HMS Starfish was an R-class destroyer which served with the Royal Navy. She was launched on 27 September 1916 and sold to be broken up on 21 April 1928. She was built by Hawthorn Leslie of Hebburn Tyne.
HMS Taurus was an R-class destroyer which served with the Royal Navy during World War I. Ordered from Thornycroft in 1915 and launched in 1917, the vessel operated as part of the Harwich Force until the end of hostilities. Shortly after entering service, Taurus formed part of the destroyer shield for the Royal Navy's bombardment of Ostend that successfully sank the German destroyer S20. After the War, the destroyer was reduced to the Reserve Fleet and sold to be broken up in 1930.
HMS Teazer was an R-class destroyer which served with the Royal Navy during World War I. The destroyer was launched in April 1917 and, on trial, proved to be one of the fastest afloat, exceeding 40 knots. Attached to the Harwich Force, the ship supported the monitors Erebus, Terror and Marshal Soult in the bombardment of Zeebrugge in May 1918 and one of the final sorties of the war in the October following. The destroyer also took part in operations off the coast of Heligoland with a flying boat on a lighter, although the aircraft failed to take off. After the war, Teazer was kept in reserve until being sold to be broken up in 1931 following the signing of the London Naval Treaty that limited total destroyer tonnage.
HMS Retriever was a Thornycroft-built R-class destroyer which served with the Royal Navy during the First World War. Launched in 1917, the vessel formed part of the Harwich Force and took part in operations off the coast of Ostend in support of the bombardment of the town in June that year. During August the following year, the vessel attempted to deploy a seaplane from a towed lighter, but a lack of wind meant the operation was unsuccessful. The vessel was also jointly credited with the destruction of the submarine SM UB-54 that year, although this has been disputed. After the war, the ship was placed in reserve and was sold to be broken up in 1927.
HMS Thisbe was an R-class destroyer which served in the Royal Navy during World War I. The R class were an improvement on the previous M class with geared steam turbines to improve efficiency. Built by Hawthorn Leslie and launched on 8 March 1917, the destroyer served as part of the Harwich Force. In 1918, the destroyer towed a flying boat on a lighter to take part in operations off the coast of Heligoland, although the aircraft failed to take off. After the war, the destroyer was placed in reserve, and participated in trials with the Compass Department in 1925. The ship was sold to be broken up on 31 August 1936.
HMS Ulster was a modified Admiralty R-class destroyer that served in the Royal Navy during the First World War. The Modified R class added attributes of the Yarrow Later M class to improve the capability of the ships to operate in bad weather. Launched on 10 October 1917, the vessel served with the Grand Fleet. After the war, the destroyer was placed initially in the Home Fleet, but then moved to the Reserve Fleet before, on 21 April 1928, being sold to be broken up.
HMS Thruster was an R-class destroyer which served with 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. Built by Hawthorn Leslie and launched in January 1917, Thruster joined the Harwich Force, serving as part of a flotilla that escorted the monitors Erebus and Terror in their bombardment of Ostend in June that year. During the following month, Thruster, along with sister ship Springbok, captured the two German merchant ships SS Brietzig and SS Pellworm. The destroyer was also jointly credited with sinking the submarine UB-54 the following year. After the signing of the Armistice that ended the war, the destroyer was allocated to anti-submarine research and helped in the development of anti-submarine tactics with ASDIC. In April 1928, the ship took part in a high-speed demonstration for the King of Afghanistan, the Amanullah Khan, and, in January 1932, participated in the unsuccessful search for the crew of the submarine M2. Placed in reserve at the Nore in June 1936, Thruster was sold to be broken up in March 1937.
HMS Sharpshooter was an R-class destroyer which served with the Royal Navy during World War I. Launched on 27 February 1917, the ship joined the Harwich Force, undertaking convoy escort duties. The vessel also took part in the Navy’s bombardment of Ostend later that year. On 1 June 1918, the destroyer rescued Captain A. C. Sharwood, one of the first pilots of the Royal Australian Navy, who ditched his Sopwith 2F.1 Camel nearby. After the war, Sharpshooter joined the Navy gunnery training establishment at Plymouth, but did not stay long and was reduced to Reduced Complement on 5 March 1919. The Royal Navy was rationalising its destroyer force and Sharpshooter, deemed superfluous, was sold to be broken up on 29 April 1927.
