Editing I-class destroyer

{{Short description|1937 class of British destroyers}}
{{For|the World War I I-class Destroyers|Acheron-class destroyer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=June 2017}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin|sclass=2}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=File:HMS Imogen.jpg
|Ship caption=[[HMS Imogen (D44)|HMS ''Imogen'']]
}}
{{Infobox ship class overview
|Name=I class
|Builders=
|Operators=* {{navy|United Kingdom}}
* {{navy|Turkey}}
|Class before={{sclass2|G and H|destroyer|4}}
|Class after={{sclass2|Tribal|destroyer (1936)|4}}
|Subclasses=
|Built range=
|In commission range=1937–1960
|Total ships completed=13
|Total ships lost=6
|Total ships scrapped=7
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=(as built)
|Ship type=[[Destroyer]]
|Ship displacement=* {{convert|1370|LT|t}} ([[Standard displacement|standard]])
* {{convert|1888|LT|t}} ([[deep load]])
|Ship length={{convert|323|ft|m|1|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam={{convert|33|ft|m|1|abbr=on}}
|Ship draught={{convert|12|ft|5|in|m|1|abbr=on}}
|Ship power=* {{convert|34000|shp|lk=in|abbr=on}}
* 3 [[Admiralty 3-drum boiler]]s
|Ship propulsion=2 shafts; 2 geared [[steam turbine]]s
|Ship speed={{convert|36|kn|lk=in}}
|Ship range={{convert|5530|nmi|lk=in|abbr=on}} at {{convert|15|kn}}
|Ship complement=137 (peacetime), 145 (wartime)
|Ship sensors=[[ASDIC]]
|Ship armament=* 4 × 1 - [[4.7 inch QF Mark IX|QF 4.7-inch (120&nbsp;mm) Mk IX guns]]
* 2 × 4 - [[Vickers .50 machine gun|{{convert|0.5|in|mm|adj=on|1}} machine guns]]
* 2 × 5 - [[British 21-inch torpedo|21-inch (533&nbsp;mm)]] [[torpedo tubes]]
* 20 × [[Depth charge]]s, 1 rack and 2 throwers
* 60 [[naval mine|mines]] ([[minelayer]]s only)
}}
|}

The '''I-class destroyers''' were a group of nine [[destroyer]]s, including a [[flotilla leader]], built for the [[Royal Navy]] during the 1930s. Four similar ships were ordered by the [[Turkish Navy]], of which two were purchased for the Royal Navy, bringing the number of these ships in British service to 11—although three of the original ships had been lost by the time ''Inconstant'' and ''Ithuriel'' were commissioned. The I-class served in [[World War II]] and six were lost, with a seventh ship being written off.

==Design==
The I-class was a repeat of the preceding [[G and H-class destroyer|H class]], except that they had ten torpedo tubes (two banks of five) instead of eight. They incorporated the new bridge and wheelhouse layout as tested in {{HMS|Hero|H99|2}} and {{HMS|Hereward|H93|2}} (except the flotilla leader ''Inglefield''). ''Inglefield'' also had a larger tripod foremast, her sisters having pole masts. The extra weight of the torpedo tubes and the fitting of minesweeps and depth charge gear (previous vessels carried one or the other) on the same hull as the H class, caused a loss of stability, needing [[ballast tank|ballast]] when bunker levels were low.

All ships were fitted for [[minesweeper (ship)|minesweeping]] and with [[depth charge]]s and [[Asdic]] for [[anti-submarine warfare|anti-submarine]] (A/S) work and were capable of conversion to [[minelayer]]s. For this, they landed 'A' and 'Y' 4.7&nbsp;inch guns, the torpedo tubes and their minesweeps, allowing carriage of up to 60 mines but only four ships were used like this (see below).

===Ships built for Turkey===
The Turkish I-class ships were of a similar design to their British counterparts but shipped only eight torpedoes (two banks of four) like the British H class.

