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History | |
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Name | HMS Vehement |
Namesake | Vehement |
Ordered | July 1916 [1] |
Builder | William Denny and Brothers, Dumbarton [1] |
Laid down | 25 September 1916 [2] |
Launched | 6 July 1917 [1] |
Completed | October 1917 [3] |
Commissioned | October 1917 |
Identification |
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Fate | Sunk 2 August 1918 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Admiralty V-class destroyer |
Displacement | 1,272–1,339 tons |
Length | 300 ft (91.4 m) o/a, 312 ft (95.1 m) p/p |
Beam | 26 ft 9 in (8.2 m) |
Draught | 9 ft (2.7 m) standard, 11 ft 3 in (3.4 m) deep |
Propulsion |
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Speed | 34 kt |
Range | 320–370 tons oil, 3,500 nmi at 15 kt, 900 nmi at 32 kt |
Complement | 110 |
Armament |
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The first HMS Vehement was a V-class destroyer of the British Royal Navy that saw service in World War I. She spent her short career in minelaying operations in the North Sea before striking a mine and sinking in 1918.
Vehement was ordered in July 1916. She was laid down on 25 September 1916 [2] by William Denny and Brothers at Dumbarton, Scotland, and, per a British Admiralty order of 12 January 1917, was fitted to carry 60 naval mines. [1] She was launched on 6 July 1917 [1] and was completed in October 1917, [3] and she was commissioned into service that month. Her original pennant number, F1A, was changed to F12 in January 1918 and to H2A in June 1918. [1]
In October 1917, Vehement was assigned to the 13th Destroyer Flotilla [4] in the Grand Fleet. [5]
Vehement collided with the British destroyer HMS Murray on 14 January 1918. [6] An investigation attributed the accident to an error in judgment by her lieutenant in command. [6]
In February 1918, Vehement was reassigned to the 20th Destroyer Flotilla, [7] based at the Humber. [8] The 20th Destroyer Flotilla was engaged in a major British effort to lay minefields in the North Sea to close the Heligoland Bight to passage by German ships and submarines. On 31 May 1918, Vehement put to sea from Immingham with the flotilla to lay mines in the Dogger Bank area. [9] On the night of 4–5 June 1918, the flotilla again deployed from the Humber estuary to mine the same area, bringing the total number of mines laid in the two expeditions to 330. [10]
Vehement′s next sortie from Immingham on 21 June 1918 ended almost as soon as it began when her propellers suffered damage after striking a cable while she was leaving the harbour, forcing her to remain in port for repairs. She was back in service in time to join her flotilla in laying a North Sea minefield on 27 June 1918. On the night of 5–6 July and again on the night of 8–9 July 1918, she joined her flotilla in laying a field of 384 mines in 18 rows in the North Sea. [11]
On the night of 13–14 July 1918, Vehement and the destroyers HMS Telemachus, HMS Vanquisher, and HMS Venturous laid a field of 224 mines in the North Sea. On the night of 17–18 July 1918, her flotilla laid another North Sea minefield of 424 mines with cover for the operation provided by the 7th Cruiser Squadron, but German forces did not interfere. [12]
Vehement′s next minelaying operation on 24 July 1918 involved the entire flotilla laying 496 mines in the North Sea in 22 rows; during the operation, Vehement detected two periscopes. The flotilla sortied from the Humber again at 13:00 hours on 28 July 1918 and during the night of 28–29 July laid a North Sea field of 416 mines in 18 rows. [13]
On 1 August 1918, the 20th Destroyer Flotilla departed the Humber to lay a minefield in the North Sea at the seaward end of one of the German-swept channels through the German minefield in the Heligoland Bight. At 23:47 hours the force was within 20 nautical miles (37 km; 23 mi) of the area it was to mine when Vehement struck a mine at 55°33′00″N005°24′00″E / 55.55000°N 5.40000°E . Its explosion caused her forward ammunition magazine to detonate, blowing off the entire forward section of the ship forward of the forward funnel, killing one officer and 47 ratings. [14] [15] The explosion blew her commanding officer overboard; he landed 400 yards (370 m) from the ship, but survived with moderate injuries. [16] As the force manoeuvered to clear the German minefield it had entered, the destroyer HMS Ariel also struck a mine at 00:10 hours on 2 August and, in a repeat of what had happened to Vehement, suffered a magazine detonation that blew off the entire section of the ship forward of the whaleboat′s davit. Ariel sank at about 01:00 hours, with the loss of four officers and 45 ratings, [17] but Vehement remained afloat, and by about an hour after she struck the mine her crew had put out all of her fires. She was taken in tow by the destroyer HMS Abdiel in the hope of saving her, but at 04:00 hours on 2 August Vehement′s stern rose into the air, making further towing impossible. Vehement′s surviving crew opened all of her hull valves to speed her sinking and abandoned ship. Telemachus and Vanquisher then sank Vehement with gunfire. [14]
HMS Ivanhoe was an I-class destroyer built for the Royal Navy in the mid-1930s. During the Spanish Civil War of 1936–1939, the ship enforced the arms blockade imposed by Britain and France on both sides as part of the Mediterranean Fleet. Before the start of World War II, the ship was modified so that she could be used to lay mines by removing some of her armament. Ivanhoe was transferred to Western Approaches Command shortly after the war began and helped to sink one German submarine in October 1939. She was converted to a minelayer while undergoing a refit in November–December and laid minefields in German coastal waters as well as anti-submarine minefields off the British coast until she was reconverted back to her destroyer configuration in February 1940. Ivanhoe reverted to her minelaying role during the Norwegian Campaign in April 1940 and then laid a number of minefields off the Dutch coast during the Battle of the Netherlands in May. The ship participated in the Dunkirk evacuation until she was badly damaged by German aircraft on 1 June. On her first minelaying mission after her repairs were completed, she struck a German mine and had to be scuttled on 1 September 1940 during the Texel Disaster.
