HMS Delphinium (1915)

Last updated

History
Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svgUnited Kingdom
NameDelphinium
Builder Napier and Miller, Yard 207, Old Kilpatrick, Glasgow
Laid down1 July 1915
Launched23 December 1915
Recommissioned18 December 1928, Chatham
Identification Pennant number: T.54 (Jan, 1916), T.30 (Jan, 1918)
FateSold for scrapping, 13 October 1939
General characteristics
Class and type Arabis-class sloop
Displacement1,250 tons
Length268 ft 0 in (81.69 m) o/a
Beam33 ft 6 in (10.21 m)
Draught11 ft 0 in (3.35 m)
Propulsion
  • 1 × 4-cylinder triple expansion steam engine
  • 2000ihp
  • 2 boilers, coal
  • Single shaft, 1 screw
Speed16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph)
Complement90 (RN)
Armament2 × 1 - QF 4.7 inch Mk IV guns and 2 × 1 - 3-pounders (47 mm) AA.
ArmourTriple hull in bows

HMS Delphinium was an Arabis-class sloop launched in 1915. During World War I, Delphinium was operated by the Royal Navy as a minesweeper and escort, based in Queenstown. She escorted merchant vessels and was involved in rescuing the crews of two merchant ships sunk by German submarines. Delphinium paid out in 1919, but was re-commissioned in Chatham on 18 December 1928 for duty in the Africa Station until 1932. During this time Delphinium made duty calls to a number of African countries and in 1929, hosted the Christy Commission of the League of Nations, during its work in Liberia. Delphinium was sold for scrap on 13 October 1933.

Contents

Design and construction

Delphinium was one of 36 Arabis-class sloops ordered and laid down in 1915 for the Royal Navy during World War I. The class were intended for minesweeping duties in European waters, but Delphinium also performed duties as a merchant vessel escort.

Delphinium had a displacement of 1,250 tons. She was 267 feet 9 inches (81.61 m) in length overall, had a beam of 33 feet 6 inches (10.21 m), and a maximum draught of 11 feet 9 inches (3.58 m). [1] The propulsion system consisted of a four-cylinder triple expansion engine, connected to a single propeller shaft. [1] Maximum speed was 16.0 knots (29.6 km/h; 18.4 mph).

Delphinium was laid down for the Royal Navy by Napier and Miller, Glasgow, Scotland, 1 July 1915 and launched on 23 December 1915.

Service history

1915 to 1919

During World War I, Delphinium was stationed in Queenstown [2] as a minesweeper and merchant vessel escort. Initially Delphinium was part of the 3rd Sloop Flotilla, [3] but in December 1918, Delphinium was assigned to the 23rd Fleet Sweeping Flotilla [4] operating from Buncrana. [5] [6] On 1 April 1917, Delphinium escorted the RFA Boxleaf, [7] an Emergency Wartime Construction (LEAF) oiler tanker in the Irish Sea. On 28 April 1917, German submarine SM U-70 stopped the merchant ship Anne Marie. [8] The crew were ordered to leave the ship before it was sunk, were taken aboard Delphinium 18 hours later and brought to Queenstown. [9] On 31 August 1917, Delphinium entered Lough Swilly harbour, Buncrana, towing US tanker SS Albert Watts. [10]

On 2 October 1917, German submarine SM U-79 torpedoed the armoured cruiser HMS Drake, causing it to lose the use of its steam steering gear. Drake subsequently collided with cargo ship Mendip Range, [11] eventually sinking in Church Bay near Rathlin Island. [12] [13] Delphinium and the destroyer Martin came alongside to remove the crew. [14] [15]

Delphinium paid out in Queenstown, 23 July 1919. [16]

1920 to 1925

Delphinium held in depot in Devonport. [17]

1925 to 1932

After 1926, Delphinium was re-commissioned several times and each time assigned to duty in the Africa Station. [18] During her service, Delphinium worked primarily along the west coast of Africa, with documented stops in Monrovia (Liberia), South Knysna and Simonstown (Africa), Limbé (Cameroon, then called Victoria in the British Cameroons), [19] the Canary Islands, [20] Opobo and Lagos [21] [22] [23] (Nigeria).

In 1929, Delphinium hosted aboard a League of Nations Commission of Enquiry (the Christy Commission). The Commission of Enquiry was investigating allegations of modern slavery on the island of Fernando Po linked to Liberia. [24] Delphinium anchored in the open roadstead in Monrovia, Liberia, [25] there being no port at that time.