===Wartime modifications===
Early war modifications involved replacing the after bank of torpedoes with a [[12-pounder gun|QF 12-pounder]] (3 inch/76&nbsp;mm) [[anti-aircraft warfare|anti-aircraft]] (AA) gun, cutting down the after funnel and mainmast to improve its field of fire and adding a pair of [[Oerlikon 20 mm cannon|QF 20 mm Oerlikon]] guns in the bridge wings. Radar Type 286, a metric wavelength surface-warning set, was added as it became available and the ineffective multiple {{convert|0.5|in|mm|abbr=on}} [[Vickers machine gun]]s were replaced with Oerlikons; the central tube was deleted from the torpedo launchers to lessen topweight. ''Icarus'' lost 'Y' gun to stow extra depth charges (for a total load of 110) and their mortars. Surviving ships received a third pair of Oerlikons, added abreast the searchlight position and the 12-pounder was deleted to increase depth charge stowage. In some ships, 'A' gun was replaced with a [[Hedgehog (weapon)|Hedgehog]] forward-throwing A/S weapon but this alteration seems to have been reversed at a later stage. ''Ilex'', ''Intrepid'', ''Impulsive'' and ''Isis'' had 'B' gun removed and two [[QF 6 pounder 10 cwt gun|QF 6-pounder]] 10 cwt (2.25 inch/57&nbsp;mm L/47) guns were added on the twin mounting Mark I* along with a Hedgehog, the former for anti-[[E boat]] work.

''Inglefield'' later had the second bank of torpedo tubes re-instated but like her sisters, the central tube was removed. A {{convert|4|in|mm|abbr=on}} AA gun was added instead of 'X' gun and she had six Oerlikons. Type 291 radar was later added at the foremast head as well as [[Huff-Duff]] in some ships.

The ex-Turkish ships were modified along similar lines to their I-class sisters. ''Inconstant'' later received Type 270 radar, a centimetric wavelength target-indication set, in place of the director and rangefinder on the bridge. Again, eventually, six Oerlikons were carried.

==Ships==
{|class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|+ Construction data
|-
! scope="col" | Ship
! scope="col" | Builder
! scope="col" | [[Laid down]]
! scope="col" | [[Ceremonial ship launching|Launched]]
! scope="col" | [[Ship commissioning|Commissioned]]
! scope="col" | Fate
|-
! scope="row" | {{HMS|Icarus|D03|2}} {{efn|name=minelayer}}
| rowspan=2|[[John Brown & Company]], [[Clydebank]]
| rowspan="2" | 9 March 1936
| 26 November 1936
| 3 May 1937
| Sold for scrap, 29 October 1946
|-
! scope="row" | {{HMS|Ilex|D61|2}}
| 28 January 1937
| 7 July 1937
| Sold for scrap, 1947
|-
! scope="row" | {{HMS|Imogen|D44|2}}
| rowspan=2|[[Hawthorn Leslie & Company]], [[Hebburn]]
| 18 January 1936
| 30 October 1936
| 2 June 1937
| Sank after a collision with the cruiser {{HMS|Glasgow|21|2}}, 16 July 1940
|-
! scope="row" | {{HMS|Imperial|D09|2}}
| 29 January 1936
| 11 December 1936
| 30 June 1937
| Severely damaged by air attack, 29 May 1941, sunk by torpedoes from {{HMS|Hotspur|H01|2}}
|-
! scope="row" | {{HMS|Impulsive|D11|2}} {{efn|name=minelayer}}
| [[J. Samuel White]], [[Cowes]]
| 9 March 1936
| 1 March 1937
| 29 January 1938
| Sold for scrap, 22 January 1946
|-
! scope="row"|  {{HMS|Inglefield|D02|2}}
| [[Cammell Laird & Company]], [[Birkenhead]]
| 29 April 1936
| 15 October 1936
| 25 June 1937
| Sunk by German radio-controlled [[glide bomb]], 25 February 1944
|-
! scope="row" | {{HMS|Intrepid|D10|2}} {{efn|name=minelayer}}
|[[J. Samuel White]], [[Cowes]]
| 6 January 1936
| 17 December 1936
| 29 July 1937
| scope="row"|Sunk by German bombers, 26 September 1943
|-
! scope="row" | {{HMS|Isis|D87|2}}
| rowspan=2|[[Yarrow & Company]], [[Scotstoun]]
| 5 February 1936
| 12 December 1936
| 2 June 1937
| Mined and sunk off [[Normandy|Normandy beaches]], 20 July 1944
|-
! scope="row" | {{HMS|Ivanhoe|D16|2}} {{efn|name=minelayer}}
| 12 February 1936
| 11 February 1937
| 24 August 1937
| Mined and sunk off [[Texel]], 1 September 1940
|}
{{notelist|refs=
{{efn|name=minelayer|Fitted as minelayer}}
}}

===Turkish ships===
Four ships were ordered for the [[Turkish Navy]] in 1938. Upon the outbreak of war, two were purchased by the British but two were delivered to Turkey in 1942 as the ''Sultanhisar'' and the ''Demirhisar''.

