Design
The six Almirante Lynch-class destroyers were a private design by J. Samuel White that were significantly larger and heavier armed than their contemporaries. They had four funnels, a tall, narrow fore funnel and three broad, short funnels behind. They were initially armed with six single QF 4-inch guns, unusually arranged with four on the forecastle - two sited in front of the wheelhouse and two sited abreast it - the remaining pair being sited on the quarterdeck. These guns were of a novel Elswick design for the Chileans and when the ships were rearmed they were replaced with standard Royal Navy models. As rearmed in 1918 they carried a BL 4.7-inch gun on the forecastle and another on a bandstand between the after pair of funnels, retained the pair of 4-inch (100 mm) guns abreast the wheelhouse and had two QF 2-pounder pom-poms.
Compared to other Royal Navy ships, the class was noted for the lavish officer's accommodations ordered by the Chileans. This included silver-plated chandeliers in the captain's quarters. [1]
One of the four ships taken over by the Royal Navy was sunk in 1916, but the other three were returned to the friendly nation of Chile in 1920, at which point the Thornycroft type leader Rooke was renamed Broke to maintain this famous name (that of Admiral Sir Philip Bowes Vere Broke of the Shannon) in the Navy List.
The E and F-class destroyers were a group of 18 destroyers built for the Royal Navy during the 1930s. The ships were initially assigned to the Home Fleet, although they reinforced the Mediterranean Fleet during the Italian invasion of Abyssinia of 1935–36 and enforced the Non-Intervention Agreement during the Spanish Civil War of 1936–1939. After the beginning of the Second World War in August 1939, the E-class ships were mostly assigned to escort duties under the Western Approaches Command, while the Fs were assigned to escort the ships of the Home Fleet. Between them they sank four German submarines through March 1940 while losing only one ship to a submarine.
The Laforey class was a class of 22 torpedo boat destroyers of the Royal Navy, twenty of which were built under the Naval Programme of 1912–13 and a further two under the 2nd War Emergency Programme of 1914. As such they were the penultimate pre-war British destroyer design. All served during World War I during which three were lost; the survivors were all scrapped in 1921-23.
The Acasta class was a class of twenty destroyers built for the Royal Navy under the Naval Programme of 1911 - 1912 that saw service during World War I. They were the last class of Royal Navy destroyers to have mixed names with no systematic theme When the class was designated as "K", names beginning with that letter were allocated to the ships but never used. The class saw extensive wartime service and seven were lost, including four at the Battle of Jutland.
HMS Skate was an R-class destroyer of the Royal Navy that was laid down and completed during the First World War. She was built at John Brown Shipyard at Clydebank in Scotland and launched on 11 January 1917.
HMS Fortune was an Acasta-class destroyer, and the twenty-first ship of the Royal Navy to bear the name. She was launched in 1913 and was sunk at the Battle of Jutland in 1916.
The Almirante Lynch class were a group of destroyers built for the Chilean Navy prior to World War I. Initially six ships were planned, two being delivered. The other four were purchased by and incorporated into the Royal Navy during World War I as the Faulknor class. Following the war, the three surviving ships were returned to the Chilean Navy and renamed the Almirante Williams class. The class of ships was named after Admiral Patricio Lynch, Chilean sailor, hero of the War of the Pacific.
HMS Faulknor was a British destroyer of the First World War. She was purchased by the Royal Navy whilst still under construction in Britain for the Chilean Navy who had ordered her in 1912 as part of the Almirante Lynch class. She was renamed after the Faulknor family of British nineteenth century naval officers.
HMS Phoebe was an Admiralty M-class destroyer built for the Royal Navy during the First World War. She took part in the Zeebrugge Raid in 1918 and was sold for scrap in 1921.
The Adventure-class cruisers were a pair of scout cruisers built for the Royal Navy in the first decade of the 20th century. The sister ships spent about half of the first decade of their careers in reserve and were based in home waters when on active duty. During this time Attentive was involved in two collisions. When the First World War began in August 1914 the ships were given coastal defence missions on the English Channel. Attentive was transferred to Ireland in mid-1915, but Adventure remained with the Dover Patrol for another three years. They were assigned convoy escort duties in the Atlantic Ocean in 1918 before being separated when Attentive was transferred to the Mediterranean and Adventure was tasked to support the British intervention in North Russia. The sisters returned home a few months after the end of the war in November 1918 and were sold for scrap in 1920.
