HMS Ready (1916)

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History
Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svgUnited Kingdom
NameReady
Builder Thornycroft, Woolston, Southampton
Yard number828
Laid down2 September 1915
Launched26 August 1916
Commissioned31 October 1916
Decommissioned13 July 1926
Fate Broken up at Garston, Liverpool
General characteristics
Class and type Thornycroft M-class destroyer
Displacement
  • 1,033 long tons (1,050  t) standard
  • 1,208 long tons (1,227 t) full
Length274  ft (83.5  m)
Beam27 ft 6 in (8.4 m)
Draught10 ft (120.0 in)
Propulsion
Speed35  kn (40  mph; 65  km/h)
Range3,450  nmi (6,390  km) at 20 kn (37 km/h)
Complement82
Armament

HMS Ready was a destroyer of the M class that served with the Royal Navy during First World War. Launched by Thornycroft in 1916, the vessel was the one of two similar ships ordered as part of the Fifth War Construction Programme. They differed from the remainder of the M class in having more powerful engines. The design was used as the basis for the subsequent five ships of the R-class also built by the yard. Ready operated within the Grand Fleet until it was disbanded at the end of the war. The vessel was credited with helping to sink a German Q-ship in 1917. After the war, the destroyer was initially transferred to HMNB Portsmouth, but was retired and sold to be broken up in 1926 after almost a decade of service as part of a preparation for a fleet of new destroyers.

Contents

Design and development

Ready was one of two M-class destroyers ordered by the British Admiralty from John I. Thornycroft & Company in May 1915 as part of the Fifth War Construction Programme. Ready and Rapid differed from the Admiralty design in having more powerful engines, which gave them a higher potential speed. [1] The speed increase was to combat a rumoured German design that was capable of 36 knots (67 km/h; 41 mph). [2] Thornycroft had previously delivered four other M-class destroyers to the Admiralty to slightly different specifications, and together they are considered to be a single class. [3]

Ready was 274 feet (83.5 m) long overall and 265 ft (80.8 m) long between perpendiculars, with a beam of 27 ft 6 in (8.4 m) and a draught of 10 ft (3.0 m). [3] Displacement was 1,033 long tons (1,050 t) normal and 1,208 long tons (1,227 t) full load. Three Yarrow boilers fed steam to Brown-Curtis steam turbines rated at 26,500 shp (19,800 kW) which drove three shafts, giving a design speed of 35 knots (65 km/h; 40 mph), although the ship reached 35.45 knots (65.65 km/h; 40.80 mph) during trials. [4] [5] Three funnels were fitted, the centre one being wider than the others, a feature shared with the R-class destroyers designed by Thornycroft. [4] A total of 275 long tons (279 t) of fuel oil was carried, giving a design range of 1,620 nautical miles (3,000 km; 1,860 mi) at 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph). [6]

Armament consisted of three single QF 4-inch (102 mm) Mk IV guns on the ship's centreline, with one on the forecastle, one aft and one between the second and third funnels. [3] Four 21 in (533 mm) torpedoes torpedoes were carried in two twin rotating mounts. [7] By 1920, the ship was equipped with a single QF 2-pounder 40 mm (2 in) "pom-pom" anti-aircraft gun. [8] The vessel had a complement of 82 officers and ratings. [3]

Construction and service

Ready was laid down on 2 September 1915 and launched on 26 August 1916. [9] Once completed in October 1916, the ship joined the Grand Fleet, allocated to the Fifteenth Destroyer Flotilla. [10] The flotilla was involved in anti-submarine patrols during June 1917 which, although involving twelves attacks, did not lead to the destruction of any submarines. [11] From 31 October to 2 November 1917, the 15th Flotilla made a sortie into the Kattegat, sinking the German Q-ship K (also known as Kronprinz Wilhelm) on 2 November and nine trawlers. [12] [13] Ready, together with the destroyer leader Parker, and the destroyers Rigorous, Rocket, Rob Roy, Sharpshooter and Trenchant, was awarded a bounty for sinking Konprinz Wilhelm. [14]

