The Medea class were a class of destroyers that were being built for the Greek Navy at the outbreak of World War I but were taken over and completed for the Royal Navy for wartime service. All were named after characters from Greek mythology as result of their Greek heritage.

This article includes a list of references, related reading, or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. (January 2013)

Quick Facts Class overview, General characteristics ...

'Medea'-class destroyer
Class overview
Builders	John Brown & Company Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company
Operators	Royal Navy
Built	1914–1915
In commission	1915–1921
Completed	4
Lost	1
General characteristics
Type	Destroyer
Displacement	1,040 long tons (1,060 t)
Length	273 ft 6 in (83.36 m)
Beam	26 ft 6 in (8.08 m)
Draught	10 ft 6 in (3.20 m)
Propulsion	Yarrow-type water-tube boilers Brown-Curtis steam turbines 3 shafts 25,000 shp
Speed	32 knots (37 mph; 59 km/h)
Endurance	270 tons oil
Complement	80
Armament	3 × QF 4-inch (101.6 mm) Mark IV guns, single mounting P Mk. IX 1 × QF 2 pdr Mk.II, single mounting HA Mk.I 2 × twin 21 inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes

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The Medeas were a private design roughly similar to their various Royal Navy M-class contemporaries. They had three funnels, the foremost of which was taller, and unusually, the mainmast was taller than the foremast, giving rise to a distinctive appearance. They shipped three single QF 4 inch guns, one on the forecastle, one between the first two funnels and the third on the quarterdeck.

• Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.
• Friedman, Norman (2009). British Destroyers: From Earliest Days to the Second World War. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-049-9.
• Gardiner, Robert & Gray, Randal, eds. (1985). Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-245-5.
• March, Edgar J. (1966). British Destroyers: A History of Development, 1892–1953; Drawn by Admiralty Permission From Official Records & Returns, Ships' Covers & Building Plans. London: Seeley Service. OCLC 164893555.
• Destroyers of the Royal Navy, 1893-1981, Maurice Cocker, 1983, Ian Allan ISBN 0-7110-1075-7
• Jane's Fighting Ships, 1919, Jane's Publishing