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HMSScorpion inAmsterdam on 29 September 1961
Class overview
Name	Weapon class
Operators	Royal Navy
Preceded by	C class
Succeeded by	Battle class
In commission	1947-1970
Planned	20
Completed	4
Cancelled	16
General characteristics as built
Type	Destroyer
Displacement	1,980 tons (standard) 2,825 tons (full)
Length	365 ft (111 m)o/a, 341.5 ft (104.1 m)p/p
Beam	38 ft (12 m)
Draught	14.5 ft (4.4 m)
Propulsion	2 x Foster-Wheelerwater-tube boilers,Parsons double-reduction gearedsteam turbines, 40,000 shp (30,000 kW) on 2 shafts
Speed	31-knot (57 km/h)
Range	630 tons oil, 5,000 nmi (9,300 km) at 20 knots (37 km/h)
Complement	234 (256 inBattleaxe)
Sensors & processing systems	Radar Type 293M target indication Radar Type 291 air warning Radar Type 275 fire control on Director Mk. VI(M) Radar Type 262 STAAG fire control
Armament	4QF 4 in (102 mm)/L/45 Mk.XVI guns, twin mounts HA Mk.XIX 6QF 40 mm Bofors; 2 x (L/60), twin mounts STAAG Mk.II 2 x single mounts Mk.III 10 (2x5) tubes fortorpedoes Mk. IX (later removed) 2 xSquid A/S mortars later 1 xMark 10 Limbo A/S mortar inScorpion only
General characteristics (A/D conversion)
Sensors & processing systems	Radar Type 965 surveillance, antenna array AKE-1 Radar Type 293Q target indication Radar Type 262R fire control on director MRS-8 Radar Type 262 STAAG fire control

TheWeapon class was aclass ofdestroyers built for theBritishRoyal Navy towards the end ofWorld War II. They were the smaller counterpart to theBattle class (which followed them) and were the first new destroyer designs for the Royal Navy since theSecond World WarEmergency Programme. 20 ships were planned, of which only 13 were laid down and 7 were launched, but the cessation of hostilities resulted in only 4 being completed for service. Two of the ships had been previously ordered (asCelt andCentaur) as part of the plannedC class, or 15th Emergency flotilla, of 1944, but the orders were changed to the new design.

The Weapon class were an intermediate size built to take advantage of slipways that were too small to be used to build Battle-class destroyers.^[1]

The hull length was not much increased over theWar Emergency Programme design, but beam and draught were increased to allow for a displacement increase, as the latter design was grossly overweight with the addition of wartime technology to a relatively small hull. Two full sets of torpedo tubes were carried, a somewhat retrospective feature in a late-war design.

A criticism of the older designs was the use of adjacent boiler rooms. This had been adopted to allow for a single funnel, to lower the silhouette and increase the deck space of the relatively small hull. However, this made the ship vulnerable to being disabled by a single hit amidships. To remedy this, the Weapon class adopted the "unit" system, of side-by-side boiler and engine rooms with alternate port/starboard arrangement. This was standard practice inUnited States Navy ships, but these were generally far larger than their Royal Navy counterparts. The unit arrangement meant that 2 funnels were needed. The forward funnel was trunked up through the foremast and there was a small stump funnel between the torpedo tubes. This led to an unusual and rather unbalanced appearance, similar to that of theDaring class, and the Weapons were not the most attractive of ships.

The main improvement over earlier ships was to remedy the woefully inadequate arrangements foranti-aircraft defence. To this end, three twin 4-inch Mark XIV mountings were carried, remotely controlled by aType 275 Radar equipped Mark VI(M) director, allowing full blind-fire against aircraft targets. The light battery consisted of 2 of the new STAAG (Stabilised Tachymetric Anti-Aircraft Gun) mounts for twinBofors 40 mm guns and two single weapons on Mk. II mounts in the bridge wings. The STAAGs were carried on either side aft, and each had its ownType 262 Radar and predictive fire control computer, allowing for automatic blind-fire engagement of targets. The STAAGs were excellent weapons on paper and the firing range, but when exposed to the vibration of a naval gun mounting and the rigour of the elements they were less than reliable. Coupled with a mounting weight of 17 tons, they were something of a disappointment and their post-war service was limited.Type 293 Radar was carried on the lattice foremast for target indication.

