HMS Codrington and the A-class leader

Codrington was a large and powerful destroyer by the standards of her time, displacing 1,560 tons standard and more than 2,000 tons at full load. She could make 35 knots and steam 4,800 nautical miles at 15 knots, and she carried five 4.7-inch guns plus eight 21-inch torpedo tubes in two quadruple launchers. Leader markings on her second funnel made the command ship visible within the flotilla. Her added size and fifth gun marked her out as a more heavily armed modified destroyer. The regular A-class ships omitted that fifth gun but shared the eight-tube torpedo battery, while later leaders replaced the fifth single gun with a twin forward mounting. They initially lacked ASDIC and depth charges, although they carried two-speed destroyer sweep gear for mine clearance. Ordered in 1928, the ships were already under construction before the 1930 treaty took effect, even though some were completed in 1931. Six of the ten A-class ships were lost during the war.