HMS Laforey was the lead ship of her class of destroyer built for the Royal Navy. Launched a year before the First World War began, she was attached to the Dover Patrol. Laforey saw action in several engagements with German torpedo boats, including the Battle off Noordhinder Bank and the action of 17 March 1917. Laforey was sunk in 1917 by a British mine after escorting several freighters to France. She was named for Francis Laforey, captain of HMS Spartiate at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805.
HMS Queen was a member of the London class of pre-dreadnought battleships built for the British Royal Navy. The Londons were near repeats of the preceding Formidable-class battleships, but with modified armour protection. Due to slight differences between Queen and HMS Prince of Wales and the other Londons, they are sometimes referred to as the Queen class. The ship's main battery consisted of four 12-inch (305-mm) guns, and she had top speed of 18 knots. The ship was laid down in March 1901, was launched in March 1902, and was completed in March 1904. After commissioning in April 1904, she served with the Mediterranean Fleet until 1906, when she returned to Britain before embarking on another stint with the Mediterranean Fleet later that year. Queen was transferred back to the United Kingdom in 1908 and thereafter served in the Atlantic Fleet, the Home Fleet, and finally the 5th Battle Squadron of the Second Fleet in 1914.
HMS Skirmisher was one of two Sentinel-class scout cruisers built for the Royal Navy during the first decade of the 20th century. Completed in 1905 the ship was placed in reserve until she was commissioned in 1907 as part of the Home Fleet. She then spent the next seven years moving on and off of active service in British waters. Skirmisher was assigned to coastal defence duties when the First World War began in 1914, although she was transferred to the Mediterranean in 1915 and then to the Aegean two years later. The ship returned home in mid-1919 and was sold for scrap in 1920.
HMS M29 was a Royal Navy M29-class monitor of the First World War. The ship was constructed by Harland & Wolff, in Belfast and launched on 22 May 1915, she was completed in June 1915. During World War I, the monitor served in the Mediterranean Sea at the Battle of Jaffa in 1917 and took part in operations in support of British and White Russian forces in the White Sea during the Russian Civil War in 1919. The ship was then converted to a minelayer and renamed HMS Medusa in 1925. In 1941 Medusa was converted to a repair and depot ship and was renamed HMS Talbot, then renamed HMS Medway II in 1944. In 1946, the vessel was sold for scrap.
HMS Tigress was an Acheron-class destroyer of the Royal Navy that served during World War I. She was built under the 1910–11 shipbuilding programme by R. W. Hawthorn Leslie & Company of Hebburn, was launched on 20 December 1911 and was sold for breaking on 9 May 1921.
HMS Welland was a Yarrow-built River-class destroyer ordered by the Royal Navy under the 1902 – 1903 Naval Estimates. Named after the River Welland that drains into the Wash on the English east coast, she was the first ship to carry this name in the Royal Navy.
HMS Colne was a Thornycroft type River-class destroyer ordered by the Royal Navy under the 1903–1904 Naval Estimates. Named after the River Colne in eastern England, north east of London, she was the first ship to carry this name in the Royal Navy.
HMS Arun was a Laird Type River-class destroyer ordered by the Royal Navy under the 1902–1903 Naval Estimates. Named after the River Arun in southern England she was the first ship to carry this name in the Royal Navy.
HMS Ribble was a Yarrow-type River-class destroyer ordered by the Royal Navy under the 1901 – 1902 Naval Estimates. Named after the River Ribble in northern England, she was the first ship to carry this name in the Royal Navy.
HMS Usk was a Yarrow type River Class destroyer ordered by the Royal Navy under the 1901 – 1902 Naval Estimates. Named after the River Usk in Wales flowing through Newport, she was the first ship to carry this name in the Royal Navy.
HMS Chelmer was a Thornycroft-type River-Class destroyer ordered by the Royal Navy under the 1903–1904 Naval Estimates. Named after the River Chelmer in eastern England, north-east of London, she was the first ship to carry this name in the Royal Navy.
HMS Jed was a Thornycroft type River-class destroyer ordered by the Royal Navy under the 1903 – 1904 Naval Estimates. Named after the River Jed in southern Scotland, she was the second ship to carry this name since it was introduced in 1814 for a 26-gun sixth rate ship sold in 1833.
HMS Kennet was a Thornycroft type River Class Destroyer ordered by the Royal Navy under the 1902 – 1903 Naval Estimates. Named after the River Kennet in south west England, she was the first ship to carry this name in the Royal Navy.
HMS Exe was a River-class destroyer ordered by the Royal Navy under the 1901–1902 Naval Estimates. Named after the River Exe in southern England flowing through Exeter in the County of Devon, she was the first ship to carry this name in the Royal Navy. She served on the China Station before World War I and in the North Sea during the war. She was sold in 1920.
HMS Cyclops (F31) was a submarine repair and depot ship of the Royal Navy. She was originally the passenger liner Indrabarah sister ship to Indralema, built by Laing, for the Indra Line Ltd then bought by The Admiralty, while she was building. She was launched on 27 October 1905.
SS Ardena was a minesweeper and escort vessel built as an Azalea-class sloop minesweeper for the British Royal Navy with the name HMS Peony in 1915.
HMS Bulldog was one of sixteen destroyers ordered under the 1908- 09 Naval Estimates from John Brown & Company of Clydebank. Named for the English bulldog, she was the fifth ship to carry this name since it was introduced in 1782 for a 16-gun Sloop broken in 1829. The destroyers of the 1908-09 program would be the last coal-fired destroyers of the Royal Navy. She and her sisters served in the First Destroyer Flotilla then were moved en masse to the Third Destroyer Flotilla and before the start of the Great War to the Fifth Destroyer Flotilla. With the advent of the convoy system they were moved to the Second Destroyer Flotilla. With the Armistice she was laid up then scrapped in 1920.
HMS Beagle was one of sixteen destroyers ordered under the 1908–09 Naval Estimates from John Brown & Company of Clydebank. Named for the English hunting dog, she was the sixth ship to carry this name since it was introduced for a Cruizer Class fir-built, brig-sloop on 8 August 1804 and sold on 21 July 1814. The destroyers of the 1908–09 program would be the last coal-fired destroyers of the Royal Navy. She and her sisters served in the First Destroyer Flotilla then were moved en masse to the Third Destroyer Flotilla and before the start of the Great War to the Fifth Destroyer Flotilla. With the advent of the convoy system they were moved to the Second Destroyer Flotilla. With the Armistice she was laid up then scrapped in 1921.
The 8th Submarine Flotilla was a flotilla of the British Royal Navy consisting of submarines and their supporting depot ships and destroyers. It was established as part of the Home Fleet in 1912. The flotilla brought together the newer, longer range 'overseas' submarines for the purpose of carrying out offensive operations. Composition of the flotilla varied over time. It was disestablished in 1919.
HMS Maidstone was a submarine depot ship of the Royal Navy. She was purpose built to support 12 of the new 'D' Class submarines under the 1910/11 Naval Programme.
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