The 'Banshee class was a class of three torpedo boat destroyers that served with the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

 into the early part of the Twentieth century.

They were all built by Laird

Cammell Laird

Cammell Laird, one of the most famous names in British shipbuilding during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, came about following the merger of Laird, Son & Co. of Birkenhead and Johnson Cammell & Co. of Sheffield at the turn of the twentieth century.- Founding of the business :The Company...

 at Birkenhead

Birkenhead

Birkenhead is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in Merseyside, England. It is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite the city of Liverpool...

. Displacing 290 tons, they carried one 12-pounder gun

QF 12 pounder 12 cwt naval gun

The QF 12 pounder 12 cwt gun was a common calibre naval gun introduced in 1894 and used until the middle of the 20th century. It was produced by Armstrong Whitworth, Elswick and used on Royal Navy warships, and exported to allied countries...

 and two torpedo tube

Torpedo tube

A torpedo tube is a device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units installed aboard surface vessels...

s. With 4400 hp they made a speed of 27 knots (50 km/h).

Banshee had a length of 210 ft (64 m), beam 19 ft (5.8 m) and draught of 7 ft (2.1 m) They carried a complement of 53 officers and men.

Along with the near-identical Ferret-class torpedo boat destroyers

Ferret class destroyer

-See also:* List of destroyer classes of the Royal Navy...

 they were all disposed of in 1911/1912.

See also

• List of destroyer classes of the Royal Navy