HMS Express was an E-class minelaying destroyer built for the Royal Navy in the early 1930s. Although assigned to the Home Fleet upon completion, the ship was attached to the Mediterranean Fleet in 1935–36 during the Abyssinia Crisis. During the Spanish Civil War of 1936–1939, she spent considerable time in Spanish waters, enforcing the arms blockade imposed by Britain and France on both sides of the conflict.
HMS Bellona was one of two Boadicea-class scout cruisers built for the Royal Navy in the first decade of the 20th century. The ship served as the flotilla leader for the 2nd Destroyer Flotilla from her completion in 1910 until 1913 when she was transferred to the 1st Battle Squadron. Bellona spent the bulk of World War I with that squadron. She was present at, but did not fight in, the Battle of Jutland in mid-1916. The ship was converted into a minelayer in mid-1917 and made four sorties to lay her mines before the end of the war. Bellona was reduced to reserve in 1919 and sold to be broken up for scrap in 1921.
HMS Boadicea was the lead ship of her class of scout cruisers built for the Royal Navy in the first decade of the 20th century. She led the 1st Destroyer Flotilla from completion until the ship was transferred to the 3rd Destroyer Flotilla in mid-1912. A year later Boadicea was reassigned to the 2nd Battle Squadron and she spent the bulk of World War I with that squadron. The ship was present at, but did not fight in, the Battle of Jutland in mid-1916. Boadicea was converted into a minelayer at the end of 1917 and made three sorties to lay her mines before the end of the war. She was placed in reserve after the war and taken out of service in 1920. The ship was used for harbour service at Dartmouth until she was sold for scrap in 1926.
HMS Esk was an E-class destroyer built for the Royal Navy in the early 1930s. She was designed to be easily converted into a fast minelayer by removing some guns and her torpedo tubes. Although assigned to the Home Fleet upon completion, the ship was attached to the Mediterranean Fleet in 1935–36, during the Abyssinia Crisis. During the Spanish Civil War of 1936–1939, she spent considerable time in Spanish waters, enforcing the arms blockade imposed by Britain and France on both sides of the conflict. Esk was converted to a minelayer when World War II began in September 1939, and spent most of her time laying mines. During the Norwegian Campaign of April–June 1940, the ship laid mines in Norwegian territorial waters before the Germans invaded, but was recalled to home waters to resume her minelaying duties in early May. During one such sortie, Esk was sunk during the Texel Disaster on the night of 31 August 1940, when she ran into a newly laid German minefield.
The Texel Disaster took place off the Dutch coast on the night of 31 August 1940 and involved the sinking of two Royal Navy destroyers, and damage to a third and a light cruiser. The disaster was caused by a destroyer flotilla running into an unmarked minefield, which caused serious damage to one vessel; two more destroyers were sunk going to the aid of the first, and a light cruiser sent as an escort was slightly damaged by a mine on the return journey. In all, the disaster caused approximately 300 deaths, with a further 100 men injured or taken prisoner of war.
