The U and V class was a class

Ship class

A ship class is a group of ships of a similar design. This is distinct from a ship-type, which might reflect a similarity of tonnage or intended use. For example, the is a nuclear aircraft carrier of the Nimitz class....

 of sixteen destroyer

Destroyer

In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...

s of 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...

 launched in 1942–1943. They were constructed in two flotilla

Flotilla

A flotilla , or naval flotilla, is a formation of small warships that may be part of a larger fleet. A flotilla is usually composed of a homogeneous group of the same class of warship, such as frigates, destroyers, torpedo boats, submarines, gunboats, or minesweepers...

s, each with names beginning with "U-" or "V-" (although there was a return to the pre-war practice of naming the designated flotilla leader

Flotilla leader

A flotilla leader was a warship suitable for commanding a flotilla of destroyers or other small warships, typically a small cruiser or a large destroyer...

 after a famous naval figure from history to honour the lost ships Grenville and Hardy). The flotillas constituted the 7th Emergency Flotilla and 8th Emergency Flotilla, built under the War Emergency Programme. These ships used the Fuze Keeping Clock

Fuze Keeping Clock

The Fuze Keeping Clock was a simplified version of the Royal Navy's High Angle Control System analogue fire control computer. It first appeared as the FKC Mk1 in destroyers of the 1938 Tribal class, while later variants were used on sloops, frigates, destroyers, aircraft carriers and several...

 HA Fire Control Computer.

Notable actions

Four ships, HMS Verulam, Venus, Vigilant and Virago, formed part of the 26th Destroyer Flotilla that ambushed and sank

Operation Dukedom

The Battle of the Malacca Strait, sometimes called the Sinking of the Haguro, and in Japanese sources as the Battle off Penang , was a naval battle that resulted from the British search and destroy operation in May 1945, called Operation Dukedom, that resulted in the sinking of the Japanese cruiser...

 the Japanese cruiser Haguro

Japanese cruiser Haguro

|-External reference links: -External links:**...

, off Sumatra

Sumatra

Sumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 with a population of 50,365,538...

.

U class

, flotilla leader, built by Swan Hunter

Swan Hunter

Swan Hunter, formerly known as "Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson", was one of the best known shipbuilding companies in the world. Based in Wallsend, Tyne and Wear, the company was responsible for some of the greatest ships of the early 20th century — most famously, the RMS Mauretania which...

, Tyneside, laid down 1 November 1941, launched 12 October 1942, and completed 27 May 1943., built by Swan Hunter, laid down 12 November 1941, launched 9 November 1942, and completed 30 June 1943., built by Cammell 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...

, Birkenhead, laid down 14 March 1942, launched 22 April 1943, and completed 23 December 1943., built by Cammell Laird, laid down 8 September 1942, launched 19 July 1943, and completed 3 March 1944., built by John I. Thornycroft and Company, Woolston, laid down 18 March 1942, launched 1 June 1943, and completed 23 December 1943., built by John I. Thornycroft, laid down 2 May 1942, launched 22 July 1943, and completed 1 March 1944., built by Vickers-Armstrongs, Barrow, laid down 28 March 1942, launched 8 March 1943, and completed 24 September 1943., built by Vickers-Armstrong, laid down 18 June 1942, launched 19 May 1943, and completed 18 January 1944.

V class

, built by Fairfields, laid down 12 January 1942, launched 22 February 1943, and completed 28 August 1943., built by Fairfields, laid down 26 January 1942, launched 22 April 1943, and completed 10 December 1943., built by Swan Hunter, laid down 31 January 1942, launched 22 December 1942, and completed 10 September 1943., built by Swan Hunter, laid down 16 February 1942, launched 4 February 1943, and completed 5 November 1943. - flotilla leader, built by John Brown & Company

John Brown & Company

John Brown and Company of Clydebank was a pre-eminent Scottish marine engineering and shipbuilding firm, responsible for building many notable and world-famous ships, such as the , the , the , the , the , and the...

, Clydebank, laid down on 14 May 1942, launched 18 March 1943, and completed 14 August 1943. She was lost on 30 January 1944., built by John Brown, laid down 8 October 1942, launched 2 September 1943, and completed 28 February 1944. She was transferred to Canada

Royal Canadian Navy

The history of the Royal Canadian Navy goes back to 1910, when the naval force was created as the Naval Service of Canada and renamed a year later by King George V. The Royal Canadian Navy is one of the three environmental commands of the Canadian Forces...

 as ., built by J. Samuel White

J. Samuel White

J. Samuel White was a British shipbuilding firm based in Cowes, taking its name from John Samuel White . It came to prominence during the Victorian era...

, Cowes, laid down 31 October 1942, launched 14 September 1943, and completed 5 March 1944. She was transferred to Canada as ., built by J. Samuel White, laid down 31 December 1942, launched 15 December 1943, and completed 26 May 1944.

See also

• Type 15 frigate
  Type 15 frigate
  The Type 15 frigate was a class of British anti-submarine frigates of the Royal Navy. They were conversions based on the hulls of World War II-era destroyers built to the standard War Emergency Programme "utility" design.-History:...
  
   a post-war reconstruction of many ships into fast, first-rate anti-submarine
  Anti-submarine warfare
  Anti-submarine warfare is a branch of naval warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, or other submarines to find, track and deter, damage or destroy enemy submarines....
  
   frigate
  Frigate
  A frigate is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built"...
  
  s