Lot Essay
When the Great War broke out, it soon became apparent that destroyers were well-suited to many tasks in addition to that of simple torpedo boat. The result of this discovery was the laying down of large numbers of destroyers during the War years, each class of which was intended to be an improvement upon its predecessor. The "V" and "W" classes of 1916 were designed to counter threats from a new heavily-armed German type and twenty "W's" were ordered by the Admiralty in December that year. The contracts for the new class were distributed amongst numerous yards as usual and those for Walker (and Westcott) went to Denny Bros. at Dumbarton. All the "W" boats were of similar dimensions -- 312 feet long with a 29½ foot beam and a nominal displacement of 1,457 tons. Armament consisted of 4-4in. guns mounted fore and aft in super-firing pairs, 1-3in. High Angle and two pairs of triple 21in. torpedo tubes. Most of the class, including Walker, were powered by Brown-Curtis turbines with a design speed of 34 knots although Walker only managed 32.9 knots on her trials.
Walker, the first vessel in the Royal Navy to carry this name, was launched on 19th November 1917, completed the following spring and was thus in commission for only a short period during the final year of the War, mostly on routine patrol duties. When peace came, she was amongst the surviving "V" and "W" destroyers which then formed the backbone of teh Royal Navy's running flotillas for the next ten years. Still in service when the Second World War began, Walker was one of fourteen "V's" and "W's" converted to long-range escorts, each of which was significantly altered to suit their new rôle. Their foremost boiler rooms were given additional oil fuel stowage and this entailed the loss of their forward funnels. With the loss of one boiler room, speed was reduced to 24¼ knots and they also lost their torpedo tubes.
Walker's first major operation of the War was off the Norwegian coast where, on 1st May 1940, she assisted with the evacuation of the 2,200 troops of 'Sickle' Force and then, on 27th-28th May, took part in the night attack on Narvik. The following year, whilst helping to escort Convoy HX.112 south of Iceland, saw her most spirited encounter with the enemy when she not only sank one U-boat but also contributed to the sinking of another. The convoy of forty-one ships had attracted a U-boat pack and during the night of 16th-17th March 1941, there was sustained attacks. First H.M.S Vanoc, with assistance from Walker, rammed and sank U-100 and then Walker herself depth-charged U-99 forcing her to the surface prior to sinking her; both incidents are notable as the first operational detections of submarines by radar. North Atlantic convoy duties continues throughout 1941 and 1942 slthough 1943 saw a spell on the infamous Arctic run.In action off the Normandy beaches in support of the 'D' day landings, she returned to the arctic once the bridgehead had been consolidated and survived the War only to find herself superfluous and sold for scrapping in March 1946.
Walker, the first vessel in the Royal Navy to carry this name, was launched on 19th November 1917, completed the following spring and was thus in commission for only a short period during the final year of the War, mostly on routine patrol duties. When peace came, she was amongst the surviving "V" and "W" destroyers which then formed the backbone of teh Royal Navy's running flotillas for the next ten years. Still in service when the Second World War began, Walker was one of fourteen "V's" and "W's" converted to long-range escorts, each of which was significantly altered to suit their new rôle. Their foremost boiler rooms were given additional oil fuel stowage and this entailed the loss of their forward funnels. With the loss of one boiler room, speed was reduced to 24¼ knots and they also lost their torpedo tubes.
Walker's first major operation of the War was off the Norwegian coast where, on 1st May 1940, she assisted with the evacuation of the 2,200 troops of 'Sickle' Force and then, on 27th-28th May, took part in the night attack on Narvik. The following year, whilst helping to escort Convoy HX.112 south of Iceland, saw her most spirited encounter with the enemy when she not only sank one U-boat but also contributed to the sinking of another. The convoy of forty-one ships had attracted a U-boat pack and during the night of 16th-17th March 1941, there was sustained attacks. First H.M.S Vanoc, with assistance from Walker, rammed and sank U-100 and then Walker herself depth-charged U-99 forcing her to the surface prior to sinking her; both incidents are notable as the first operational detections of submarines by radar. North Atlantic convoy duties continues throughout 1941 and 1942 slthough 1943 saw a spell on the infamous Arctic run.In action off the Normandy beaches in support of the 'D' day landings, she returned to the arctic once the bridgehead had been consolidated and survived the War only to find herself superfluous and sold for scrapping in March 1946.