Editing Beagle-class destroyer (section)

==Design==
For the 1908–1909 shipbuilding programme, the [[British Admiralty]] decided to revert to a smaller, more affordable destroyer to follow-on from the large and fast {{sclass2|Tribal|destroyer (1905)|4}} (required to reach {{convert|33|kn|lk=in}}) and the experimental {{convert|36|kn|adj=on}} {{HMS|Swift|1907|6}}. The destroyers needed sufficient range to operate across the [[North Sea]] in the event of a confrontation with Germany, which rendered the {{sclass|Cricket|coastal destroyer|0}} coastal destroyers which had been built as a low-cost supplement to the expensive Tribals outdated, requiring larger numbers of a cheaper standard destroyer.<ref name="Fried p108,114">Friedman 2009, pp. 108, 114.</ref><ref name="conways06 p74">Gardiner and Gray 1985, p. 74.</ref> While the Tribals were oil fuelled, it was decided to return to the use of [[coal]] for the new destroyers, because of concerns over the availability of [[fuel oil|oil]] stocks in the event of a war and to reduce costs. They were the last British destroyers to be so fueled.<ref name="conways06 p74"/><ref name="Fried p118">Friedman 2009, p. 118.</ref><ref name="Manning p55">Manning 1961, p. 55.</ref>

The ''Beagle''s were not built to a standard design, with detailed design being left to the builders of individual ships in accordance with a loose specification.<ref name="grand p68">Brown 2010, p. 68.</ref> They were between {{convert|263|ft|11+1/4|in|m|2}} and {{convert|275|ft|m|2}} long [[length between perpendiculars|between perpendiculars]], with a [[Beam (nautical)|beam]] of between {{convert|26|ft|10|in|m}} and {{convert|28|ft|1|in|m}}, with an average [[Draft (ship)|draught]] of {{convert|8|ft|6|in}}.<ref name="conways06 p73">Gardiner and Gray 1985, p. 73.</ref> It was expected that the ships would [[Displacement (ship)|displace]] {{convert|850|LT|}} but the builder's designs came out heavier,<ref name="Fried p118"/> at about {{convert|945|LT|t}} normal and {{convert|1100|LT|t|-1}} full load.<ref name="conways06 p73"/> Five [[Yarrow boiler|Yarrow]] or White-Forster boilers fed direct-drive [[steam turbine]]s driving three propeller shafts. The machinery was rated at {{convert|14300|shp|kW|lk=in}} to give a speed of {{convert|27|kn}}.<ref name="conways06 p73"/><ref name="grand p69">Brown 2010, p. 69.</ref> Three funnels were fitted.<ref name="Fried p116">Friedman 2009, p. 116.</ref>
  
The ''Beagle'' class was designed to carry a gun armament of five 12-pounder (76&nbsp;mm) guns, with two mounted side by side on a raised platform on the ship's [[forecastle]], two on the ship's beams, with the port gun mounted ahead of the starboard gun and one aft. While the ships were building, however, it was decided to replace the two forecastle guns by a single {{convert|4|in|mm|adj=on|0}} gun,{{#tag:ref|This was as a result of tests 1906 against the destroyer {{HMS|Skate|1895|2}}, which had shown that 12-pounder shells often exploded before they hit the target's engine room.<ref name="Fried p108-9">Friedman 2009, pp. 108–109.</ref>|group=lower-alpha}} giving a gun armament of one [[BL 4 inch naval gun Mk VIII]] and three [[QF 12-pounder 12 cwt naval gun|QF 12-pounder 12 cwt]] guns){{#tag:ref|"Cwt" is the abbreviation for [[hundredweight]], 12 cwt referring to the weight of the gun.|group=lower-alpha}} Torpedo armament consisted of two {{convert|21|in|mm|0|adj=on}} [[torpedo tube]]s, with one between the ship's [[Funnel (ship)|funnels]] and the aft gun, and one right aft at the stern of the ship. These torpedoes had a range of {{convert|1000|yd|m}} at {{convert|50|kn}} or {{convert|12000|yd|m}} at {{convert|30|kn}}. Two spare torpedoes were carried.<ref name="Friedman p116,8">Friedman 2009, pp. 116, 118.</ref><ref name="conways06 p73-4">Gardiner and Gray 1985, pp. 73–74.</ref>

Wartime modifications included replacement of the aft torpedo tube by a [[Ordnance QF 3-pounder Vickers|3-pounder]] (47&nbsp;mm) anti-aircraft gun in some ships,<ref name="conways06 p73"/> while [[depth charge]]s were also fitted.<ref name="Fried p116">Friedman 2009, p. 116.</ref>

The ''Beagle''s were followed, in the 1909-10 Programme, by the {{sclass|Acorn|destroyer|4}} (later known as the H class).