Beagle-class economy and a firmer specification

The Beagle class returned to coal firing to save money after the costly Tribal experiments. Its sixteen ships, later grouped as G class, displaced about 870-950 tons and were intended to make 27 knots. A single 4-inch gun, three 12-pounders and two 21-inch torpedo tubes provided a useful armament at lower cost. Individual yards still prepared the detailed designs, but they had to satisfy a firmer common specification than the Tribals. The ships formed the First Destroyer Flotilla in 1910 and had moved to the Mediterranean Fifth Flotilla by 1913; three were lost during World War I. The programme provided a dependable force backbone as the prospect of war made practical readiness more pressing.