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 Rosalind was an R-class destroyer which served with the Royal Navy. The ship was launched by Thornycroft on 14 October 1916 as the first of five similar ships ordered from the yard. The design was used as the basis for five subsequent ships of the S-class also built by the company. Rosalind served as part of the Grand Fleet during the First World War, operating as an escort to other warships and in anti-submarine patrols alongside other destroyers. The vessel was sold to be broken up on 13 July 1926.
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 Satyr was an R-class destroyer which served with the Royal Navy during the First World War. Launched on 27 December 1916, Satyr joined the Harwich Force under the command of Commander Hubert de Burgh. In 1917, the destroyer formed part of a force protecting the monitors Erebus and Terror in their bombardment of Ostend. As part of this action, Satyr, along with sister ships Taurus, Sharpshooter and Torrent, sank the German destroyer S20. After the war, the ship served with the Torpedo School at the Devonport. In 1923, the Navy decided to retire many of the older destroyers in preparation for the introduction of newer and larger vessels and Satyr was sold to be broken up on 16 December 1926.
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 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 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.
HMS Raider was the second of a class of sixty two R-class destroyers operated by the Royal Navy. Launched in 1916, the vessel served with the Grand Fleet during World War I. The destroyer was built as part of the preceding M-class but was equipped with geared turbines which improved efficiency and increased range. The ship was involved in anti-submarine patrols, but did not sink any German submarines. After the war, the destroyer initially moved to Harwich and was briefly stationed in Ireland after the Irish Civil War. In 1923, the Navy decided to retire the older destroyers in the fleet and, although initially spared, Raider was decommissioned and sold to be broken up in 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 Sarpedon was an R-class destroyer which served with the Royal Navy. The R class were a development of the preceding M-class, but differed in having geared turbines and other design changes. Launched in June 1916, the vessel escorted convoys that sailed between Scotland and Scandinavia in the First World War. After the war, the ship was allocated to local defence at Nore. However, in 1923, the Navy decided to retire many of the older vessels and Sarpedon was retired and was sold to be broken up on 23 June 1926.
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 Rocket was an R-class destroyer which served with the Royal Navy during World War I. Launched on 2 July 1916 after being stuck on the slipway since 30 June, the ship joined the Grand Fleet, operating as part of a destroyer flotilla undertaking anti-submarine operations in the North Sea. Although the ship did not successfully engage any German submarines, there was an incident with the Royal Navy boat K7 on 16 June 1917, although that attack was aborted after the erstwhile target was identified as a friendly vessel. After the War, the destroyer served with the anti-submarine and torpedo schools at Portsmouth, and briefly during the Chanak Crisis of 1922, before being sold to be broken up on 16 December 1926.
HMS Speedy was a Thornycroft S-class destroyer which served with the Royal Navy during the First World War, Russian Civil War and the Greco-Turkish War. Speedy was one of a pair of destroyers ordered from Thornycroft with more powerful geared turbines and design changes like a raised forecastle that improved seakeeping. Launched on 1 June 1918, the vessel operated as part of the 12th Destroyer Flotilla of the Grand Fleet for the last months the War. After the Armistice, the vessel joined the Mediterranean Fleet and took part in actions in the Black Sea and Sea of Marmara. It was during action there that the ship struck a tug on 24 September 1922. The collision sank the destroyer, killing ten sailors.
HMS Tobago was a Thornycroft S-class destroyer which served with the Royal Navy during the Greco-Turkish War. Launched by Thornycroft on 15 July 1918, the vessel followed a design typical of the yard by being faster than the majority of the class, and also had better seakeeping properties thanks to a raised forecastle. The destroyer operated as part of the Grand Fleet for the last few weeks of the First World War, and, after the Armistice, joined the Mediterranean Fleet based in Malta. While serving in off the coast of Turkey, the ship hit a mine on 15 July 1920, exactly two years after being launched. Despite the relative youth of the vessel, the damage was deemed irrepairable and so Tobago returned to Malta and was sold for scrap on 9 February 1922.
HMS Tourmaline was a Thornycroft S-class destroyer, which served with the Royal Navy during the Greco-Turkish War and the Russian Civil War. Tourmaline was one of three destroyers ordered from Thornycroft in June 1917 with more powerful geared turbines than the majority of the class as well as design changes that improved seakeeping. Launched on 19 April 1919, the vessel operated as part of the Fourth Destroyer Flotilla serving with the Atlantic and Mediterranean Fleets. After serving in the Black Sea and Sea of Marmara, during which sister ships Speedy and Tobago were lost, Tourmaline led the Gibraltar Local Defence Flotilla. The London Naval Treaty, signed 1930, required the retirement of some destroyers to meet the Royal Navy's tonnage requirement and Tourmaline was chosen for retirement. The destroyer was decommissioned on 28 November 1931 after 12 years of service and broken up.
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 Swallow was an S-class destroyer, which served with the Royal Navy. The S class were a cheaper and faster alternative to the larger V and W class most recently procured by the service. Launched on 1 August 1918, Swallow took part in one of the final acts of the Harwich Force on 1 October as part of a flotilla that unsuccessfully tried to intercept the retreating German troops. After the armistice, Swallow was transferred to the Mediterranean fleet and served in the Black Sea covering the evacuation of demobilised forces from Batumi and Marmara Ereğlisi. Returning to the United Kingdom in 1923, the vessel was placed in reserve until 1936. On 24 September in that year, after just under eighteen years in service, Swallow was one of the destroyers exchanged for RMS Majestic and subsequently broken up at Inverkeithing.
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.
United Kingdom
