HMS Pigeon (1916)

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History
Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svgUnited Kingdom
NameHMS Pigeon
Namesake Pigeon
OrderedSeptember 1914
Builder Hawthorn Leslie and Company, Hebburn
Laid down30 July 1915
Launched3 March 1916
Completed30 June 1916
Out of service9 May 1921
FateSold to be broken up
General characteristics
Class and type Admiralty M-class destroyer
Displacement
Length265 ft (80.8 m)
Beam26 ft 7 in (8.1 m)
Draught8 ft 7 in (2.62 m)
Propulsion
Speed34 knots (39.1 mph; 63.0 km/h)
Range3,450  nmi (6,390 km) at 15 kn (28 km/h)
Complement76
Armament

HMS Pigeon 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 destroyer, capable of higher speed. Launched on 3 March 1916 by Hawthorn Leslie on the River Tyne, the vessel served as part of the Grand Fleet. Pigeon was mainly involved in escorting convoys. After an unsuccessful sortie in October 1917 against German cruisers, the destroyer moved to anti-submarine warfare. In this arena, Pigeon had some success in 1918, rescuing the survivors from the sinking troopship Tuscania in February and assisting in the destruction of the German U-boat UB-124 in July. After the Armistice, the destroyer was redeployed to serve as part of the Nore Local Defence flotilla until being decommissioned and sold to be broken up on 9 May 1921.

Contents

Design and development

Pigeon was one of sixteen Admiralty M-class destroyer destroyers ordered by the British Admiralty in May 1915 as part of the Fifth War Construction Programme. The M-class was an improved version of the earlier L-class destroyer destroyers, required to reach a higher speed in order to counter rumoured German fast destroyers. It transpired that the German ships did not exist but the greater performance was appreciated by the navy. [1] The vessels ordered as part of the programme differed from earlier members of the class in having a raking stem and are sometimes known as the Repeat M class. [2]

The destroyer was 265 feet (80.77 m) long overall, with a beam of 26 feet 7 inches (8.10 m) and a draught of 8 feet 7 inches (2.62 m). displacement was 994 long tons (1,010 t) normal and 1,028 long tons (1,044 t) full load. [3] Power was provided by three Yarrow boilers feeding two Parsons steam turbines rated at 25,000 shaft horsepower (19,000 kW) and driving two shafts, to give a design speed of 34 knots (63 km/h; 39 mph). [4] Three funnels were fitted. 296 long tons (301 t) of oil were carried, giving a design range of 3,450 nautical miles (6,390 km; 3,970 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph). [5]

Armament consisted of three 4 in (102 mm) Mk IV QF guns on the ship's centreline, with one on the forecastle, one aft on a raised platform and one between the middle and aft funnels. A single 2-pounder (40 mm) pom-pom anti-aircraft gun was carried, while torpedo armament consisted of two twin mounts for 21 in (533 mm) torpedoes. [6] The ship had a complement of 76 officers and ratings. [5] Fire control initially consisted of a single rangefinder but was upgraded during 1917 and a Dumaresq and a Vickers range clock were added. [7]

Construction and career

Pigeon under construction alongside Plover and Sarpedon HMS Pigeon, HMS Plover and HMS Sarpedon (15657516327).jpg
Pigeon under construction alongside Plover and Sarpedon

Pigeon was laid down by Hawthorn Leslie and Company of Hebburn on the River Tyne on 14 July 1915, launched on 3 March the following year and completed on 2 June. [4] The ship was the eighth named after the eponymous family of birds. [8] The vessel was deployed as part of the Grand Fleet, joining the Thirteenth Destroyer Flotilla. [9]

Pigeon spent much of the war escorting convoys. On 16 October 1917, the ship formed part of a fleet of eighty-four ships, including fifty-four destroyers, that were deployed to protect convoys travelling from Scandinavia. The deployment was a failure, with two British destroyers sunk by German cruisers while Pigeon did not even sight the enemy. [10] While sailing as part of another convoy, the troopship Tuscania was torpedoed by the German submarine UB-77 on 5 February 1918. Pigeon joined in the rescue operation, which saved more than eight hundred US troops. [11] Later in the year, on 20 July, the destroyer, along with sister ships Marne and Millbrook, was credited with sinking UB-124. The destroyers expended fifty depth charges, an unusually large amount for the time, damaging the submarine's batteries and driving the enemy vessel to the surface where it was abandoned and sunk. [12]

