S-Class Destroyer

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History

In the early 1940s the Acentian Navy was looking into building a new class of general purpose destroyers that would be capable of Anti-Aircraft, Anti-Shipping, and escort roles. Contracts were given to three companies to come up with a design that fell into the following guidelines. The ship must be between 2,000 and 2,600 tons, It must have a main battery of 6in to 8in guns with a reasonable AAA battery, it must have at least one deck mounted torpedo launcher, and must have a speed of between 25 and 35 Knots. The first company was Ironclad Naval Yard in Gallowdance, they came up with what they called “Destroyer X1” which fit nearly all the guidelines perfectly except for the fact that it weighed in at 3,010 Tons due to its 5in AAaa battery. The second bid was for “Royal Crown Heavy Industries which created the “Royal-Class Destroyer” which again fit most of the requirements however the main battery was to use already existing turrets for the H-Class Destroyer and these were optimized for Anti-Aircraft duties and so they were given a separate go ahead to build 10 of the Royal-Class ships for a different AA focused contract. Finally, The last contract was given to Keibanov Shipworks in Acentia City. The “Z1-Class” Was perfect in every respect, its sleek hull and powerful 13,000hp diesel engines allowed it to make 36.6 Knots in fair seas. Her main battery consisted of three turrets (two on Fore, one aft) each with a single 6.5in Gun and one 4 Tube torpedo launch system mounted amidships, Additionally She was equipped with four, double 40mm AA Gun batteries also Amidships. The ship weighed in at 2,300 Tons and has a reasonable 3in of belt armor. In July of 1942 the contract was made and 15 Ships were ordered to be built over the next 5 years. The first 5 hulls were laid down in November of that year and production started on the ships. In December the ships were reclassified as “S-Class Destroyers” and by April of 1943 the first 3 ships were launched and named Sultan, Surprise, and Sierra. When the War broke out in May of that year, production was quickened and 7 more ships were launched by August named Saint, Sorrow, Southdown, Sorey, Sinister, Silent, and Sword. Around this time the navy added 20 more ships to the contract bringing it to a total of 35 ships. Additionally, the further ships in the class were to be up-gunned to an 8in main battery and 24in Tubes as well as adding four twin 20mm Auto-cannons. By December of 1943 a further 5 ships were launched, that being Smith, Swift, Squire, Stanley, and Stature. Over the next 6 years 14 more would be built, bringing the total up to 29 ships these being Sovereign, Sentinel, Sapphire Dawn, Stormbreaker, Seafarer, Silver Tide, Sunfire, Serpent, Steel Horizon, Shadowspire, Starbound, Silencer, Shining, Sea Guardian. In 1949 a ner contract was given out and a new design was put into production. While the S-Class performed reasonably well in the Colmari Theater with its smaller Ship-on-Ship actions, it couldn't hold up to the standards of heavier combat against larger surface targets or air attacks. It was quite good at protecting convoys from enemy Submarines or surface Raiders and was used extensively for this purpose. Over the course of the war 12 of the S-Class ships would be Sunk or scuttled, these being Sultan, Surprise, Swift, Squire, Stanley, Silencer, Starbound, Serpent, Steel Horizon, Seafarer, Sunfire, and Sentinel. The S-Class stayed in service until 1961 when the last one was retired. In 1950 they were refitted with a new radar guided gunnery system and in 1954 they replaced the AA Battery with the new SA1954 Surface to air missiles which remained on the ships until their decommission. Today only two examples still remain, The APS Sovereign, and DNS Whitmyer (Formerly APS Stature) both of which are now museum ship.

Paint Schemes

APS Surprise during her service in the Colmari Ocean from 1945 to 1951

This Pattern of camoflauge is known as "Colmari-Dazzle" and was used widely by Acentian And Nydonian Forces operating in that theater.

APS Stormbreaker during her service in the Esvoran and Tali Seas from 1949 to 1955

This Pattern of Camoflauge or ones similar were used by almost every nation across all Theaters at one point or another