Ready continued to serve with the Fifteenth Destroyer Flotilla until the end of the war. [15] When the Grand Fleet was disbanded, Ready was allocated to the defence flotilla at HMNB Portsmouth. [16] However, in 1923, the Navy decided to scrap many of the older destroyers in preparation for the introduction of newer and larger vessels. [17] The destroyer was sold to King to be broken up at Garston, Liverpool on 13 July 1926. [9]

Pennant numbers

Pennant Number Date
G71September 1915 [18]
G87January 1917 [19]
G84January 1918 [19]
D97November 1919 [20]
H74January 1922 [21]

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HMS Oberon was a Repeat Admiralty M-class destroyer which served in the Royal Navy during the First World War. The M class were an improvement on the previous L-class, capable of higher speed. The vessel was launched in 1916 and joined the Grand Fleet. Oberon joined the Thirteenth Destroyer Flotilla which, in 1917, participated in a large anti-submarine warfare operation in the North Sea. The sortie led to three German submarines being sunk, although Oberon was not directly involved in these attacks. In 1918, the flotilla was involved in one of the final sorties of the Grand Fleet, but again the destroyer saw no action at the time. After the Armistice that marked the end of the First World War, Oberon was placed in reserve, decommissioned and, in 1921, sold to be broken up.

References

Citations

  1. ↑ Friedman 2009, p. 308.
  2. ↑ Friedman 2009, p. 132.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Parkes & Prendergast 1969, p. 110.
  4. 1 2 Preston 1985, p. 79.
  5. ↑ McBride 1991, p. 46.
  6. ↑ March 1966, p. 143.
  7. ↑ Preston 1985, p. 80.
  8. ↑ March 1966, p. 146.
  9. 1 2 Colledge & Warlow 2006, p. 333.
  10. ↑ "Supplement to the Monthly Naval List Showing Organisation of the Fleet, Flag Officers' Commands, &c.: Destroyer Flotillas of the Grand Fleet". The Navy List: 12. November 1916. Retrieved 3 October 2018– via National Library of Scotland.
  11. ↑ Newbolt 1931, pp. 54–56.
  12. ↑ Fock 1989 , p. 376
  13. ↑ Gröner, Jung & Maass 1993 , pp. 533–534
  14. ↑ "List of Prize and Salvage Awards". The Navy List: 2410. October 1920. Retrieved 3 October 2018– via National Library of Scotland.
  15. ↑ "Supplement to the Monthly Naval List Showing Organisation of the Fleet, Flag Officers' Commands, &c.: Destroyer Flotillas of the Grand Fleet". The Navy List: 12. October 1918. Retrieved 3 October 2018– via National Library of Scotland.
  16. ↑ "Local Defence and Training Establishments, Patrol Flotillas, Etc". The Navy List: 704. January 1921. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
  17. ↑ Friedman 2009, p. 180.
  18. ↑ Dittmar & Colledge 1972, p. 68.
  19. 1 2 Bush & Warlow 2021, p. 67.
  20. ↑ Bush & Warlow 2021, p. 42.
  21. ↑ Bush & Warlow 2021, p. 75.

Bibliography

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  • Dittmar, F.J.; Colledge, J.J. (1972). British Warships 1914–1919. Shepperton: Ian Allan. ISBN   0-7110-0380-7.
  • Fock, Harald (1989). Z-Vor! Internationale Entwicklung und Kriegseinsätze von Zerstörern und Torpedobooten 1914 bis 1939 (in German). Herford, Germany: Koehlers Verlagsgesellschaft mBH. ISBN   3-7822-0207-4.
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  • Gröner, Erich; Jung, Dieter; Maass, Martin (1993). Die deutschen Kriegschiff 1915–1945: Band 8/1: Flußfahrezeuge, Ujäger, Vorpostenboote, Hilfsminensucher, Küstenschutzverbände (Tiel 1) (in German). Bonn: Bernard & Graefe Verlag. ISBN   3-7637-4807-5.
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  • McBride, Keith (1991). "British 'M' Class Destroyers of 1913–14". In Gardiner, Robert (ed.). Warship 1991. London: Conway Maritime Press. pp. 34–49. ISBN   978-0-85177-582-1.
  • Newbolt, Henry (1931). Naval Operations: Vol. V. History of the Great War. London: Longmans, Green and Co. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
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