C - class destroyer ( 1943 ) The C class was a class of 32 destroyer s of the Royal Navy that were launched from 1943 to 1945 . The class was built in four flotillas of 8 vessels , the " Ca " , " Ch " , " Co " and " Cr " groups or sub - classes , ordered as the 11th , 12th , 13th and 14th Emergency Flotillas respectively . The sub - class names are derived from the initial 2 letters of the member ships ' names , although the " Ca " class were originally ordered with a heterogeneous mix of traditional destroyer names . A fifth flotilla , the " Ce " or 15th Emergency Flotilla , was planned but were cancelled in favour of the Weapon class destroyer s after only the first two ships had been ordered . The Pennant numbers were all altered from " R " superior to " D " superior at the close of World War II ; this involved some renumbering to avoid duplications . Design . They were built as part of the War Emergency Programme , based on the hull and machinery of the pre - war J class , incorporating whatever advances in armament and naval radar were available at the time . Some of the class were completed in time for wartime service . All ships used the Fuze Keeping Clock High Angle Fire Control Computer . The " Ca " flotilla were generally repeats of the preceding W and Z class , while the " Ch " , " Co " and " Cr " flotillas had quadruple instead of pentuple torpedo tubes to compensate for the added weight of remote power control ( RPC ) gunlaying equipment . They also introduced the all - welded hull into Royal Navy destroyer construction , beginning in " Contest " . " Caprice " was the last destroyer built for the Royal Navy to be fitted with the ubiquitous quadruple QF 2 pounder " pom - pom " mounting Mark VII . " Comet " and " Contest " were fitted as minelayers , and lacked ' Y ' 4 . 5 inch gun . Engineering . The class were all fitted with two Admiralty 3 - drum boilers with a pressure of 300 lbs / sq . in at 630 degrees F . All had Parsons single - reduction geared turbines , generating 40 , 000 SHP at 350 RPM , and driving the two shafts to produce a maximum of 36 knots ( 32 knots under full load condition ) . All were engined by their builders except " Cossack " and " Constance " , which were engined by Parsons . Their bunkers could hold 615 tons of oil fuel , giving them a radius of 4 , 675 nautical miles at 20 knots ( 1 , 400 nautical miles at 32 knots ) . Ships . < nowiki > * < / nowiki > = flotilla leader s " Ca " ( or 11th Emergency ) Flotilla . This flotilla was authorised under the 1941 Programme . The first pair was ordered from Yarrow on 16 February 1942 ; the other six were ordered on 24 March , a pair each from John Brown , Scotts and Cammell Laird . However on 12 August 1942 the contract for the last pair was moved from Cammell Laird to White . Their originally - allocated names were altered to new names beginning with " Ca - " in November 1942 . The John Brown pair - " Caesar " and " Cavendish " - were fitted as Leaders . On completion they formed the 6th Destroyer Flotilla for service in the Home Fleet . At the end of the war in Europe the flotilla was transferred to the East Indies Fleet and the ships arrived on station between August and November 1945 , to late to see service against Japan . They remained in the Indian Ocean until May 1946 when they returned home and paid off into operational reserve . The " Ca " flotilla were reconstructed in the late 1950s and early 1960s to be modernised for anti - submarine warfare and to serve as fast fleet escorts . The superstructure was extended aft , and the bridge was modified ; the post - refit bridge differed between the first four conversions ( " Cavendish " , " Carron " , " Cavalier " and " Carysfort " ) and the later four ( " Caprice " , " Cassandra " , " Caesar " and " Cambrian " ) which were given frigate - type enclosed bridges . " Ch " ( or 12th Emergency ) Flotilla . Six destroyers , the first of 26 ' Intermediate ' destroyers to be authorised under the 1942 Programme , were ordered on 24 July 1942 , a pair each from Thornycroft , Scotts and Alexander Stephen . The fourth pair was originally intended to be ordered from Vickers Armstrongs , Walker - on - Tyne , but instead were ordered from Denny on 30 July . The " Chequers " and " Childers " were fitted as Leaders . " Co " ( or 13th Emergency ) Flotilla . The first four of these destroyers were ordered in August 1942 - " Comus " and " Concord " on 7th , " Contest " on 12th and " Consort " on 14th . The remaining four destroyers were ordered on 12 September ; " Constance " and " Cossack " were fitted as Leaders . " Cr " ( or 14th Emergency ) Flotilla . All eight destroyers were ordered on 12 September 1942 , two each from John Brown , Yarrow , White and Scotts ; the John Brown pair - " Crescent " and " Crusader " - were fitted as Leaders . " Ce " ( or 15th Emergency ) Flotilla . Two ships of this putative flotilla , the last of the 26 " Intermediate " - type destroyers authorised under the 1942 Programme , were ordered on 3 February 1942 from White . These two ships were to be named " Centaur " and " Celt " . However , with the decision to introduce a fresh design of Intermediate destroyer ( which became the Weapon class destroyer design ) , the White orders were amended to the new design and the names of the two ships were altered to " Tomahawk " and " Sword " respectively . The " Tomahawk " was subsequently renamed again , becoming the " Scorpion " , while the " Sword " was finally cancelled on 15 October 1945 .