Rocket-class destroyer

Three Rocket-class destroyers served with the Royal Navy. HMS Rocket, HMS Shark and HMS Surly were launched at Clydebank in 1894. The ships displaced 280 tons, were 200 ft (61 m) long and their Normand boilers produced 4,100 horsepower (3,100 kW). to give a top speed of 27 knots (50 km/h; 31 mph). They were armed with one 12-pounder and two torpedo tubes. They carried a complement of 53 officers and men.

Class overview
Name:	Rocket class
Builders:	J & G Thomson, Clydebank
Operators:	Royal Navy
Preceded by:	Sunfish class
Succeeded by:	Sturgeon class
Built:	1894–1895
In commission:	1894–1920
Completed:	3
Scrapped:	3
General characteristics
Type:	Torpedo boat destroyer
Displacement:	280 long tons (284 t)
Length:	200 ft (61 m)
Propulsion:	4 x Normand boilers, 2 x triple expansion steam engines rated 4,100 hp (3,057 kW)
Speed:	27 knots (50 km/h; 31 mph)
Complement:	53
Armament:	1 × 12 pounder gun 2 × torpedo tubes

Notes

Bibliography

• Chesneau, Roger & Kolesnik, Eugene M, eds. (1979). Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-133-5.
• Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.
• Friedman, Norman (2009). British Destroyers: From Earliest Days to the Second World War. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-049-9.
• Gardiner, Robert & Gray, Randal, eds. (1985). Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-245-5.
• Johnston, Ian (2015). Ships for All Nations: John Brown & Company Clydebank 1847–1971 (2nd ed.). Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-59114-584-4.
• March, Edgar J. (1966). British Destroyers: A History of Development, 1892–1953; Drawn by Admiralty Permission From Official Records & Returns, Ships' Covers & Building Plans. London: Seeley, Service. OCLC 164893555.