Talisman-class destroyer

The Talisman class were a class of destroyers that were being built for the Turkish Navy at the outbreak of World War I but were taken over in November 1914 and completed for the Royal Navy for wartime service. Originally to have been renamed Napier, Narborough, Offa and Ogre respectively, they were re-allocated "T" names in February 1915.

The Talismans were a private design by Hawthorn Leslie and Company that were longer than but drew less than their Royal Navy contemporaries. Being large, they frequently acted as flotilla leaders. They were heavily armed for their time, shipping five single QF 4 inch (10 cm) guns. An unusual departure from Royal Navy practice in the Talismans, shared only with the ex-Chilean Faulknors and the singleton Swift, was the shipping of two guns side by side on the forecastle. The other guns were carried one between the first and second funnels, one after the searchlight platform and one on a bandstand on the quarterdeck. All the guns had half-shields. The hull form was considered particularly successful and was adopted for the V and W class of 1917, arguably the peak of destroyer development at the time.