HMS Broke was a Faulknor-class destroyer leader of the Royal Navy, initially built for the Chilean Navy as the Almirante Lynch-class destroyer Almirante Goñi. The outbreak of the First World War led to her being purchased by the Admiralty in August 1914 shortly after her launching, and renamed HMS Broke. All of the class were present at the Battle of Jutland on 31 May to 1 June 1916 where Broke, out of control after hits from German ships, collided with the Acasta-class destroyerHMS Sparrowhawk leading to the latter's loss. Broke saw action in several battles, and was resold to Chile after the conclusion of the war.
HMS Starfish was an R-class destroyer which served with the Royal Navy. She was launched on 27 September 1916 and sold to be broken up on 21 April 1928. She was built by Hawthorn Leslie of Hebburn Tyne.
HMS Scythe was an S-class destroyer built for the Royal Navy during the First World War. She was involved in the Irish Civil War in the interwar period before being sold for scrap in 1931.
HMS Hoste was a Parker-class flotilla leader of the Royal Navy. She was built by Cammell Laird during the First World War, completing on 13 November 1916, but was lost in a collision with the destroyer Negro on 21 December that year.
HMS Marksman was a Marksman-class flotilla leader of the British Royal Navy. Construction at Hawthorn Leslie's Newcastle upon Tyne shipyard began in 1914, shortly before the outbreak of the First World War, and the ship was launched and completed in 1915. She took part in the Battle of Jutland in 1916 and survived the war. She was sold for scrap in 1921.
HMS Torrent was a Royal Navy R-class destroyer constructed and then operational in the First World War. She was sunk, with most of her crew in 1917. On 23 December 1917 Surprise, HMS Torrent, and Tornado sank after entering an Imperial German minefield.
HMS Satyr was an R-class destroyer which served with the Royal Navy during the First World War. Launched on 27 December 1916, Satyr joined the Harwich Force under the command of Commander Hubert de Burgh. In 1917, the destroyer formed part of a force protecting the monitors Erebus and Terror in their bombardment of Ostend. As part of this action, Satyr, along with sister ships Taurus, Sharpshooter and Torrent, sank the German destroyer S20. After the war, the ship served with the Torpedo School at the Devonport. In 1923, the Navy decided to retire many of the older destroyers in preparation for the introduction of newer and larger vessels and Satyr was sold to be broken up on 16 December 1926.
HMS Ursula was a modified Admiralty R-class destroyer which served with the Royal Navy. The vessel was launched in 1917 at Greenock in Scotland and served with the Grand Fleet during World War I.
HMS Romola was an R-class destroyer which served with the Royal Navy during World War I. Launched on 14 May 1916, the ship operated as part of the Grand Fleet, operating as part of a destroyer flotilla. The ship sailed to intercept the German High Seas Fleet in what would be one of the last major expeditions of their Navy in the war but saw no action. After the conflict, the destroyer was held in reserve until being retired and sold to be broken up on 13 March 1930.
HMS Narwhal was a Admiralty M-class destroyer which served with the Royal Navy during the First World War. The M class were an improvement on the preceding L class, capable of higher speed. Launched on 30 December 1915, the vessel fought in the Battle of Jutland between 31 May and 1 June 1916 and subsequently served in anti-submarine and escort duties based at Cobh in Ireland. During February 1917, the destroyer rescued the crew of the Q-ship Farnborough, which had sunk and been sunk by the German submarine SM U-83, and rescued the armed merchantman Cameronia from SM U-50, The destroyer was transferred to Devonport during 1918 and, after the end of the war, was broken up there in 1920 after suffering a fatal collision the year before.
HMS Marvel was a Admiralty M-class destroyer which served with the Royal Navy during the First World War. The M class were an improvement on the previous L-class, capable of higher speed. The vessel, launched on 7 October 1915, joined the Twelfth Destroyer Flotilla under the flotilla leader Faulknor. The ship saw action during the Battle of Jutland in May 1916, being hit by a 12 in (300 mm) shell that did not explode and jointly sinking the German torpedo boat SMS V48. In August, the vessel successfully rescued all by four of the crew of the sinking flotilla leader Hoste, despite sustaining substantial damage in the process. In June 1917, the vessel was involved in the sinking of the German merchant ship SS Gamma in Norwegian waters, which led to a diplomatic protest from the Norwegian government. At the end of the war, the vessel was placed in reserve until being sold to be broken up on 9 May 1921.