After the armistice, Pigeon was allocated to the Nore Local Defence flotilla. [13] However, within a few years, the Royal Navy returned to a peacetime level of mobilisation and the destroyer fleet was reduced dramatically. The vessel was decommissioned and, on 9 May 1921, sold to Thos. W. Ward of New Holland to be broken up. [14]

Pennant numbers

Pennant Number Date
G591915 [15]
F211917 [15]
F181918 [15]
H671918 [15]

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HMS <i>Simoom</i> (1916)

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HMS <i>Sarpedon</i> (1916)

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

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HMS <i>Rigorous</i> (1916)

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HMS <i>Rowena</i> (1916)

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HMS <i>Moresby</i> British M-Class destroyer, WW1

HMS Moresby 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 Marlion by J. Samuel White at East Cowes on the Isle of Wight, the vessel was renamed before being launched on 20 November 1915. At the Battle of Jutland, the destroyer was initially cover for the seaplane tender Engadine but soon joined the action as part of a flotilla led by the light cruiser Champion. Moresby attacked the German fleet with torpedoes, initially unsuccessfully targeting the dreadnought battleship Markgraf and, near the end of the battle, unleashing another which narrowly missed the battlecruiser Von der Tann. In March 1918, the destroyer sank U-110 with the destroyer Michael. After the war, the destroyer was placed in reserve and eventually sold to be broken up on 9 May 1921.

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

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

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

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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. Fortunately 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>Obdurate</i> (1916) British M-Class destroyer, WW1

HMS Obdurate 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 January 1916 by Scotts of Greenock, the vessel served as part of the Grand Fleet in the Battle of Jutland in May 1916. The destroyer formed part of the cover for the British battlecruisers and was involved in attacks on German battleships and destroyers, but recorded no hits. The destroyer was also part of attack by Zeppelin L 43 on Sydney and the distant cover for the Second Battle of Heligoland Bight, but received only minor damage from the German airship. After the armistice, Obdurate was assigned to the Local Defence Force at Nore and sold to be broken up on 9 May 1921.

References

Citations

  1. ↑ Friedman 2009, p. 132.
  2. ↑ Friedman 2009, p. 155.
  3. ↑ McBride 1991, p. 44.
  4. 1 2 Parkes & Prendergast 1969, p. 109.
  5. 1 2 Friedman 2009, p. 296.
  6. ↑ Gardiner & Gray 1985, p. 79.
  7. ↑ "Fire Control in H.M. Ships". The Technical History and Index: Alteration in Armaments of H.M. Ships During the War. 3 (23): 31. 1919.
  8. ↑ Manning & Walker 1959, p. 342.
  9. ↑ "Destroyer Flotillas of the Grand Fleet". Supplement to the Monthly Navy List: 12. October 1916. Retrieved 6 July 2021– via National Library of Scotland.
  10. ↑ Newbolt 1931, p. 151–156.
  11. ↑ Castle 1978, p. 40.
  12. ↑ Lipsky & Lipsky 2008, p. 96.
  13. ↑ "Local Defence and Training Establishments", The Navy List, p. 704, October 1919, retrieved 6 July 2021– via National Library of Scotland
  14. ↑ Colledge & Warlow 2010, p. 268.
  15. 1 2 3 4 Dittmar & Colledge 1972, p. 67.

Bibliography

  • Castle, Colin M. (1978). "Loss of the Tuscania". Ships Monthly. 22: 38–40.
  • Colledge, J.J.; Warlow, Ben (2010). Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of All Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy. Haverhill: Casemate. ISBN   978-1-93514-907-1.
  • Dittmar, F.J.; Colledge, J.J. (1972). British Warships 1914–1919. Shepperton: Ian Allan. ISBN   978-0-71100-380-4.
  • Friedman, Norman (2009). British Destroyers: From Earliest Days to the First World War. Barnsley: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN   978-1-84832-049-9.
  • Gardiner, Robert; Gray, Randal, eds. (1985). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN   978-0-85177-245-5.
  • Lipsky, Florian; Lipsky, Stefan (2008). Deutsche U-Boote: hundert Jahre Technik und Entwicklung (in German). Augsburg: Weltbild. ISBN   978-3-82895-411-3.
  • Manning, Thomas Davys; Walker, Charles Frederick (1959). British Warship Names. London: Putnam. OCLC   780274698.
  • McBride, Keith (1991). "British 'M' Class Destroyers of 1913–14". In Gardiner, Robert (ed.). Warship 1991. London: Conway Maritime Press. pp. 34–49. ISBN   0-85177-582-9.
  • Newbolt, Henry (1931). Naval Operations: Volume V. History of the Great War. London: Longmans, Green and Co. OCLC   220475309.
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