HMS Simoom was an R-class destroyer which served with the Royal Navy during World War I. Launched on 30 October 1916, the vessel operated as part of the Harwich Force until torpedoed by the German destroyer S50 on 23 January 1917. The ship's magazine exploded and 47 people died. The name was reused by the first S-class destroyer, Simoom, launched on 26 January 1918.
HMS Springbok was an R-class destroyer which served with the Royal Navy during World War I. The R class were an improvement on the preceding M-class, including using geared steam turbines. Launched on 9 March 1917, the vessel operated as part of the Harwich Force on escort duties. In 1917, the destroyer, along with sister ship Thruster, captured the German merchant ships Brietzig and Pellworm. After the conflict, the destroyer initially was posted to the navy's torpedo school but was soon afterwards reduced to reserve. After less than ten years in service, Springbok was sold on 16 December 1926 and broken up.
HMS Rowena was an R-class destroyer which served with the Royal Navy during World War I. Launched on 1 July 1916, the ship operated as part of the Grand Fleet as part of a destroyer flotilla hunting for German vessels that were attacking convoys in the North Sea. Although there were many reported sightings, no submarines were sunk. After the conflict, the vessel was transferred to the Navy’s establishment at Portland to help in the development of anti-submarine warfare, which ultimately helped in the Battle of the Atlantic. Rowena did not, however, see the fruit of this labour. After twenty years of service, the destroyer was retired and sold to be broken up on 27 January 1937.
HMS Romola was an R-class destroyer which served with the Royal Navy during World War I. Launched on 14 May 1916, the ship operated as part of the Grand Fleet, operating as part of a destroyer flotilla. The ship sailed to intercept the German High Seas Fleet in what would be one of the last major expeditions of their Navy in the war but saw no action. After the conflict, the destroyer was held in reserve until being retired and sold to be broken up on 13 March 1930.
HMS Redoubt was an R-class destroyer which served with the Royal Navy during World War I. The R class was an improvement of the preceding M-class, primarily through having geared steam turbines which offered greater efficiency and range. Launched on 28 October 1916, the ship joined the Harwich Force, operating as part of a destroyer flotilla undertaking convoy escort and anti-submarine operations in the North Sea. During 1918, Redoubt took part in an experiment to launch fighter aircraft from a lighter towed beyond a destroyer. The first flight took place on 1 August and the first successful operation ten days later when the Sopwith Camel flew by Lieutenant S.D. Culley took off and destroyed the German airship LZ 100. After the war, the vessel was transferred to the Home Fleet but was sold on 13 July 1926 to be broken up, part of a large scale disposal of older destroyers by the Navy.
HMS Llewellyn was a Laforey-class destroyer that served with the Royal Navy. Laid down on 14 December 1912 as HMS Picton, the ship was renamed on 30 September 1913 under an Admiralty order to become one of the first alphabetical class destroyers, being launched on 30 October. On commissioning, the vessel joined the Third Destroyer Flotilla and operated as part of the Harwich Force during the First World War. The destroyer took part in the Battle of Heligoland Bight, as well as undertaking anti-submarine patrols and escort duties. It was during one of these patrols on 4 December 1916 that the vessel unsuccessfully attacked the German submarine UB-18. On 17 March 1917, the destroyer was struck in the bow by a torpedo launched by a German torpedo boat while rescuing survivors from the sunk destroyer Paragon, but returned to port safely by steaming backwards. With the cessation of hostilities, the ship was placed in reserve. Although subsequently offered for sale to the Finnish Navy, Llewellyn was instead withdrawn from service and sold to be broken up on 18 March 1922.
