Sister ship HMS Thisbe at sea in 1917
History
United Kingdom
NameHMS Sarpedon
NamesakeSarpedon
BuilderHawthorn Leslie and Company, Hebburn
Laid down27 September 1915
Launched1 June 1916
Commissioned2 September 1916
Out of service23 July 1926
FateSold to be broken up
General characteristics
Class and typeR-class destroyer
Displacement975 long tons (991 t) standard 1,035 long tons (1,052 t) full
Length265 ft (80.8 m)
Beam26 ft 7 in (8.1 m)
Draught9 ft 8 in (2.95 m)
Propulsion
  • 3 Yarrow boilers
  • 2 geared Parsons steam turbines, 27,000 shp (20,000 kW)
Speed36 knots (41.4 mph; 66.7 km/h)
Range3,440 nmi (6,370 km) at 15 kn (28 km/h)
Complement82
Armament

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.

Design and development

Sarpedon was one of eighteen R-class destroyers ordered by the British Admiralty in March 1916 as part of the Sixth 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 ship was 265 feet (80.77 m) long overall, with a beam of 26 feet 9 inches (8.15 m) and a draught of 9 feet 8 inches (2.95 m).[3] 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).[4] Three funnels were fitted. A total of 296 long tons (301 t) of fuel 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 QF 4in Mk IV 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. A single 2-pounder (40 mm) pom-pom anti-aircraft gun was carried, while torpedo armament consisted of two twin mounts for 21 in (533 mm) torpedoes.[1] The ship had a complement of 82 officers and ratings.[4]

Construction and career

Sarpedon under construction alongside Pigeon and Plover

Sarpedon was laid down by Hawthorn Leslie and Company in Hebburn on 27 September 1915, launched on 1 June 1916 and completed on 2 September.[2] On commissioning, the ship joined the 11th Destroyer Flotilla of the Grand Fleet.[5]

The destroyer was assigned to escort convoys between Britain and Scandinavia.[6] On 19 July 1917, Sarpedon and the destroyer Arab were escorting an east-bound convoy on the route from Lerwick to Norway when they came under attack by the German submarine U-67. The Danish steamer Harrildsborg was sunk and the submarine escaped unseen and unscathed.[7] Later that year, on 21 October, the destroyer was escorting a west-bound convoy from Bergen, when sister ship Tirade fatally crippled fellow escort Marmion in an accidental collision.[8]

After the war, the ship was allocated to the local defence flotilla at Nore.[9] in 1923, the Navy decided to scrap many of the older destroyers in preparation for the introduction of newer and larger vessels.[10] Sarpedon was decommissioned and sold to Alloa Shipbreaking Company to be scrapped on 23 July 1926.[11] Initially taken to Rosyth to be demolished on 6 November, the hulk was transferred to Charlestown to be broken up on 7 December.[3]

Pennant numbers

Pennant Number Date
G19January 1917[12]
G21April 1918[12]
G14September 1918[12]
G82January 1919[13]
F15November 1919[14]

References

Citations

  1. 1 2 Gardiner & Gray 1985, p. 81.
  2. 1 2 3 Friedman 2009, p. 310.
  3. 1 2 Robinson & Waller 2018.
  4. 1 2 Parkes & Prendegast 1919, p. 107.
  5. ↑ "Destroyer Flotillas of the Grand Fleet". The Navy List: 12. July 1917. Retrieved 5 July 2019 – via National Library of Scotland.
  6. ↑ Newbolt 1931, p. 152.
  7. ↑ Newbolt 1931, p. 265.
  8. ↑ Hepper 2006, p. 108.
  9. ↑ "Local Defence and Training Establishments, Patrol Flotillas, Etc". The Navy List: 704. January 1920. Retrieved 5 July 2019 – via National Library of Scotland.
  10. ↑ Friedman 2009, p. 180.
  11. ↑ Colledge & Warlow 2006, p. 359.
  12. 1 2 3 Dittmar & Colledge 1972, p. 70.
  13. ↑ Bush & Warlow 2021, p. 67.
  14. ↑ Bush & Warlow 2021, p. 46.

Bibliography

  • Bush, Steve; Warlow, Ben (2021). Pendant Numbers of the Royal Navy: A Complete History of the Allocation of Pendant Numbers to Royal Navy Warships & Auxiliaries. Barnsley: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-526793-78-2.
  • Colledge, J.J.; Warlow, Ben (2006). Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of All Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy. London: Chatham Press. ISBN 978-1-8617-6281-8.
  • Dittmar, F.J.; Colledge, J.J. (1972). British Warships 1914–1919. Shepperton: Ian Allan. p. 70. ISBN 978-0-7110-0380-4.
  • Friedman, Norman (2009). British Destroyers: From Earliest Days to the First World War. Barnsley: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-049-9.
  • Gardiner, Robert; Gray, Randal, eds. (1985). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 978-0-8517-7245-5.
  • Hepper, David J. (2006). British Warship Losses in the Ironclad Era, 1860-1919. London: Chatham. ISBN 978-1-8617-6273-3.
  • Newbolt, Henry (1931). Naval Operations: Volume V. History of the Great War. London: Longmans, Green and Co. OCLC 220475309.
  • Parkes, Oscar; Prendegast, Maurice (1919). Jane's Fighting Ships. London: Sampson Low, Marston & Co. Ltd.
  • Robinson, George; Waller, David (2018). "Sarpedon". Tyne-built Ships. Archived from the original on 29 September 2018. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
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