HMS Vanoc was a British V-class destroyer, launched in 1917. The ship saw service in both the First and Second World Wars. During the First World War, Vanoc served as part of two destroyer flotillas, undertaking minelayer and convoy escort roles. In 1919, the destroyer took part in British operations in the Baltic as part of Allied efforts to intervene in the Russian Civil War. During the Second World War, Vanoc was involved in evacuation efforts to remove troops from Norway and France, and was utilised as a convoy escort, protecting convoys from German U-boats. In this role, Vanoc sank a German submarine, German submarine U-100 in March 1941 in the Atlantic, and assisted in the destruction of another, German submarine U-99. Three years later, Vanoc was involved in sinking U-392 in the Straits of Gibraltar in concert with a British frigate and several US anti-submarine aircraft. In January 1945, she was involved in a collision with another Allied vessel off Normandy, before being placed into reserve in June. She was later sold for scrap and was broken up after mid-1946.
HMS Ariel was an Acheron-class destroyer built in 1911, which served during the First World War and sank in 1918 after striking a mine. Named after Shakespeare's "airy spirit", or the biblical spirit of the same name, she was the tenth and last ship of the name to serve in the Royal Navy.
SMS Nautilus was a German minelaying cruiser built for the Kaiserliche Marine in the 1900s, the lead ship of the Nautilus class. The ship was built by AG Weser, with her keel laying taking place in December 1905. She was launched in August 1906 and commissioned in March 1907. Nautilus initially carried 186 naval mines and a battery of eight 8.8 cm (3.5 in) guns, but she was later modified to carry 205 mines and, in 1918, numerous light weapons to support amphibious operations.
HMS Meteor was a Thornycroft M-class destroyer that served in the British Royal Navy. Meteor saw extensive service throughout World War I, maintaining continuous operations both as a convoy escort and in harbour protection.
HMS Ferret was an Acheron-class destroyer of the Royal Navy that served during World War I and was sold for breaking in 1921. She was the sixteenth Royal Navy ship to be named after the domestic mammal Mustela putorius.
Z14 Friedrich Ihn was a Type 1934A-class destroyer built for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine in the mid-1930s. The ship was named after the First World War German naval officer Friedrich Ihn. At the beginning of World War II, the ship was initially deployed to blockade the Polish coast, but she was quickly transferred to the German Bight to lay defensive minefields in German waters. In late 1939 and early 1940, the ship laid multiple offensive minefields off the English coast that claimed 18 merchant ships and a destroyer. Ihn was under repair during the Norwegian Campaign of early 1940 and was transferred to France later that year.
HMS Vanquisher (D54) was a V-class destroyer of the British Royal Navy that saw service in World War I and World War II.
HMS Abdiel was a Marksman-class flotilla leader of the Royal Navy, built by Cammell Laird during the First World War. She was converted to a minelayer during construction, commissioning during 1916, and served at the Battle of Jutland. Following the end of the war, Abdiel served in the Baltic during the Russian Civil War. She was sold for scrap in 1936.
HMS Tarpon was a Royal Navy R-class destroyer constructed and operational in the First World War. She is named after the large fish Tarpon; one species of which is native to the Atlantic, and the other to the Indo-Pacific Oceans. Tarpon was built by the shipbuilders John Brown & Company at their Clydebank shipyard and was launched in March 1917 and entered service in April that year.
HMS Murray was a Royal Navy Admiralty M-class destroyer. Ordered before the outbreak of war, she was therefore the first of her class to enter operation during the early months of the First World War. She was also the first vessel of the Royal Navy to carry the name HMS Murray.
HMS Telemachus was a R-class destroyer of the British Royal Navy that took part in the First World War. She was built in 1916–1917 by the Scottish shipbuilder John Brown at their Clydebank shipyard. Telemachus was modified to serve as a minelayer, laying minefields in the German Bight and English Channel to restrict the operation of German submarines. The ship survived the war and was sold for scrap in 1927.
HMS Princess Margaret was a minelayer operated by the British Royal Navy during and after the First World War. She was built by the Scottish shipbuilder William Denny for the Canadian Pacific Railway as a liner to serve on the Pacific West Coast, and as such was powered by geared steam turbines, giving a speed of 23 knots.
HMS Gabriel was a Marksman-class flotilla leader of the British Royal Navy, that took part in the First World War. The ship was built by Cammell Laird at Birkenhead, being launched on 23 December 1915 and entering service in July 1916. Gabriel served with the Grand Fleet, leading a destroyer flotilla and was later used as a minelayer. She survived the war, before being sold for scrap on in May 1921.
HMS Seymour was a Parker-class flotilla leader of the British Royal Navy. She was built by Cammell Laird during the First World War, being launched on 31 August 1916 and completing on 30 November that year. Seymour served with the Grand Fleet for the rest of the war, which she survived. The ship was sold for scrap in January 1931.