HMS Lochinvar was a repeat Laforey-class destroyer which served with the Royal Navy during the First World War. Named after the character in the poem Marmion, the ship was originally to be called HMS Malice but was renamed prior to being launched on 9 October 1915. The destroyer joined the Harwich Force and took part in anti-submarine patrols, as well as escorting the monitors Erebus and Terror for their attacks on the canal gates at Zeebrugge and the port of Ostend in 1917. After the Armistice, the vessel was placed in reserve and sold to be broken up on 25 November 1921.
HMS Pellew 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 preceding L class, capable of higher speed. Launched on 18 April 1916, the vessel served with the Grand Fleet escorting convoys. The vessel was part of an unsuccessful attempt by the navy to trap the German submarines that had taken such a heavy toll on merchant shipping in December 1917. The action involved an eight-ship convoy consisting of four merchant vessels escorted by two armed trawlers and the sister ships Pellew and Partridge. Instead of submarines, four German destroyers attacked, sinking all but one member of the convoy and disappearing before the light cruisers which were to be the spring in the trap could arrive. Pellew, the sole survivor, took refuge in a Norwegian fjord. After the armistice that ended the war, the destroyer was placed in reserve and subsequently sold to be broken up on 9 May 1921.
HMS Moorsom was an Admiralty M-class destroyer which served in the Royal Navy during the First World War. The M class was an improvement on the preceding L class, capable of higher speed. Moorsom, the first ship to enter navy service to be named after Admiral Sir Robert Moorsom, was launched in December 1914, initially serving as part of the Grand Fleet before being transferred to the Harwich Force the following year. Briefly rejoining the Grand Fleet, the destroyer saw service in the Battle of Jutland in 1916 supporting the British battlecruisers and received hits from a battleship of the German High Seas Fleet. Moorsom also undertook other duties, including escorting the troop ship Mauretania in June 1915 and the minelayer Princess Margaret in August 1915 and November 1916. Placed within the Dover Patrol, the destroyer formed part of the cover for monitors including Erebus and Terror on attacks on Ostend and Zeebrugge in May and June 1917, and April and May 1918. After the Armistice, the destroyer was placed in reserve and subsequently sold to be broken up in November 1921.
HMS Morris 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 preceding L class, capable of higher speed. The ship, the only vessel to be named Morris to serve with the Royal Navy, was launched on 19 November 1914. Joining the Grand Fleet as part of a new flotilla, the destroyer was soon in action, serving as part of a destroyer screen during the Battle of Dogger Bank in January 1915 and an escort to the minelayer Princess Margaret during a skirmish with German torpedo boats eight months later. At the Battle of Jutland in 1916, the destroyer was a crucial part of the flotilla that drove the German torpedo boats away from the British battlecruisers. Morris received no hits during these confrontations. The destroyer assisted in the rescue of survivors from the R-class destroyer Simoom and the recovery of the damaged flotilla leader Botha in 1917. The ship also undertook general duties including escorting merchant ships, minelayers, monitors, and the seaplane carrier Vindex. After the armistice that ended the war, the destroyer was considered superfluous to requirements, Initially placed in reserve, Morris was decommissioned and, on 8 November 1921, sold to be broken up.
HMS Tancred was an R-class destroyer which served with 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 Beardmore of Dalmuir on 30 June 1917, Tancred initially joined the Grand Fleet, serving as part of a flotilla that took part in one of the last naval actions of the war, although in this case the British vessels did not engage with the German High Seas Fleet. After the signing of the Armistice that ended the war and the dissolution of the Grand Fleet, the destroyer was initially transferred to the Home Fleet. However, within a year, Tancred had been allocated to the local defence flotilla at Firth of Forth. Despite being at a reduced complement as an economy measure, further reductions in fleet costs meant that the destroyer was retired. On 17 May 1928, Tancred was sold to be broken up.
HMS Stork 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 Hawthorn Leslie at Hebburn in 1917, Stork joined the Harwich Force. The destroyer saw service escorting convoys in the English Channel and encountered both German submarines and torpedo boats, but did not record any hits on the enemy. The vessel also supported attacks on German forces on the coast of Western Europe by Coastal Motor Boats, flying boats and monitors, including the Zeebrugge Raid of 1918.
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