Warship Profile 032 - HMS Cavalier and the CA Class Destroyers

The 'CA' class were by no means the best wartime destroyer design, nor even the best British design. They were on the small side, and were cursed vvith an unsatisfactory fire-control system (see below) and had an assortment of close-range weapons. In addition they suffered from lack of bearn and shortage of fuef when compared with foreign destroyers like the American Fletcher class (see Warship Profile No 9—USS Charles Ausburne). However, accurate comparisons are difficult as one is rarely able to compare like to like. Let it suffice to say that the 1800-ton Emergency destroyer-type was more than adequate for the Royal Navy's needs in the Mediterranean and Northern European waters. Bigger destroyers could have been designed, but if they had taken any longer to build the delay could not have been tolerated in the most dangerous years of the war. When the drawbacks of a British destroyer are contrasted with the qualities of her German, American and Japanese contemporaries it must be remembered that designers can always do better on larger dimensions.


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