Editing C and D-class destroyer (section)

{{For|other classes of the same name|C class destroyer (disambiguation){{!}}C-class destroyer|D-class destroyer (disambiguation){{!}}D-class destroyer}}
{{short description|Ship class}}
{{good article}}
{{Use British English|date=September 2011}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin|sclass=2}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=HMS Ottawa (H60).jpg
|Ship caption=[[HMS Crusader (H60)|HMCS ''Ottawa'']]
}}
{{Infobox ship class overview
|Name=C and D
|Builders=
|Operators=*{{navy|United Kingdom}}
* {{naval|Canada|1911}}
|Class before={{sclass2|A- and B|destroyer|4}}
|Class after={{sclass2|E and F|destroyer|4}}
|Subclasses=C, D
|Cost=
|Built range=1930–1933
|In commission range=1932–1945 
|Total ships planned=14
|Total ships completed=14
|Total ships lost=10
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=(HMS ''Dainty'' as built)
|Ship type=[[Destroyer]]
|Ship displacement=*{{convert|1375|LT|t|lk=on}} ([[Displacement (ship)#Standard displacement|standard]])
* {{convert|1890|LT|t}} ([[deep load]])
|Ship length={{convert|329|ft|m|1|abbr=on}} ([[Length overall|o/a]])
|Ship beam={{convert|33|ft|m|1|abbr=on}}
|Ship draught={{convert|12|ft|6|in|m|1|abbr=on}}
|Ship power=*3 × [[Admiralty 3-drum boiler]]s
* {{cvt|36000|shp|kW|lk=on}}
|Ship propulsion=2 × shafts; 2 × geared [[steam turbine]]s
|Ship speed={{convert|36|kn|lk=in}}
|Ship range={{convert|5870|nmi|lk=in|abbr=on}} at {{convert|15|kn}}
|Ship complement=145
|Ship sensors=[[ASDIC]]
|Ship armament=*4 × single [[QF 4.7-inch Mk IX & XII naval gun|QF 4.7-inch Mk IX guns]]
* 1 × single [[QF 3-inch 20 cwt|QF 3-inch]] [[AA gun]]
* 2 × quadruple [[Vickers .50 machine gun|QF .5-inch Vickers Mk III]] [[anti-aircraft machinegun]]s
* 2 × quadruple [[British 21-inch torpedo|21-inch]] [[torpedo tube]]s
* 1 × [[depth charge]] rail and 2 throwers for 20 depth charges
}}
|}

The '''C and D class''' was a group of 14 [[destroyer]]s built for the [[Royal Navy]] in the early 1930s. As in previous years, it was originally intended to order a complete flotilla comprising eight destroyers—plus a [[flotilla leader]] as the ninth unit—in each year. However, only four ships—plus a leader—were ordered under the 1929–1930 Programme as the C class. The other four ships planned for the C class were never ordered as an economy measure and disarmament gesture by the [[1929 United Kingdom general election|Labour government]] of [[Ramsay MacDonald]]. A complete flotilla—the 'D' class—was ordered under the 1930–1931 Programme.

The five ships of the '''C class''' were assigned to [[Home Fleet]] upon their completion, although they reinforced the [[Mediterranean Fleet]] during the [[Second Italo-Abyssinian War|Italian invasion of Abyssinia]] of 1935–1936 and enforced the [[Non-intervention in the Spanish Civil War|Non-Intervention Agreement]] during the [[Spanish Civil War]] of 1936–1939. They were transferred to the [[Royal Canadian Navy]] (RCN) in 1937–1939 and spent most of their time during World War II on convoy escort duties in the Atlantic Ocean. ''Fraser'' (formerly ''Crescent'') was sunk when she was accidentally [[ramming|rammed]] by the British cruiser HMS ''Calcutta'' in 1940.  ''Ottawa'' (formerly ''Crusader'') was sunk by a German submarine in 1942, though she had sunk an Italian submarine in 1940. The other ships of the class sank three German submarines during the war. They were all worn out by the end of the war and were [[ship breaking|scrapped]] in 1946–1947.

The '''D-class''' destroyers were initially assigned to the Mediterranean Fleet upon [[Ship commissioning|commissioning]], but were transferred to the [[China Station]] in 1935. Like the C class, most were temporarily deployed in the [[Red Sea]] when the Italians invaded Abyssinia, but returned to the China Station when that was over. They were still there when the war began, but reinforced the Mediterranean Fleet shortly afterwards. Five ships were transferred to Home Fleet in December 1939, but ''Duchess'' was sunk en route when she was accidentally rammed by the battleship HMS ''Barham'', and ''Duncan'' was badly damaged when she collided with a merchant ship, requiring lengthy repairs. ''Daring'' was sunk by a German submarine in February 1940. The other two participated in the [[Norwegian Campaign]] of April–June, but ''Delight'' was sunk by German aircraft in July and ''Diana'' was transferred to the RCN as a replacement for the ''Crescent'' after she was sunk by the cruiser ''Calcutta''. However, she too was rammed and sunk several months later by a freighter that she was escorting.

The four ships that remained with the Mediterranean Fleet sank three Italian submarines in 1940 while escorting [[Malta convoys]] and larger warships of the fleet. Several participated in the [[Battle of Calabria|Battles of Calabria]] and [[Battle of Cape Spartivento|Cape Spartivento]] that year. ''Duncan'' joined [[Force H]] at [[Gibraltar]] in October and escorted that group. ''Dainty'' was sunk by German bombers in February 1941 and ''Diamond'' in April while evacuating [[Operation Demon|Allied personnel from Greece]]. ''Defender'' had to be [[scuttled]] in July when she was crippled by a German bomber when returning from escorting a convoy to Tobruk. ''Duncan'' and ''Decoy'' remained on escort duties for the rest of the year before being transferred to the [[Eastern Fleet]] in early 1942. They returned to the UK late in the year to begin conversions to [[escort destroyer]]s. ''Decoy'' was transferred to the RCN in early 1943, but both became convoy escorts in the Atlantic. They sank two German submarines before being assigned to the UK to protect Allied shipping during [[Operation Overlord]]. They sank three more submarines before the end of the war and were [[Ship decommissioning|paid off]] in 1945. ''Duncan'' was scrapped in 1945 and ''Decoy'' during 1946.