@crusaderiv:
The UK had 82 DD (Destroyers) (http://www.naval-history.net/WW2CampaignsStartEurope.htm) in and around the UK in 1939.
False….
Royal Navy had 184 destroyer (Including torpedo boat) in august 1939.
May I ask what your source is? Note that the 82 DD was in “Home Waters” only and does not include units in the Atlantic or ships not classified as DD such as Destroyer Escorts, Corvettes, Mine Sweepers and Torpedo Boats. According to the Marshall Cavendish Illustrated Encyclopedia of World War II, (1972) p. 121, the Royal Navy had a total of 243 Destroyers and 52 Escorts in 1939. The naval-history.net site lists the DD numbers as about 140 world wide for the Royal Navy not including Commonwealth ships. The notes under the charts on the web site indicate that these numbers do not include escorts. The encyclopedia includes ships “built and launched” which would include most units brought on line in 39 and 40. The encyclopedia also lists 11 carriers (CV) for Britain, 2 for France and 1 for Germany. The German carrier was never finished and never brought into operations. I suspect that the difference in total numbers relates to operational (web site) versus all vessels launched. Vessels are launched without necessary equipment installed to make the ship operational. Hopefully this clears up any misunderstandings.
