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U and V class destroyer

The U and V class was a class of sixteen destroyers of the Royal Navy launched in 1942–1943. They were constructed in two flotillas, each with names beginning with "U-" or "V-", although there was a return to pre-war practice of naming the designated flotilla leader after a famous naval figure from history, to honour the lost ships Grenville and Hardy. The flotillas were known as the 7th and 8th Emergency Flotilla, respectively.

Notable actions

Three ships, HMS Verulam, Venus and Virago, formed part of the 26th Destroyer Flotilla that ambushed and sank the Japanese cruiser Haguro, off Sumatra.

U class

• Grenville, leader
• Ulster
• Ulysses
• Undaunted
• Undine
• Urania
• Urchin
• Ursa

V class

• Hardy; leader, (lost on 30 January 1944)
• Valentine; to Canada as Algonquin
• Venus
• Verulam
• Vigilant
• Virago
• Vixen; to Canada as Sioux
• Volage

Bibliography

• Destroyers of the Royal Navy, 1893-1981, Maurice Cocker, Ian Allan, ISBN 0-7110-1075-7
• Royal Navy Destroyers since 1945, Leo Marriot, Ian Allan, ISBN 0-7110-1817-0
• Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships, 1922-1946, Ed. Robert Gardiner, Naval Institute Press, ISBN 0-87021-913-8
• Destroyers of World War II, An International Encyclopedia, M. J. Whiteley, Arms and Armour Press, 1988, ISBN 1-85409-521-8

See also

• The V and W class destroyers for other ships with "V-" names
• Type 15 frigate a post-war reconstruction of many ships into fast, first-rate anti-submarine frigates