![]() HMS Thisbe at sea in 1917 | |
History | |
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Name | HMS Thisbe |
Builder | Hawthorn Leslie and Company, Hebburn |
Yard number | 492 |
Laid down | June 1916 |
Launched | 8 March 1917 |
Commissioned | 6 June 1917 |
Fate | Sold to be broken up 31 August 1936 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | R-class destroyer |
Displacement | |
Length | 265 ft (80.8 m) p.p. |
Beam | 26 feet 9 inches (8.15 m) |
Draught | 9 ft 10 in (3.00 m) |
Propulsion |
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Speed | 36 knots (41.4 mph; 66.7 km/h) |
Range | 3,450 nmi (6,390 km) at 15 kn (28 km/h) |
Complement | 82 |
Armament |
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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.
Thisbe was one of twelve R-class destroyers ordered by the British Admiralty in March 1916 as part of the Eighth War Construction Programme. [1] The R class were a development of the preceding M-class, but differed in having geared turbines to improve fuel consumption, the central gun mounted on a bandstand and minor changes to improve seakeeping. [2]
The destroyer was 265 feet (80.77 m) long between perpendiculars, with a beam of 26 feet 9 inches (8.15 m) and a draught of 9 feet 10 inches (3.00 m). Displacement was 975 long tons (991 t) normal and 1,035 long tons (1,052 t) deep load. Power was provided by three Yarrow boilers feeding two Parsons geared steam turbines rated at 27,000 shaft horsepower (20,000 kW) and driving two shafts, to give a design speed of 36 knots (67 km/h; 41 mph). [3] Three funnels were fitted. A total of 296 long tons (301 t) of oil was carried, giving a design range of 3,450 nautical miles (6,390 km; 3,970 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph). [2]
Armament consisted of three 4 in (100 mm) Mk IV QF guns on the ship's centreline, with one on the forecastle, one aft on a raised platform and one between the second and third funnels. [3] A single 2-pounder 40 mm (1.6 in) "pom-pom" anti-aircraft gun was carried, while torpedo armament consisted of two rotating twin mounts for 21 in (533 mm) torpedoes. [1] The ship had a complement of 82 officers and ratings. [3]
The ship was laid down by Hawthorn Leslie and Company in Hebburn on 13 June 1916 with the yard number 492. Launched on 8 March 1917, the destroyer was completed on 6 June 1917. [2] The vessel was the third to be named after Thisbe, a woman of Babylon from Greek mythology. [4]
On commissioning, Thisbe joined the Tenth Destroyer Flotilla of the Harwich Force. [5] The deployment was part of a wider expansion of the destroyer force in the navy. [6] Towards the end of the war, the Navy looked to alternative ways of attacking the Germans, particularly the fast but short range Thornycroft Coastal Motor Boats and Curtis Large American flying boats. A lighter was developed that could be towed by destroyers, taking the faster craft close to the enemy. [7] On 10 August 1918, Thisbe, towing a flying boat on a lighter and accompanied by six Coastal Motor Boats, joined a fleet of four light cruisers and thirteen destroyers to sail for Heligoland and attack German shipping. Initially, the assignment was not a success as the aircraft failed to take off and the boats were all sunk or interned, but subsequently one of the aircraft launched by one of the other destroyers shot down the Zeppelin LZ 100. [8] [9]
Thisbe remained part of the Tenth Destroyer Flotilla at the end of the war, but was placed in reserve at Nore on 24 February 1920. [10] [11] On 17 November 1924, the vessel completed a refit. [12] The destroyer was attached to the Compass Department the following year, and took part of a trial of six different compasses, including a gunnery compass. [13] On 31 August 1936, Thisbe was given to Thos. W. Ward of Sheffield in exchange for RMS Majestic and was subsequently broken up at Pembroke Dock. [14]
Pennant Number | Date |
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F82 | September 1915 [15] |
F75 | January 1918 [16] |
G80 | January 1919 [17] |
H72 | December 1919 [18] |
HMS Arethusa was the name ship of her class of eight light cruisers built for the Royal Navy in the 1910s. She saw a considerable amount of action during the early years of the First World War, participating in the Battle of Heligoland Bight and the Battle of Dogger Bank.
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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.
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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.
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