In 1932, Delphinium visited Knysna, South Africa and a crew detail was sent ashore to polish the brass and clip the grass on the grave of “Bondi”, the ship's dog mascot of HMS Verbena (1915). [26]

In 1932, Delphinium was recalled and sailed from Simonstown, South Africa to England, [27] arriving at Portsmouth in March 1933. She was replaced on the Africa station by the new sloop Weston. [14]

Decommissioning and fate

Delphinium paid off 7 March 1933 and was sold for scrap to Rees Metals Ltd., Llanelli, 13 October 1933.

Related Research Articles

HMS <i>Duncan</i> (D99) D-class destroyer leader built for the Royal Navy in the early 1930s

HMS Duncan was a D-class destroyer leader built for the Royal Navy in the early 1930s. The ship was initially assigned to the Mediterranean Fleet before she was transferred to the China Station in early 1935 where she remained until mid-1939. Duncan returned to the Mediterranean Fleet just after World War II began in September 1939. She was transferred to the Home Fleet in December 1939, although she was badly damaged in a collision the following month, and required repairs that lasted until July 1940. The ship joined Force H at Gibraltar in October, escorting the larger ships and various convoys until March 1941 when she was transferred to West Africa for convoy escort duties for a few months. Duncan rejoined the 13th Destroyer Flotilla at Gibraltar in July and escorted several convoys to Malta during the rest of the year. After a refit, she briefly returned to the 13th Destroyer Flotilla before joining the Eastern Fleet in the Indian Ocean to participate in Operation Ironclad in May 1942. The ship was recalled home to be converted into an escort destroyer in late 1942.

<i>Arabis</i>-class sloop 1915 class of British minesweepers

The Arabis class was the third, and largest, of the five sub-classes of minesweeping sloops completed under the Emergency War Programme for the Royal Navy in World War I. They were part of the larger "Flower class" shipbuilding project, which were also referred to as the "Cabbage class", or "Herbaceous Borders". The ships were also used outside their minesweeping duties as patrol vessels, tugs, and personnel and cargo transports.

HMS Snowdrop was an Azalea-class sloop of the Royal Navy. She served during the First World War. Snowdrop survived the war and was sold for scrap in 1923.

HMS <i>Badsworth</i> Destroyer of the Royal Navy

HMS Badsworth(pennant number L03) was an escort destroyer of the Type II Hunt class. The Royal Navy ordered Badsworth's construction three months after the outbreak of the Second World War. Cammell Laird laid down her keel at their Birkenhead yard on 15 May 1940, as Admiralty Job No. J3260. After a successful Warship Week national savings campaign in March 1942, Badsworth was adopted by the civil community of Batley, then in the West Riding of Yorkshire. The ship was named after a fox-hunt in Yorkshire.

HMS <i>Laburnum</i> (1915) Minesweeper of the Royal Navy

HMS Laburnum was a Royal Navy Acacia-class sloop built by Charles Connell and Company, Scotstoun. She was scuttled during the fall of Singapore in 1942.

HMS <i>Whitley</i> (L23) Destroyer of the Royal Navy

HMS Whitley (L23), ex-Whitby, was a W-class destroyer of the British Royal Navy that saw service in the British campaign in the Baltic Sea against Bolshevik forces during the Russian Civil War and in the early months of World War II.

HMS <i>Versatile</i> (D32) Destroyer of the Royal Navy

HMS Versatile (D32) was an Admiralty V-class destroyer of the British Royal Navy that saw service in World War I, the Russian Civil War, and World War II.

HMS <i>Rob Roy</i> (1916) Destroyer of the Royal Navy

HMS Rob Roy was a Royal Navy R-class destroyer constructed and then operational in the First World War. The ship served in the Grand Fleet as part of the Fifteenth Destroyer Flotilla.

HMS <i>Delphinium</i> (K77) Flower-class corvette

HMS Delphinium (K77) was a Flower-class corvette built for the Royal Navy (RN) from 1940-1946. From 1941 to 1943 she was active in the Mediterranean as an escort to convoys supporting the Eighth Army and the invasion of Sicily. From mid-1943 onwards she was on convoy escort duties between Africa, the Mediterranean and the United Kingdom; and Atlantic convoys between North America and the United Kingdom. She escorted a total of 68 convoys.

