built by Smiths Dock, launched 1918
- Kilchvan - built by Cook, Welton & Gemmell, launched 1918
- Kilclaire - built by Smiths Dock, launched 1918
- Kilclief - built by Cook, Welton & Gemmell, launched 1918
- Kilclogher - built by Cook, Welton & Gemmell, launched 1918
- Kilcock - built by Smiths Dock, launched 1918
- Kildalkey - built by Cochrane, launched 1918
- Kildangan - built by Cochrane, launched 1918
- Kildare - built by Cochrane, launched 1918
- Kildary - built by Smiths Dock, launched 1917
- Kildavin - built by Smiths Dock, launched 1918
- Kildimo - built by Smiths Dock, launched 1918
- Kildonan - built by Cochrane, launched 1918
- Kildorough - built by Smiths Dock, launched 1917
- Kildorrey - built by Smiths Dock, launched 1918
- Kildress - built by Cochrane, launched 1918
- Kildwick - built by Cochrane, launched 1918
- Kildysart - built by Smiths Dock, launched 1918
- Kilfenora - built by Cochrane, launched 1917
- Kilfinny - built by Cochrane, launched 1918
- Kilfree - built by Cochrane, launched 1918
- Kilfullert - built by Smiths Dock, launched 1918
- Kilgarvin - built by Smiths Dock, launched 1918
- Kilgobnet - built by Smiths Dock, launched 1917
- Kilham - built by Smiths Dock, launched 1918
- Kilkeel - built by Smiths Dock, launched 1918
- Killena - built by Smiths Dock, launched 1918
- Killerig - built by Smiths Dock, launched 1918
- Killeney - built by Smiths Dock, launched 1918
- Killour - built by Smiths Dock, launched 1918
- Killowen - built by Smiths Dock, launched 1918
- Killybegs - built by Smiths Dock, launched 1918
- Killygordon - built by Smiths Dock, launched 1918
- Kilmalcolm - built by Smiths Dock, launched 1918
- Kilmacrennan - built by Smiths Dock, launched 1918
- Kilmaine - built by Smiths Dock, launched 1918
- Kilmallock - built by Smiths Dock, launched 1918
- Kilmanahan - built by Smiths Dock, launched 1918
- Kilmarnock - built by Smiths Dock, launched 1919
- Killmartin - built by Smiths Dock, launched 1919
- Kilmead - built by Smiths Dock, launched 1919
- Kilmelford - built by Smiths Dock, launched 1919
- Kilmersdon - built by Smiths Dock, launched 1919
- Kilmington - built by Smiths Dock, launched 1919
- Kilmore - built by Smiths Dock, launched 1919
- Kilmuckridge - built by Smiths Dock, launched 1919
- Kilmun - built by Smiths Dock, launched 1918. Completed as a cable ship and renamed Rask, sank on 31 January 1950.[2]
Thirty other ships were cancelled, fourteen were to be built by Cochrane, eleven by Cook, Welton & Gemmell, three by Hall Russell and two by Hawthorn Leslie.[2]
References
- Specific
- ^ a b c d Rice (1991): p. 7
- ^ a b c d Cocker (1985): p. 27
- ^ Rice (1991): p. 8
- General
- Cocker, Maurice (1985). Frigates, Sloops and Patrol Vessels of the Royal Navy (1900 to date). Kendal, England: Westmorland Gazette. pp. 26–27. ISBN 9780902272521.
- Rice, W. H. (1991). "South African Owned "Kil" Class Ships". Scientia Militaria: South African Journal of Military Studies. 21 (4). Retrieved 16 June 2012.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
Extended links