To increase theanti-submarine capability of the class, it was decided to reduce the number of 4-inch mounts to 2, and to instead carry 2"Squid" anti-submarine mortars. InBattleaxe andBroadsword, these replaced 'B' gun, in the others it was 'X' that was lost. The latter arrangement was in fact preferable for the location of the "squid", but less so for gunnery, as it meant that the main weapons were unable to fire aft, which was a criticism also levelled at the Battle class.

All four ships were plagued by their machinery, as thesteam turbines had numerous design flaws. The problems were remedied by removing the steam feed to the lower half of the reversing turbine, but this halved reversing power, and as a consequence these ships were slow to decelerate and handled rather sluggishly. This problem proved fatal forBattleaxe, when she was unable to manoeuvre quickly enough to prevent herself being rammed by thefrigateUrsa in theClyde in 1962. The damage was so catastrophic that it was beyond economical repair and she was written off as a total loss and scrapped.

The Weapons were never an entirely satisfactory design, and were criticised for their light gun armament and overly heavy torpedo outfit. Perhaps best thought of as fast fleet frigates, they undoubtedly possessed a quantum increase in fighting efficiency over the wartime emergency ships, and were more than capable of facing the increased threat of the enemy submarine and aircraft. It is possible that the mysteriousG orGael class design, which possessed 2 twin 4.5-inch (110 mm) semi-automatic Mark. VI guns was an attempt to remedy some of the deficiencies of the Weapons.

The two ships authorised under the 1942 Programme as theCentaur andCelt of the "CE" class were ordered from Whites of Cowes on 3 February 1942; they were renamedTomahawk andSword when the order was altered to the new "Intermediate" design.

The 1943 Programme authorised 17 ships to this design. The first six were ordered on 2 April 1943 -Battleaxe andBroadsword (from Yarrow);Carronade andClaymore (from Scotts); andCrossbow andCulverin (from Thornycroft). The next seven were ordered on 24 April -Cutlass andDagger (from Yarrow);Dirk,Grenade andHalberd (from Scotts);Howitzer (from Thornycroft); andMusket (from White). A final four were ordered on 27 May -Longbow (from Thornycroft);Poniard (from Scotts); andRifle andSpear (from Denny).

Three ships were cancelled on 22 November 1944 -Grenade,Halberd andPoniard. Eight more were cancelled on 15 October 1945 -Sword,Claymore,Dagger,Dirk,Howitzer,Longbow,Musket andSpear. Another four were cancelled on 23 December 1945 -Carronade,Culverin,Cutlass andRifle.

The class were something of an oddity in the post-war Royal Navy, and did not figure in any of the plans for the fleet of the future. They were laid up by 1956, but there emerged a need for fast fleetAircraft Direction (A/D) ships to accompany the carrier strike force and act as radar pickets, directing fighter cover. The Battle class were being modified for this role, but as a stop-gap, the Weapons were given a more limited conversion. This involved adding a large mainmast amidships for theRadar Type 965 with an AKE-1 "single bedstead" antenna array, with the torpedo tubes replaced by radar offices. The director was replaced with a lighter MRS-8 pattern, possibly to lower topweight associated with the new radar, and all ships had the squids mounted aft and the guns mounted forward. They lacked specialised height finding and aircraft direction radar sets that the Battles possessed, and so were rapidly superseded and returned to reserve.

• Admiral of the Fleet Viscount Cunningham remarked about his sadness at the loss of a ship namedScorpion—his first command had beenHMS Scorpion (1910)—following the transfer ofS-class destroyerHMS Scorpion (G72) to theRoyal Netherlands Navy. A medieval form ofballista bore this name, making it suitable for the Weapon class, so the Admiralty ship names committee renamed HMSTomahawk asScorpion.

• Cocker, Maurice (1981).Destroyers of the Royal Navy, 1893-1981. Ian Allan.ISBN 0-7110-1075-7.
• Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969].Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of All Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy from the 15th Century to the Present (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing.ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.OCLC 67375475.
• Marriott, Leo (1989).Royal Navy Destroyers since 1945. Ian Allan.ISBN 0-7110-1817-0.
• Whitley, M J (1999).Destroyers of World War Two: An International Encyclopedia. Arms and Armour Press.ISBN 1-85409-521-8.

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