Editing G and H-class destroyer (section)

{{short description|Ship class}}
{{For|the proposed 1944 G-class of Royal Navy destroyers|G-class destroyer (1944)}}
{{Good article}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2017}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin|sclass=2}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=File:HMS Hasty.jpg
|Ship caption=[[HMS Hasty (H24)|HMS ''Hasty'']] in 1936
}}
{{Infobox ship class overview
|Builders=
|Operators=* {{navy|United Kingdom}}
* {{navy|Greece|royalnavy|name=Royal Hellenic Navy}}
* {{naval|Brazil}}
* {{navy|Argentina}}
* {{navy|Poland}}
* {{naval|Canada|1911}}
* {{navy|Dominican Republic}}
* {{navy|Netherlands}} 
|Class before={{sclass2|E and F|destroyer|4}}
|Class after={{sclass2|I|destroyer|4}}
|Subclasses=G, H, ''Havant''
|Built range=1934–1940
|In commission range=1936–1964
|Total ships completed=24
|Total ships lost=17
|Total ships scrapped=7
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=(G- and H-class as built)
|Ship displacement=*{{convert|1340|-|1350|LT|t|lk=on}} ([[Standard displacement|standard]])
* {{convert|1854|-|1860|LT|t}} ([[deep load]])
|Ship length={{convert|323|ft|m|1|abbr=on}} ([[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|34000|shp|lk=on}}
|Ship propulsion=2 shafts; 2 geared [[steam turbine]]s
|Ship speed={{convert|35.5|kn|lk=in}}
|Ship range={{convert|5530|nmi|lk=in|abbr=on}} at {{convert|15|kn}}
|Ship complement=137 (peacetime), 146 (wartime)
|Ship sensors=[[Sonar#History|ASDIC]]
|Ship armament=*4 × single [[4.7 inch QF Mark IX|4.7 in (120&nbsp;mm) guns]]
* 2 × quadruple [[Vickers .50 machine gun|{{cvt|0.5|in|mm|1}} AA machine guns]]
* 2 × quadruple [[British 21-inch torpedo|21 in (533&nbsp;mm)]] [[torpedo tubes]]
* 1 × [[depth charge]] rack, 2 × throwers, 20 × depth charges 
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption= (''Havant'' class, where different)
|Ship armament=*3 × single [[4.7 inch QF Mark IX|4.7 in (120&nbsp;mm) guns]]
* Up to 110 depth charges
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption= (''Grenville'' & ''Hardy'', where different)
|Ship displacement=*{{convert|1445|-|1465|LT|t}} (standard)
* {{convert|1953|-|2033|LT|t}} (deep load)
|Ship length={{convert|330|-|337|ft|m|1|abbr=on}} (o/a) 
|Ship beam={{convert|33.75|-|34|ft|m|1|abbr=on}} 
|Ship power={{convert|38000|shp|abbr=on}}
|Ship complement= 175
|Ship armament=5 × single [[4.7 inch QF Mark IX|4.7 in (120&nbsp;mm) guns]]
}}
|}

The '''G- and H-class destroyers''' were a group of 18 [[destroyer]]s built for the [[Royal Navy]] during the 1930s. Six additional ships being built for the [[Brazilian Navy]] when World War II began in 1939 were purchased by the British and named the ''Havant'' class. The design was a major export success with other ships built for the [[Argentine Navy|Argentine]] and [[Royal Hellenic Navy|Royal Hellenic Navies]]. They were assigned to the [[Mediterranean Fleet]] upon completion and enforced the [[Non-intervention in the Spanish Civil War|Non-Intervention Agreement]] during the [[Spanish Civil War]] of 1936–1939.

Most ships were recalled home or were sent to the [[North Atlantic]] from October to November 1939, after it became clear that [[Kingdom of Italy#Fascist regime (1922–1943)|Fascist Italy]] was not going to intervene in World War II. Then they began to escort convoys and patrol for German [[submarine]]s and [[commerce raider]]s. Two ships were lost to German [[naval mine|mines]] in the first six months of the war. Three more were lost during the [[Norwegian Campaign]], one in combat with a German cruiser and two during the [[First Battle of Narvik]] in April 1940. The [[Battle of France]] was the next test for the destroyers from May to June, with many of the Gs and ''Havant''s participating in the [[evacuation of Dunkirk]] and the subsequent evacuations of Allied troops from western France. Three ships were sunk, two by bombs and the other by torpedoes. Most of the H-class ships were sent to the Mediterranean in May in case Mussolini decided to attack France and the majority of the surviving Gs were sent to [[Force H]] at Gibraltar in July. Two of them, {{HMS|Griffin|H31|2}} and {{HMS|Greyhound|H05|2}}, participated in the [[Battle of Dakar]], before being assigned to the Mediterranean Fleet with their [[sister ship]]s. By the end of the year, the ships participated in several battles with the [[Royal Italian Navy]], losing two to Italian mines and torpedoes, while sinking two Italian submarines. The ''Havant''s spent most of the war in the North Atlantic on convoy escort duties, losing half their number to German submarines, while helping to sink six in exchange by the end of the war.

The G- and H-class ships of the Mediterranean Fleet escorted numerous [[Malta convoy]]s, participated in the [[Battle of Cape Matapan]] in March 1941 and covered the [[Battle of Greece|evacuation of troops from Greece and Crete]] from May to June, losing two to German bombers and another so badly damaged that she was later written off. By the end of the year, they had sunk three submarines, two Italian and one German. Three Hs participated in the Second Battle of Sirte in March 1942, during which one was damaged. Further damaged by aerial attacks, she was ordered to [[Gibraltar]] and [[Ship grounding|ran aground]] in transit and had to be destroyed. Another was torpedoed and lost during [[Operation Vigorous]] in June. The ships sank two more submarines during 1942 and three destroyers began conversion to [[escort destroyer]]s late that year and early in 1943. Two of the four surviving Gs and Hs were transferred to the [[Royal Canadian Navy]] (RCN) while under conversion. All of the surviving ships joined their ''Havant'' half-sisters on escort duty in the North Atlantic in 1943.

One ship was sent to the Mediterranean in 1944 while three others were transferred to the UK in preparation for [[Operation Overlord]]. Between them they sank five German submarines in 1944 with another in 1945. Worn-out and obsolete, the survivors were either [[ship breaking|broken up]] for scrap or sold off after the war.