Sea Weapons

Destroyer (1944)

Z/Ca-class class

HMS Cambrian (R85)

The Z/Ca-classes were the first of Britain's War Emergency Programme utility destroyers (known as the 10th and 11th Flotillas respectively) to be fitted with the 4.5-in QF Mk. IV gun. Despite its smaller caliber compared to the 4.7-in guns of the previous flotillas, the QF Mk. IV carried a heavier shell and with a maximum elevation of 55 degrees was a more effective dual-purpose weapon. Wartime anti-aircraft armament varied among the ships but usually composed of a twin Bofors mount, and various combinations of 2-pdr and 20-mm guns. As many as 130 depth charges could be carried in addition to a pair of quadruple torpedo tubes. Aside from that, there was little structural difference from the preceding classes. The Z/Ca-class was notable for being the first class of British destroyers to not suffer a single loss in combat during World War II, although by the time they were commissioned (from mid-1944 onward), conditions were far less hostile for the Allied navies. Consequently, the Ca flotilla was modernized post-war as general-purpose escorts with improved fire control, a pair of Squid ASW mortars (which replaced the torpedoes) and twin Mk. 5 Bofors guns. Two of the ships (HMS Caprice and HMS Cavalier) also received Seacat GWS20 anti-air missiles. Four of the Z-class ships were sold after the war to Egypt and Israel where two were lost in combat (the only war losses of the class); the remainder were paid off and scrapped after war or in the 1950s except for HMS Zest which was converted to a Type 15 frigate. The Ca-class served for longer, being paid off in the 1960s although the two Seacat-armed ships remained in service until the early 1970s, making them among the Royal Navy's longest-lasting wartime ships.

Most of the ships in these two flotillas served as Arctic convoy escorts in the final months of the war. After VE-Day, they were used in support of the re-occupation of former German-controlled countries and as guardships. The Z-class had the shortest careers, as most were decommissioned within a decade after the war, but two were sold to Israel and another two to Egypt. Of these, Eliath (formerly HMS Zealous) was sunk shortly after the Six-Day War by SS-N-2 Styx missiles fired from an Egyptian missile boat. Three years later, in 1970, the Egyptian El Qaher (formerly HMS Myngs) was sunk by Israeli aircraft. A few of the Ca-class ships served with the British Pacific Fleet and all had much longer post-war service. HMS Cavalier is the only surviving ship and is preserved at Chatham.

Preceded by:

S/T/U/V/W-class (1943)

Related:

Rapid (Type 15) (1951)

Succeeded by:

Ch/Co/Cr-class (1945)

Datafile

ClassZ/Ca-class
TypeDestroyer
Year1944
Crew186-222
Dimensions
Length103.5 m
Beam10.9 m
Draught4.3 m
Displacement
Empty1,710-1,730 t
Loaded2,510-2,575 t
Performance
Speed68 km/h
Range8,658 km @ 37 km/h
Machinery
Shafts2
Turbines2 x Geared steam
40,000 hp
Parsons
Boilers2 x Admiralty
FuelOil: 588 t
Armament
Main4 x 114-mm/45 (4 x 1)
QF 4.5"/45 Mk. IV
-5° / +55°

Anti-Aircraft2 x 40-mm (1 x 2)
QF Bofors
Torpedo tubes8 x 533-mm (2 x 4)
Armor
ArmorNone
Production
Built16
Total16

Registry

Ship Code Builder Laid Launch Comm Decomm Fate
Z-class:
Myngs R06 Vickers-Armstrong27/05/194231/05/194323/06/194409/1954Transferred
Zambesi R66 Cammell Laird21/12/194221/11/194318/07/19441946Sold/Scrapped
Zealous R39 Cammell Laird05/05/194328/02/194409/10/194408/1947Transferred
Zebra R81 Denny14/05/194208/03/194413/10/19441947Sold/Scrapped
Zenith R95 Denny19/05/194205/06/194422/12/19441947Transferred
Zephyr R19 Vickers-Armstrong13/07/194215/07/194306/06/19441954Sold/Scrapped
Zest R02 Thornycroft21/07/194214/10/194312/07/194402/1954Rebuilt/Converted
Zodiac R54 Thornycroft07/11/194211/03/194423/10/19441952Transferred
Ca-class:
Cavendish R15 John Brown19/05/194312/04/194413/12/19441964Sold/Scrapped
Caesar R07 John Brown03/04/194314/02/194405/10/194406/1965Sold/Scrapped
Cambrian R85 Scotts14/08/194210/12/194314/07/19441968Sold/Scrapped
Caprice R01 Yarrow28/09/194216/09/194305/04/19441973Sold/Scrapped
Carron R30 Scotts26/11/194228/03/194406/11/194402/1963Sold/Scrapped
Carysfort R25 White12/05/194325/07/194420/02/194502/1969Sold/Scrapped
Cassandra R62 Yarrow03/01/194329/11/194328/07/194401/1966Sold/Scrapped
Cavalier R73 White28/02/194307/04/194422/11/19441972Preserved
Transfers:
Ship Code Former Code Comm Decomm Fate
El Fateh 833 Zenith R95 28/08/19561979Struck
El Qaher Myngs R06 28/08/195616/05/1970 Loss by aircraft
Eliath 40 Zealous R39 07/195621/10/1967 Loss by missile (ship)
Yaffa 42 Zodiac R54 07/19561972Sold/Scrapped

Gallery