HMS Comet (1910)

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HMS Comet, Acorn-class destroyer - IWM Q 75088.jpg
Comet
History
Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svgUnited Kingdom
NameComet
Namesake Great January Comet of 1910
Builder Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering Company, Govan
Laid down1 February 1910
Launched23 June 1910
CompletedJune 1911
FateSunk by torpedo, 6 August 1918
General characteristics
Class and type Acorn-class destroyer
Displacement772 long tons (784  t)
Length246 ft (75 m)
Beam25 ft 5 in (7.7 m)
Draught8 ft 6 in (2.6 m)
Installed power
Propulsion3 shafts; 1 steam turbine
Speed27 knots (50 km/h; 31 mph)
Range1,540  nmi (2,850 km; 1,770 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Complement72
Armament

HMS Comet was one of 20 Acorn-class destroyers built for the Royal Navy in the 1910s. Completed in 1911 she saw active service in the First World War.

Contents

Design and description

The Acorn class marked a return to oil-firing as pioneered in the Tribal or F class of 1905 and HMS Swift of 1907. The Admiralty provided general specifications, but each shipyard did their own detailed design so that ships often varied in size. [1] The Acorns had an overall length of 246 feet (75 m), a beam of 25 feet 5 inches (7.7 m), and a deep draught of 8 feet 6 inches (2.6 m). The ships displaced 772 long tons (784  t ) at deep load and their crew numbered 72 officers and ratings. [2]

The destroyers were powered by a single Parsons steam turbine that drove three propeller shafts using steam provided by four Yarrow boilers. The engines developed a total of 13,500 shaft horsepower (10,100  kW ) and were designed for a speed of 27 knots (50 km/h; 31 mph). Comet reached a speed of 27.9 knots (51.7 km/h; 32.1 mph) from 13,726 shp (10,235 kW) during her sea trials. [3] The Acorns had a range of 1,540 nautical miles (2,850 km; 1,770 mi) at a cruising speed of 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph). [2]

The primary armament of the ships consisted of a pair of BL 4-inch (102 mm) MK VIII guns in single, unprotected pivot mounts fore and aft of the superstructure. They were also armed with two single QF 12-pounder (3-inch (76 mm)) guns, one on each broadside between the forward and centre funnels. The destroyer were equipped with a pair of single rotating mounts for 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes amidships and carried two reload torpedoes. [4]

Construction and career

Comet, c. 1914-1918 HMS Comet (1910) IWM Q 021108.jpg
Comet, c. 1914–1918

Comet was ordered under the 1909–1910 Naval Programme from Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering Company. The ship was laid down at the company's Govan shipyard on 1 February 1910, launched on 23 June and commissioned in June 1911. She was torpedoed and sunk on 6 August 1918. [5]

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References

  1. ↑ Gardiner & Gray, p. 74
  2. 1 2 Friedman, p. 295
  3. ↑ March, p. 109
  4. ↑ Friedman, pp. 119, 295
  5. ↑ Friedman, p. 306

Bibliography

36°29′N15°45′E / 36.483°N 15.750°E / 36.483; 15.750

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