The R-class grouping used here contains 54 standard destroyers. For this comparison, Yarrow-built ships remain with the modified M class on grounds of their closer relationship to that family's development and layout. The usual figures are 991 tons standard displacement, about 36 knots and 3,440 nautical miles at 15 knots. Standard armament comprised three 4-inch guns, one 40 mm pom-pom and four 21-inch torpedo tubes in twin mountings. The design could be adapted, and some ships survived into the 1930s. Most entered service from late 1916 through 1917, adding destroyer numbers during the middle of the war.
Chapter · 33:54-38:07
R-class destroyers and the wartime increase in numbers
Standard weapons and substantial new deliveries made the R class an increase in destroyer capacity during 1916 and 1917.