{|class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|+ Construction data
|-
! scope="col" | Ship
! scope="col" | Builder
! scope="col" | Laid down
! scope="col" | Launched
! scope="col" | Completed
! scope="col" | Fate
|-
! scope="row" | {{HMS|Inconstant|H49|2}} ({{nowrap|ex-''Muavenet''}})
| rowspan=2|[[Vickers]], [[Barrow in Furness|Barrow]]
| rowspan="2" | 24 May 1939
| 24 February 1941
| 24 January 1942
| Acquired 14 November 1941, returned to Turkey 9 March 1946, sold for scrap, 1960
|-
! scope="row" | {{HMS|Ithuriel|H05|2}} ({{nowrap|ex-''Gayret''}})
| 15 December 1940
| 3 March 1942
| Bombed at [[Annaba (city)|Bône]] 28 November 1942 and beached; sold for scrap, 25 August 1945
|-
! scope="row" | {{ship|TCG|Sultanhisar|1940|2}}
| rowspan=2|[[William Denny & Brothers|William Denny]], [[Dumbarton]]
| 21 March 1939
| 17 December 1940
| 28 June 1941
| Delivered to Turkey in 1942, decommissioned 1960
|-
! scope="row" | {{ship|TCG|Demirhisar|H80|2}}
| 1939
| 28 January 1941
| 1942
| Delivered to Turkey in 1942, decommissioned 1960
|}

==Notes==
{{reflist|30em}}

==Bibliography==
* {{Cite Colledge2006}}
* {{cite book|last=English|first=John|title=Amazon to Ivanhoe: British Standard Destroyers of the 1930s |year=1993 |publisher=World Ship Society|location=Kendal |isbn=0-905617-64-9}}
* {{cite book|last=Friedman|first=Norman|title=British Destroyers & Frigates: The Second World War and After |publisher=Naval Institute Press|location=Annapolis, Maryland|date=2006|isbn=1-86176-137-6|author-link=Norman Friedman}}
* {{cite book |author1-last=Hodges |author1-first=Peter |author2-last=Friedman|author2-first= Norman |title=Destroyer Weapons of World War 2 |year=1979 |publisher=Conway Maritime Press |location=Greenwich |isbn=978-0-85177-137-3|name-list-style=amp }}
* {{cite book|last=Lenton|first=H. T.|title=British & Empire Warships of the Second World War|publisher=Naval Institute Press|location=Annapolis, Maryland|year=1998|isbn=1-55750-048-7|author-link=Henry Trevor Lenton}}
* {{cite book|editor1-last=Chumbley|editor1-first=Stephen|title=Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1947-1995 |year=1995 |publisher=Naval Institute Press|location=Annapolis, Maryland|isbn=1-55750-132-7|author1-last=Lyon|author1-first=Hugh|author2-first=Stephen|author2-last=Chumbley|chapter=Turkey|name-list-style=amp}}
* {{cite book|last=March|first=Edgar J.|title=British Destroyers: A History of Development, 1892-1953; Drawn by Admiralty Permission From Official Records & Returns, Ships' Covers & Building Plans|year=1966|publisher=Seeley Service |location=London |oclc=164893555}}
* {{cite book|last=Rohwer|first=Jürgen|title=Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945: The Naval History of World War Two|publisher=Naval Institute Press|location=Annapolis, Maryland|year=2005|edition=Third Revised|isbn=1-59114-119-2|author-link=Jürgen Rohwer}}
* {{cite book|last=Smith|first=Peter C.|title=Into the Minefields: British Destroyer Minelaying 1918–1980|publisher=Pen & Sword Books|location=Barnsley, UK|year=2005|isbn=1-84415-271-5|author-link=Peter C. Smith}}
* {{cite book|last=Whitley|first=M. J.|title=Destroyers of World War Two: An International Encyclopedia|publisher=Naval Institute Press|year=1988|isbn=0-87021-326-1|location=Annapolis, Maryland|author-link=Michael J. Whitley}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|I class destroyer}}

{{I class destroyer}}
{{Interwar standard destroyer}}
{{WWII British ships}}
[[Category:Destroyer classes]]
[[Category:I-class destroyers| ]]