HMS Aubrietia was one of 12 Aubrietia-class sloops completed for the Royal Navy and was launched in 1916. During World War I, she functioned as a Q-Ship and served under the name Q.13, also taking the names Kai, Winton and Zebal. Aubrietia was part of the 1st Sloop flotilla, based in Queenstown and subsequently, the 3rd Sloop Flotilla in the North Sea.

HMS <i>Milford</i> (L51) Sloop of the Royal Navy

HMS Milford was a Shoreham-class sloop of the British Royal Navy built at Devonport Dockyard in 1931–1932. After peacetime operations on the Africa Station during the 1930s, Milford served during the Second World War. Her wartime service between 1939 and 1943 mostly involved convoy escort duties off Africa, but in 1940 she also took part in Operation Catapult and Operation Menace, both targeting Vichy French forces at Dakar, Senegal, and in the Battle of Gabon, in which she damaged the Vichy French submarine Poncelet so severely that Poncelet scuttled herself. After training duty in 1944 and 1945, Milford was placed in reserve in 1946 and sold in 1949.

HMS Zinnia was an Azalea-class minesweeping sloop of the Royal Navy, built in 1915 at the Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson yard, at Wallsend in the United Kingdom.It was sold to Belgium on 19 April 1920 to join their new Corps of Destroyers and Sailors.

HMS <i>Magic</i> (1915) British M-Class destroyer of the First World War

HMS Magic was an 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. Originally laid down as HMS Marigold by J. Samuel White at East Cowes on the Isle of Wight, the vessel was renamed before being launched in 1915. The ship served during the War as part of the Grand Fleet, mainly on anti-submarine and convoy escort duties from the port of Queenstown. In 1917, the destroyer took part in the Battle of Jutland and was one of a small number of British vessels that attacked the German fleet with torpedoes, although both torpedoes missed. In 1918, the ship struck a mine of the coast of Ireland and, although the damage was repaired, 25 people died. After the War, the destroyer was placed in reserve and decommissioned, being sold to be broken up in 1921.

HMS <i>Medina</i> (1916) British M-Class destroyer, WW1

HMS Medina 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. Originally laid down as HMS Redmill by J. Samuel White at East Cowes on the Isle of Wight, the vessel was renamed before being launched in 1916. The ship was allocated to the Grand Fleet and spent much of its service in anti-submarine warfare, either escorting convoys or involved in submarine hunting patrols. Although the destroyer attacked a number of German submarines, none were sunk. After the War, Medina was reassigned to a defence flotilla in Portsmouth and was eventually sold to be broken up in 1921.

HMS <i>Nicator</i> (1916) British M-Class destroyer, WW1

HMS Nicator was an Admiralty M-class destroyer which served with the Royal Navy during the First World War. The M class was an improvement on the preceding L class, capable of higher speed. Launched in February 1916, the destroyer fought in the Battle of Jutland between May and June 1916, operating in support of the British battlecruisers in their action against the German High Seas Fleet. Nicator claimed, along with sister ship Nestor, the destruction of a German torpedo boat, likely to be V27. The destroyer also attacked the German battlecruisers and battleships and, although no hits were recorded, kept the German ships from closing with the British. This was crucial to limiting losses to the British battlecruiser fleet. The vessel was subsequently fitted with paravanes for anti-submarine warfare. After the war, the destroyer was placed in reserve and subsequently sold to be broken up in May 1921.

HMS <i>Plucky</i> (1916) British M-Class destroyer, WW1

HMS Plucky was an 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. Launched on 21 April 1916 by Scotts of Greenock, the vessel served as part of the Grand Fleet, spending most of the war based out of Plymouth, apart from a brief sojourn working from the Irish port of Buncrana. Plucky was mainly involved in anti-submarine warfare and escorting the merchant ships that made up the convoys travelling to and from England, colliding with one, the collier Mervin in February 1917. The merchant vessel was unharmed, but the subsequent explosion but the destroyer temporarily out of action. After armistice, the destroyer was redeployed to Portsmouth until being decommissioned and sold to be broken up on 9 May 1921.

