History
Royal Navy EnsignUnited Kingdom
NameWear
Ordered1903 – 1904 Naval Estimates
BuilderPalmers Shipbuilding and Iron Company, Jarrow
Laid down7 March 1904
Launched21 January 1905
CommissionedAugust of 1905
Out of serviceIn 1919 she was laid up in reserve awaiting disposal
Honours and
awards		Dardanelles 1915 - 1916
Fate4 November 1919 sold to Thos. W. Ward of Sheffield for breaking at Grays, Essex on the Thames Estuary
General characteristics
Class and typePalmer Type River Class destroyer[1][2]
Displacement
  • 550 long tons (559 t) standard
  • 620 long tons (630 t) full load
  • 223 ft 6 in (68.12 m) o/a
  • 23 ft 6 in (7.16 m) Beam
  • 7 ft 4.5 in (2.248 m) Draught
Propulsion
Speed25.5 kn (47.2 km/h)
Range
  • 140 tons coal
  • 1,620 nmi (3,000 km) at 11 kn (20 km/h)
Complement70 officers and men
Armament
Service record
Part of:
Operations: World War I 1914 - 1918

HMS Wear was a Palmer Type River Class Destroyer ordered by the Royal Navy under the 1903 – 1904 Naval Estimates. Named after the River Wear a river flowing through Sunderland on the East Coast of England, she was the first ship to carry this name in the Royal Navy.

Construction

She was laid down on 7 March 1904 at the Palmers shipyard at Jarrow and launched on 21 January 1905. She was completed on 1 August 1905. Her original armament was to be the same as the Turtleback torpedo boat destroyers that preceded her. In 1906 the Admiralty decided to upgrade the armament by landing the five 6-pounder naval guns and shipping three 12-pounder 8 hundredweight (cwt) guns. Two would be mounted abeam at the foc'x'le break and the third gun would be mounted on the quarterdeck.

Pre-War

After commissioning she was assigned to China Station in late 1905.

Wear was part of the Second Destroyer Flotilla of the Home Fleet in 1907, and on 12 January 1907 left Sheerness with the other ships of her flotilla for Portland, but she collided with the merchant ship Etna off Beachy Head the next night. Wear was badly damaged and underwent initial repairs at Portsmouth Dockyard before returning to Sheerness to complete the repairs.[3]

On 30 August 1912 the Admiralty directed all destroyer classes were to be designated by alpha characters starting with the letter 'A'. The ships of the River Class were assigned to the E Class. After 30 September 1913, she was known as an E Class destroyer and had the letter ‘E’ painted on the hull below the bridge area and on either the fore or aft funnel.[4]

On 17 July 1913 Wear was commissioned into the North Sea Fishery Protection Flotilla as a temporary replacement for the torpedo gunboat Leda which had paid off for a refit.[5]

World War I

Wear, under refit at Gibraltar, was ordered to join the local patrol force at Gibraltar in September 1914.[6] In March 1915 Wear was deployed on patrol off the Straits of Gibraltar, examining merchant ships passing through the Straits and keeping watch for German submarines attempting to enter the Mediterranean.[7] She was tasked to the Dardanelles Campaign and provided escort duties for merchantships and transports as well as fire support for the beaches.

During the bombardment on 18 March 1915 she rescued 28 officers and 582 men from the battleship HMS Irresistible after she struck a mine.

5 July 1915 found her on the Smyrna Patrol enforcing the blockade of the Turkish Coast from Cape Kaba to latitude 38°30'E, 200 nautical miles including Smyrna. At this time she was based at Port Iero on the Island of Mytelene.

She arrived at Skyros on 14 April 1915 with HMS Jed and HMS Kennet. Upon the arrival of the transports on the 16th she, HMS Jed and HMS Kennet pursued Turkish torpedo boat, Demir Hissar attacking the transport SS Manitou at Tribouki. The Turkish torpedo boat was driven ashore and destroyed. They shared the prize monies awarded.

On 1 January 1917 she opened fire on the Turks in Yuk Yeri Bay attempting to draw fire without success.

Disposition

In 1919 she returned to Home Waters and was laid up in reserve awaiting disposal. On 4 November 1919 she was sold to Thos. W. Ward of Sheffield for breaking at Grays, Essex on the Thames Estuary.

She was awarded the Battle Honour Dardanelles 1915 - 16 for her service.

Pennant Numbers

Pennant Number[8]FromTo
N926 Dec 19141 Sep 1915
unk1 Sep 19154 Nov 1919

References

  1. ↑ Jane, Fred T. (1969) [1905]. Jane’s Fighting Ships 1905/6. New York: first published by Sampson Low Marston, London 1905, Reprinted ARCO Publishing Company. p. 75.
  2. ↑ Jane, Fred T. (1990). Jane’s Fighting Ships of World War I. Jane’s Publishing © 1919. p. 76. ISBN 1 85170 378 0.
  3. ↑ "Naval Matters—Past and Prospective: Sheerness Dockyard". The Marine Engineer and Naval Architect. 1 February 1907. p. 253.
  4. ↑ Conway’s All the World’s Fighting Ships 1906 to 1922. Conway Maritime Press. 2006 [1985]. p. Page 17 to 19. ISBN 0 85177 245 5.
  5. ↑ "Naval Matters—Past and Prospective: Sheerness Dockyard". The Marine Engineer and Naval Architect. Vol. 36. August 1913. p. 12.
  6. ↑ Naval Staff Monograph No. 21 1923, p. 64
  7. ↑ Naval Staff Monograph No. 21 1923, p. 115
  8. ↑ ""Arrowsmith" List – Part 1 Destroyer Prototypes through "River" Class". Retrieved 1 June 2013.

Bibliography

  • Chesneau, Roger & Kolesnik, Eugene M., eds. (1979). Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-133-5.
  • Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.
  • Dittmar, F.J.; Colledge, J. J. (1972). British Warships 1914–1919. Shepperton, UK: Ian Allan. ISBN 0-7110-0380-7.
  • Friedman, Norman (2009). British Destroyers: From Earliest Days to the Second World War. Barnsley, UK: 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 0-85177-245-5.
  • Manning, T. D. (1961). The British Destroyer. London: Putnam & Co. OCLC 6470051.
  • March, Edgar J. (1966). British Destroyers: A History of Development, 1892–1953; Drawn by Admiralty Permission From Official Records & Returns, Ships' Covers & Building Plans. London: Seeley Service. OCLC 164893555.
  • Monograph No. 21: The Mediterranean 1914–1915 (PDF). Naval Staff Monographs (Historical). Vol. VIII. The Naval Staff, Training and Staff Duties Division. 1923.
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