HMS Tactician (1918)

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HMS Tactician IWM SP 1963.jpg
HMS Tactician undertaking trials in 1919
History
Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svgUnited Kingdom
NameHMS Tactician
OrderedJune 1917
Builder Beardmore, Dalmuir
Yard number589
Laid down21 November 1917
Launched7 August 1918
Completed23 October 1918
Out of service5 February 1931
FateSold to be broken up
General characteristics
Class and type S-class destroyer
Displacement
  • 1,075 long tons (1,092 t) normal
  • 1,221 long tons (1,241 t) deep load
Length265 ft (80.8 m) p.p.
Beam26 ft 8 in (8.13 m)
Draught9 ft 10 in (3.00 m) mean
Propulsion
Speed36 knots (41.4 mph; 66.7 km/h)
Range2,750  nmi (5,090 km) at 15 kn (28 km/h)
Complement90
Armament

HMS Tactician was an S-class destroyer, which served with the Royal Navy. Launched on 7 August 1918, the vessel entered service at the closing of the First World War. The ship joined the Fourteenth Destroyer Flotilla of the Grand Fleet but was placed in Reserve at Nore in 1919. Tactician deteriorated over the following years and was sold to be broken up on 5 February 1931 following the signing of the London Naval Treaty that limited the amount of destroyer tonnage that the Navy could retain.

Contents

Design and development

Tactician was one of thirty-three Admiralty S class destroyers ordered by the British Admiralty in June 1917 as part of the Twelfth War Construction Programme. The design was a development of the R class introduced as a cheaper and faster alternative to the V and W class. [1] Differences with the R class were minor, such as having the searchlight moved aft. [2]

Tactician had a overall length of 276 ft (84 m) and a length of 265 ft (81 m) between perpendiculars. Beam was 26 ft 8 in (8.13 m) and draught 9 ft 10 in (3.00 m). Displacement was 1,075 long tons (1,092  t ) normal and 1,221 long tons (1,241 t) deep load. Three Yarrow boilers fed steam to two sets of Brown-Curtis geared steam turbines rated at 27,000 shaft horsepower (20,000  kW ) and driving two shafts, giving a design speed of 36 knots (67  km/h ; 41  mph ) at normal loading and 32.5 knots (60.2 km/h; 37.4 mph) at deep load. Two funnels were fitted. The ship carried 301 long tons (306  t ) of fuel oil, which gave a design range of 2,750 nautical miles (5,090 km; 3,160 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph). [3]

Armament consisted of three QF 4-inch (102 mm) Mk IV guns on the ship's centreline. [4] One was mounted raised on the forecastle, one between the funnels on a platform and one aft. [5] The ship also mounted a single 40-millimetre (1.6 in) 2-pounder pom-pom anti-aircraft gun for air defence. Four 21-inch (533 mm) tubes were fitted in two twin rotating mounts aft. [4] The ship was designed to mount two 18-inch (457 mm) torpedo tubes either side of the superstructure but this addition required the forecastle plating to be cut away, making the boats very wet so they were removed. [2] The weight saved enabled the heavier Mark V 21-inch torpedo to be carried. [1] The ship had a complement of 90 officers and ratings. [6]

Construction and career

Laid down on 21 November 1917 by William Beardmore and Company in Dalmuir with the yard number 589, Tactician was launched on 7 August 1918 and completed on 23 October 1918. [7] The vessel was the first of the name. [8] The yard built the destroyers Tara and Tasmania at the same time. [9] On commissioning, Tactician joined the Fourteenth Destroyer Flotilla of the Grand Fleet. [10] The ship was allocated the pennant number G54. [11]

With the First World War closing, the destroyer saw no action before the Armistice. At the end of the war, the ship remained with the Grand Fleet until it was dissolved. As the navy no longer required such a large active fleet of ships, Tactician was transferred to join sixty-three other destroyers in reserve at Nore. [12] [13] On 22 April 1930, the United Kingdom signed the London Naval Treaty, which limited total destroyer tonnage in the Navy. [14] Having remained on reserve for more than a decade, Tactician was found to be in poor condition and was one of those chosen to be retired. On 5 February 1931, the destroyer was sold to Metal Industries of Charlestown, Fife, and broken up. [7] The ship's badge (displaying a chessboard and the word "Check-mate") was saved and used by the Western Approaches Tactical Unit in Liverpool.

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HMS <i>Octavia</i> (1916) British M-Class destroyer

HMS Octavia was an 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 on 21 June 1916 and joined the Grand Fleet. Octavia 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 Octavia 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, Octavia was placed in reserve, decommissioned and, on 5 November 1921, sold to be broken up.

References

Citations

  1. 1 2 Gardiner & Gray 1985, p. 85.
  2. 1 2 March 1966, p. 221.
  3. Friedman 2009, p. 297.
  4. 1 2 Gardiner & Gray 1985, p. 84.
  5. Friedman 2009, p. 163.
  6. Parkes & Prendergast 1969, p. 103.
  7. 1 2 Johnston 1993, p. 156.
  8. Colledge & Warlow 2006, p. 343.
  9. Johnston 1993, p. 75.
  10. "Destroyer Flotillas of the Grand Fleet". The Navy List: 12. October 1918. Retrieved 27 September 2021 via National Library of Scotland.
  11. Dittmar & Colledge 1972, p. 75.
  12. "Destroyer Flotillas of the Grand Fleet". The Navy List: 12. January 1919. Retrieved 27 September 2021 via National Library of Scotland.
  13. "V. — Vessels in Reserve at Home Ports and Other Bases". The Navy List: 707. October 1919. Retrieved 24 September 2021 via National Library of Scotland.>
  14. Friedman 2009, p. 211.

Bibliography

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