![]() HMS Badger during First World War | |
History | |
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Name | HMS Badger |
Builder | William Denny & Brothers, Dumbarton [1] [2] |
Yard number | 933 [2] |
Launched | 11 July 1911 [3] |
Fate | Sold 9 May 1921 [3] |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Acheron-class destroyer |
Displacement | 990 tons |
Length | 75 m (246 ft) |
Beam | 7.8 m (26 ft) |
Draught | 2.7 m (8.9 ft) |
Installed power | 13,500 shp (10,100 kW) |
Propulsion |
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Speed | 27 kn (50 km/h) |
Complement | 70 |
Armament |
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HMS Badger was an Acheron-class destroyer of the Royal Navy that served during the First World War and was sold for breaking in 1921. She was the eighth Royal Navy ship to be named Badger, after the mammal of the same name.
She was built under the 1910-11 shipbuilding programme by William Denny & Brothers of Dumbarton [1] and was launched on 11 July 1911. She and her sister-ship Beaver were completed with geared steam turbines for evaluation purposes and were known as "Parsons Specials". [4]
Pennant number [3] | From | To |
---|---|---|
H15 | 6 December 1914 | 1 September 1915 |
H52 | 1 September 1915 | 1 January 1918 |
H09 | 1 January 1918 | Early 1919 |
H91 | Early 1919 | 9 May 1921 |
Badger served with the First Destroyer Flotilla from 1911 and, with her flotilla, joined the British Grand Fleet in 1914 on the outbreak of the First World War.
She was present on 28 August 1914 at the Battle of Heligoland Bight, detached from the First Destroyer Flotilla along with Jackal, Beaver and Sandfly. [5] She shared in the prize money for the engagement. [6]
On 24 October 1914 she became the first Allied ship to successfully attack a German Navy U-boat when she rammed U-19 off the Dutch coast. [7] U-19 was severely damaged but managed to return to port, was repaired and survived the war.
The 1st Destroyer Flotilla served at Jutland; it was Badger's distressing duty to rescue the crew of HMS Invincible, which had blown up after a German salvo penetrated the magazines. Of the crew of 1,021, only two officers and four crew were rescued. Badger's commanding officer at the time of the battle was Commander C A Fremantle. [8]
On 17 April 1917 at 1930 hrs, SS Lanfranc was torpedoed four miles northeast of Le Havre by UB-40 while bound for Southampton. At the time she had 387 patients, of which 167 were German prisoners of war, and of these patients, 326 were cot-bound. Approximately 570 survivors were picked up by Badger and HMS Jackal, aided by HMS P47 and the French patrol boat Roitelet, and taken to Portsmouth. [9]
Lieutenant Commander Geoffrey Corlett received the Italian Naval Decoration for service off Durazzo in Albania while serving as the captain of HMS Badger. [10]
At 0700 hrs on 4 February 1918, Badger joined convoy HX-20 along with seven other Royal Navy destroyers from Lough Swilly, Northern Ireland. At 1845 the next day, while transiting the North Channel, SS Tuscania of 14,348 GRT was torpedoed by UB-77. The ship was packed with United States soldiers, and 210 people died in the sinking. [11]
In common with most of her class, she was laid up after the First World War and in May 1921 she was sold for breaking.
HMS Lydiard was a Laforey-class destroyer built for the Royal Navy during the 1910s.
HMS Hydra was one of 20 Acheron-class destroyers built for the Royal Navy in the 1910s. Completed in 1912, the ship participated in World War I and was sold for scrap in 1921.
HMS Lizard was an Acheron-class destroyer of the British Royal Navy. She is named for the Lizard peninsula in the county of Cornwall in England. and was the twelfth ship of the Royal Navy to bear the name.
HMS Defender was an Acheron-class destroyer which was built in 1911, served throughout World War I and was broken up in 1921. She was the fifth ship of the name to serve in the Royal Navy.
HMS Acheron was the name ship of the Acheron-class destroyer of the British Royal Navy. She is named after the River Acheron, believed in Greek Mythology to be a branch of the River Styx. She was the fifth ship of the Royal Navy to bear the name.
HMS Lurcher was a modified Acheron-class destroyer, named after the lurcher-type dog, and the fifth ship of the Royal Navy to bear the name; when new she was the fastest ship in the Royal Navy.
HMS Phoenix was an Acheron-class destroyer of the British Royal Navy. She is named for the mythical bird, and was the fifteenth ship of the Royal Navy to bear the name. She was the only British warship ever to be sunk by the Austro-Hungarian Navy.
HMS Ariel was an Acheron-class destroyer built in 1911, which served during the First World War and sank in 1918 after striking a mine. Named after Shakespeare's "airy spirit", or the biblical spirit of the same name, she was the tenth and last ship of the name to serve in the Royal Navy.
HMS Attack was an Acheron-class destroyer built in 1911, which served during the First World War and was sunk in 1917 in the Mediterranean by a German U-boat. She was the third ship of the name to serve in the Royal Navy.
HMS Beaver was an Acheron-class destroyer of the Royal Navy that served during the First World War and was sold for breaking in 1921. She was the ninth Royal Navy ship to be named Beaver, after the mammal of the same name.
HMS Goshawk was an Acheron-class destroyer of the Royal Navy that served during World War I and was sold for breaking in 1921. She was the sixth Royal Navy ship to be named after the bird of prey, Accipiter gentilis.
HMS Druid was one of 20 Acheron-class destroyers built for the Royal Navy during the 1910s. Completed in 1912 the ship served during World War I and was sold for scrap in 1921.
HMS Jackal was an Acheron-class destroyer of the Royal Navy that served during the World War I and was sold for breaking in 1920. She was the seventh Royal Navy ship to be named Jackal, after the predatory mammal of the same name.
HMS Hornet was an Acheron-class destroyer of the Royal Navy that served during the First World War and was sold for breaking in 1921. She was the seventh Royal Navy ship to be named Hornet, after the insect.
HMS Hind was an Acheron-class destroyer of the Royal Navy that served during World War I and was sold for breaking in 1921. She was the seventeenth Royal Navy ship to be named after the female deer.
HMS Ferret was an Acheron-class destroyer of the Royal Navy that served during World War I and was sold for breaking in 1921. She was the sixteenth Royal Navy ship to be named after the domestic mammal Mustela putorius.
HMS Forester was an Acheron-class destroyer of the Royal Navy that served during World War I and was sold for breaking in 1921. She was the ninth Royal Navy ship to be named after the traditional craft of forester.
HMS Lapwing was an Acheron-class destroyer of the Royal Navy that served during World War I and was sold for breaking in 1921. She was the seventh Royal Navy ship to be named after Vanellus vanellus, the northern lapwing.
HMS Sandfly was an Acheron-class destroyer of the Royal Navy that served during World War I and was sold for breaking in 1921. She was the seventh Royal Navy ship to be named after the small biting fly of the same name.
HMS Laurel was a Laforey-class destroyer which served with the Royal Navy. Launched on 6 May 1913 as HMS Redgauntlet, the ship was renamed on 30 September under an Admiralty order to become one of the first alphabetical class destroyers. On commissioning, the vessel joined the 3rd Destroyer Flotilla and operated as part of the Harwich Force during the First World War. During Battle of Heligoland Bight, Laurel led a flotilla that pursued German torpedo boats, engaging with G194 and G196, and was damaged in action with the cruiser Mainz. The vessel also played a minor role in the Battles of Dogger Bank, Dover Strait and Jutland. With the cessation of hostilities, the ship was placed in reserve and scrapped on 1 November 1921.