Destroyer Leaders and Torpedo Cruisers

[brian333]

Destroyers are small, purpose built ships. They have one mission: to kill anything which threatens their capital ships. They do not carry ship's troops nor do they have accomodations for flag officers. They lack the massive communication suites a command ship requires, and they are always considered expendable assets, (which is why they made so many in every navy.)

 

However, as destroyer squadrons still needed command and control functions both at sea and administratively, a larger class of ship was needed to operate with them. The British used Light Cruisers for this purpose, but British destroyers were very much short-range ships, heavily dependant upon strategic assets such as tenders, replinishment ships, and oilers. Both the USN and IJN had to operate destroyers in the wide open Pacific, and these ships required much longer range and duration on station than Atlantic fleet destroyers. And both navies came up with a similar answer, but called them by different names.

 

For the USN, the Destroyer Leader, and for the Japanese, the Torpedo Cruiser, were the answer to this problem. They incorporated Destroyer level maneuverability and weaponry onto a larger hull, which allowed greater fuel capacity and additional space for Flag Officer accomodations. Though designed to operate with destroyers, their primary mission was command and control. With superior range and stores to allow longer durations on station, the squadron commander could remain on station even when his squadron units took turns returning to tenders or bases for refueling and replenishment.

 

Though never built in large numbers by either side, these ships played a critical role in coordinating destroyer activity. While their individual accomplishments on the field of battle weren't significant in most cases, their true accomplishment, that of keeping the DD's in line and effective during a campaign, was vital in the vast Pacific Theater.

 

After the war, subsequent USN destroyer design incorporated the assets of the DL, and overall larger destroyers allowed the DL to be phased out. The Japanese, requiring only coastal defense, opted for ever samller warships, and the Torpedo Cruiser was no longer necessary for their naval mission.

[Krieg]

DL and TC look like they will be fun to play. I suspect the main difference between them and regular destroyers will be extra HP.

[nixxxie]

I will disappoint you: British had leaders too. Before WW2 almost every bigger destroyer class was considered a leader.

[brian333]

I didn't consider the six Scott Class DL's because they came into WW1 late and were farmed out to the Dominion Fleets by the mid 30's. However, it is true the RN did build DL's at one point.

[brian333]

I stand corrected.

 

Apparently my source mis-identified the larger destroyers the RN built alongside the DD classes as CL's instead of DL's. What I discovered is that after WWI, while the RN did not build classes of ships specifically as Destroyer Leaders, they did 'stretch' one or two units of every class of destroyer to provide additional tonnage for Flag accomodations, along with additional fuel, and in some cases an extra gun.

 

Thanks for teaching me something I thought I knew, nixxie!

[Capcon]

DLs were in the London naval treaty. A certain percentage of DDs were allowed to be larger than the normal limit to serve as leaders.