HMS Sheldrake (1911)

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HMS Sheldrake (1911) IWM SP 627.jpg
Sheldrake entering the harbour at Malta in 1917
History
Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svgUnited Kingdom
NameSheldrake
Namesake Sheldrake
Ordered8 September 1909
Builder William Denny and Brothers, Dumbarton
Yard number918
Laid down15 January 1910
Launched18 January 1911
Completed19 May 1911
Out of service9 May 1921
FateSold to be broken up
General characteristics (as built)
Class and type Acorn-class destroyer
Displacement748 long tons (760  t) normal
Length246 ft (75 m) o.a.
Beam25 ft 5 in (7.7 m)
Draught8 ft 6 in (2.6 m)
Installed power4 Yarrow boilers 13,500  shp (10,100  kW)
Propulsion Parsons steam turbines, 3 shafts
Speed27  kn (50 km/h; 31 mph)
Range1,540  nmi (2,850 km; 1,770 mi) at 15 kn (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Complement72
Armament

HMS Sheldrake was one of 20 Acorn-class (later H-class) destroyers built for the Royal Navy. The destroyer served in the First World War. The Acorn class were smaller than the preceding Beagle class but oil-fired and better armed. Launched in 1910, Sheldrake served with the Second Destroyer Flotilla of the Grand Fleet as an escort, transferring to Malta to serve with the Fifth Destroyer Flotilla as part of the Mediterranean Fleet in 1916. The ship once again served as an escort, protecting ships from submarines and mines, including the troopship Ivernia, as well as unsuccessfully attempting to rescue the sloop Nasturtium. After the Armistice, the destroyer was reduced to reserve before being sold to be broken up in 1921.

Contents

Design and description

After the preceding coal-burning Beagle class, the Acorn-class destroyers saw a return to oil-firing. Pioneered by the Tribal class of 1905 and HMS Swift of 1907, using oil enabled a more efficient design, leading to a smaller vessel which also had increased deck space available for weaponry. [1] Unlike previous destroyer designs, where the individual yards had been given discretion within the parameters set by the Admiralty, the Acorn class were a set, with the propulsion machinery the only major variation between the different ships. [2] This enabled costs to be reduced. [3] The class was later renamed H class. [4]

Sheldrake was 240 feet (73 metres) long between perpendiculars and 246 ft (75 m) overall, with a beam of 25 ft 5 in (7.7 m) and a deep draught of 8 ft 6 in (2.6 m). Displacement was 748 long tons (838 short tons ; 760 tonnes ) normal and 855 long tons (958 short tons; 869 t) full load. [5] [6] Power was provided by Parsons steam turbines, fed by four Yarrow boilers. [7] Parsons supplied a complex of seven turbines, a high-pressure and two low pressure for high speed, two turbines for cruising and two for running astern, driving three shafts. The high-pressure turbine drove the centre shaft, the remainder being distributed amongst two wing-shafts. [2] Three funnels were fitted, the foremost tall and thin, the central short and thick and the aft narrow. [8] The engines were rated at 13,500 shaft horsepower (10,100 kW) and design speed was 27 knots (50 km/h; 31 mph). On trial, Sheldrake achieved 28.3 knots (52.4 km/h; 32.6 mph). [4] The vessel carried 170 long tons (170 t) of fuel oil which gave a range of 1,540 nautical miles (2,850 km; 1,770 mi) at a cruising speed of 15 kn (28 km/h; 17 mph). [5] [7]

The armament consisted of a single BL 4 in (102 mm) Mk VIII gun carried on the forecastle and another aft. Two single QF 12-pounder 3 in (76 mm) guns were mounted between the first two funnels. [9] Two rotating 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes were mounted aft of the funnels, with two reloads carried, and a searchlight fitted between the tubes. [10] The destroyer was later modified to carry a single Vickers QF 3-pounder 2 in (47 mm) anti-aircraft gun and depth charges for anti-submarine warfare. [11] The ship's complement was 72 officers and ratings. [7]

Construction and career

The 20 destroyers of the Acorn class were ordered by the Admiralty under the 1909–1910 Naval Programme on 8 September 1909. Sheldrake was laid down at the Dumbarton shipyard of William Denny and Brothers with the yard number 918 on 15 January 1910, launched on 18 January 1911 and completed on 19 May 1911. [6] The ship was the sixth in Royal Navy service to be named after the sheldrake, an alternative name for the shelduck, which had been first used in 1806. [12] [13] On commissioning, the vessel joined the Second Destroyer Flotilla. [14] [15]

After the British Empire declared war on Germany at the beginning of the First World War in August 1914, the Flotilla became part of the Grand Fleet. [16] Between 13 and 15 October, the Flotilla supported the battleships of the Grand Fleet in a practice cruise. [17] Soon afterwards, the destroyers were deployed to Devonport to undertake escort and patrol duties, protecting merchant ships against German submarines. [7] [18] During December 1915, Sheldrake was posted to the Royal Navy base in Malta to operate under Rear Admiral Arthur Limpus. The destroyer escorted a troopship taking soldiers and materiel from Britain, arriving in January 1916. [19]