HMS <i>Salmon</i> (1916) British R-Class destroyer

HMS Salmon was an R-class destroyer that served in the Royal Navy during the First World War. The R class were an improvement on the previous M class with geared steam turbines to improve efficiency. Launched by Harland & Wolff at Govan in 1916, Salmon served with the Fifteenth Destroyer Flotilla of the Grand Fleet. The destroyer escorted convoys between Britain and Scandinavia. At the end of the war, the vessel was allocated to the Home Fleet but was given a reduced crew in 1919 as there was no longer the need for as many active ships in the navy. The destroyer subsequently helped in the searches following the loss of the submarines H47 and M2, as well as rescuing 10 members of the crew of the steamer Ioannois Fafalios, sunk after colliding with the freighter Bacchus. In 1933, Salmon was renamed Sable, which ironically had previously been the name of another R-class destroyer that had collided with the vessel in 1917, but only served three years with the new name. The destroyer was sold as part-payment in exchange for the liner Majestic in 1937 and broken up.

HMS <i>Rosemary</i> 1915 British ship

HMS Rosemary was an Arabis-class minesweeping sloop of the British Royal Navy. Built by the Teesside shipbuilder Richardson, Duck and Company from 1915–1916, Rosemary carried out minesweeping and anti submarine operations during the First World War. She was used for fishery protection duties during the 1930s, and served through the Second World War, finally being sold for scrap in 1947.

HMS Alyssum was an Arabis-class minesweeping sloop of the British Royal Navy which served during the First World War. Alyssum was built in 1915 by Earle's Shipbuilding, and was used for minesweeping, escort and patrol duties in the North and Irish Seas. The sloop sank after hitting a German mine on 18 March 1917.

References

  1. 1 2 Bastock Australia's Ships of War, p. 90
  2. ↑ "Q-Ships of the Queenstown Command" . Retrieved 7 January 2019.
  3. ↑ "Third Sloop Flotilla (Royal Navy)" . Retrieved 8 January 2019.
  4. ↑ "Twenty-third Fleet Sweeping Flotilla (Royal Navy)" . Retrieved 8 January 2019.
  5. ↑ "Navy Lists 1919".
  6. ↑ Naval Staff Monographs Volume XIX: Home Waters – Part IX, May, 1917— July, 1917. Admiralty Historical Section of the Training and Staff Duties Division of the Naval Staff. 1917. p. 300.
  7. ↑ "RFA Boxleaf" . Retrieved 7 January 2019.
  8. ↑ "Anne Marie" . Retrieved 7 January 2019.
  9. ↑ SKIPET, UTGITT AV NORSK SKIPSFARTSHISTORISK SELSKAP, NR 1, Mars 1988 (PDF). Norsk Sklpsfartshistorisk Selskap. 1988. p. 64.
  10. ↑ "HMS VIRGINIAN – December 1914 to November 1918, Northern Patrol (10th Cruiser Squadron), North Atlantic convoys" . Retrieved 7 January 2019.
  11. ↑ "Mendip Range 1914 – Tyne Built Ships" . Retrieved 7 January 2019.
  12. ↑ "HMS Drake, Rathlin Island" . Retrieved 7 January 2019.
  13. ↑ "William Wheelhouse" . Retrieved 7 January 2019.
  14. 1 2 "Sloop from Africa". The Times . No. 46386. 7 March 1933. p. 9.
  15. ↑ "The Services: Royal Navy: Sloops Sold". The Times. No. 46636. 27 December 1933. p. 19.
  16. ↑ Monthly Navy List, January 1921. HMSO. 1919. p. 759.
  17. ↑ Navy List, January 1921. HMSO. 1921. p. 759.
  18. ↑ "H.M.S. Delphinium (1915)" . Retrieved 8 January 2019.
  19. ↑ Cameroons under British Mandate for the Year 1931, Colonial Issue 89. HMSO. 1933. p. 55.
  20. ↑ Index to the Correspondence of the Foreign Office for the year 1931. UK Foreign Office. 1931. p. 294.
  21. ↑ Annual Report of the Colonies, Nigeria, Report for 1929. p. 23.
  22. ↑ Annual Report of the Colonies, Nigeria, Report for 1930. p. 24.
  23. ↑ Annual report on the social and economic progress of the people of Nigeria, 1932. 1932. p. 76.
  24. ↑ Reynolds, Alexander Jacob (1935). African Passage. F Muller ltd. p. 19.
  25. ↑ The Fortnightly Review, Volume 138. Chapman and Hall, England. 1932. p. 33.
  26. ↑ "Bondi of H.M.S. Verbena" . Retrieved 7 January 2019.
  27. ↑ South Africa. A weekly journal for all interested in South African affairs. Volume 176. 1932. p. 273.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.