Sheldrake was assigned to the Fifth Destroyer Flotilla as part of the Mediterranean Fleet. [20] On 23 March 1916, the destroyer rescued 166 crew members and the sole passenger from the horse fodder transport Minneapolis that had been sunk by the German submarine U-35. [21] On 27 April, Sheldrake attempted to tow the sloop HMS Nasturtium, stricken after hitting a mine. However, the poor weather and sloop's increasing list meant that the operation was unsuccessful and the ship sank the following day. [22] For the remainder of the war, the destroyer saw service, frequently escorting troopships including Ivernia, which sailed with 2,500 troops from Alexandria to Marseilles, on 26 and 27 June, protecting them from submarines and mines. [23] Sometimes simply having an escort was sufficient to deter attack. On 2 June 1917, the ship was escorting the transport Minnetonka when U-35 approached, but could not get close enough to launch an attack due to the presence of the destroyer. [24] On 20 January 1918, Sheldrake was attached to the Aegean Squadron, undertaking patrols as well as escort work. [25]

After the Armistice, the Royal Navy returned to a peacetime level of strength and both the number of ships and the amount of personnel needed to be reduced to save money. [26] Sheldrake joined 57 other destroyers in reserve at the Nore. [27] The vessel was sold to Thos. W. Ward to the broken up at Grays, Essex, on 9 May 1921. [28]

Pennant numbers

Pennant Number Date
H88December 1914 [29]
H0AJanuary 1918 [30]
F8ASeptember 1918 [31]
H23January 1919 [32]

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HMS <i>Staunch</i> (1910) Destroyer of the Royal Navy

HMS Staunch was one of 20 Acorn-class destroyers built for the Royal Navy. The destroyer served in the First World War. The Acorn class were smaller than the preceding Beagle class but oil-fired and better armed. Launched in 1910, Staunch acted as escort for the royal yacht Britannia at the Cowes Regatta the following year. At the start of the First World War, the vessel served with the Second Destroyer Flotilla of the Grand Fleet as an escort, transferring to the Fifth Destroyer Flotilla as part of the Mediterranean Fleet in 1915. As the year closed, Staunch assisted in the evacuation of troops at the end of the Gallipoli campaign. Despite the conditions, the destroyer managed to transport almost an entire battalion of the Worcestershire Regiment to safety. In 1917, while moored off the coast of Deir al-Balah supporting the monitors Raglan, M16 and M29, Staunch was torpedoed by the German submarine U-38. The destroyer sank, with eight sailors killed.

HMS <i>Ruby</i> (1910) Destroyer of the Royal Navy

HMS Ruby was one of 20 Acorn-class destroyers built for the Royal Navy that served in the First World War. The Acorn class were smaller than the preceding Beagle class but oil-fired and better armed. Launched in 1910, the ship served with the Second Destroyer Flotilla, joining the Grand Fleet at the start of the war. The destroyer served in escort and patrol roles, protecting merchant ships against German submarines. Despite multiple sightings and attacks, no submarine was claimed destroyed. In 1915, escort service in the Irish Sea proved too much for the destroyer's hull, which leaked and needed to be repaired. In 1916, while escorting the ocean liner Calgarian, the destroyer was again damaged attacking what was thought to be a German submarine but transpired to be wreckage from a merchant ship sunk by U-49. In 1917, the vessel was transferred to the Mediterranean Fleet, joining the Fifth Destroyer Flotilla. After the Armistice, the destroyer served in the Black Sea until being placed in reserve in 1919. Ruby was sold to be broken up in 1921.

References

Citations

  1. ↑ Brown 2010, p. 69.
  2. 1 2 Brassey 1912, p. 28.
  3. ↑ Brown 2010, p. 68.
  4. 1 2 Parkes & Prendergast 1969, p. 113.
  5. 1 2 Friedman 2009, p. 295.
  6. 1 2 Lyon 1975, p. 613.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Preston 1985, p. 74.
  8. ↑ Friedman 2009, p. 119.
  9. ↑ March 1966, p. 112.
  10. ↑ Friedman 2009, p. 211.
  11. ↑ Friedman 2009, p. 147.
  12. ↑ Manning & Walker 1959, p. 405.
  13. ↑ Colledge & Warlow 2006, p. 320.
  14. ↑ Friedman 2009, p. 306.
  15. ↑ "451b Sheldrake (Dev.) Torpedo Boat Destroyer". The Navy List: 376. July 1913. Retrieved 11 July 2022– via National Library of Scotland.
  16. ↑ Naval Staff Monograph No. 30 1926, p. 193.
  17. ↑ Naval Staff Monograph No. 31 1926, p. 4.
  18. ↑ Naval Staff Monograph No. 31 1926, p. 63.
  19. ↑ Naval Staff Monograph No. 34 1933, pp. 255–256.
  20. ↑ "XI Mediterranean Fleet". Supplement to the Monthly Navy List: 20. January 1916. Retrieved 11 July 2022– via National Library of Scotland.
  21. ↑ Kinghorn 2012, p. 127.
  22. ↑ Hepper 2006, p. 59.
  23. ↑ Munro 2010, p. 11.
  24. ↑ Kinghorn 2012, p. 130.
  25. ↑ Newbolt 1931, p. 87.
  26. ↑ Moretz 2002, p. 79.
  27. ↑ "V. — Vessels in Reserve at Home Ports and Other Bases". Supplement to the Monthly Navy List: 16. July 1919. Retrieved 11 July 2022– via National Library of Scotland.
  28. ↑ Colledge & Warlow 2006, p. 165.
  29. ↑ Bush & Warlow 2021, p. 76.
  30. ↑ Bush & Warlow 2021, p. 77.
  31. ↑ Bush & Warlow 2021, p. 60.
  32. ↑ Bush & Warlow 2021, p. 71.

Bibliography

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