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HMS Thisbe (1917)

Summary

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 Thisbe at sea in 1917
History
United Kingdom
NameHMS Thisbe
BuilderHawthorn Leslie and Company, Hebburn
Yard number492
Laid downJune 1916
Launched8 March 1917
Commissioned6 June 1917
FateSold to be broken up 31 August 1936
General characteristics
Class and typeR-class destroyer
Displacement
Length265 ft (80.8 m) p.p.
Beam26 feet 9 inches (8.15 m)
Draught9 ft 10 in (3.00 m)
Propulsion
Speed36 knots (41.4 mph; 66.7 km/h)
Range3,450 nmi (6,390 km) at 15 kn (28 km/h)
Complement82
Armament

Design edit

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]

Service edit

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 numbers edit

Pennant Number Date
F82 September 1915[15]
F75 January 1918[16]
G80 January 1919[17]
H72 December 1919[18]

References edit

Citations edit

  1. ^ a b Preston 1985, p. 81.
  2. ^ a b c Friedman 2009, p. 310.
  3. ^ a b c Parkes & Prendergast 1969, p. 107.
  4. ^ Manning & Walker 1959, p. 440.
  5. ^ "Supplement to the Navy List Showing Organisation of the Fleet, Flag Officers' Commands &c.: II — Harwich Force". The Navy List: 13. July 1917. Retrieved 10 December 2017 – via National Library of Scotland.
  6. ^ Naval Staff Monograph No. 34 1933, p. 379.
  7. ^ Friedman 2014, p. 183.
  8. ^ Friedman 2014, p. 184.
  9. ^ Newbolt 1931, pp. 345–347.
  10. ^ "Supplement to the Navy List Showing Organisation of the Fleet, Flag Officers' Commands &c.: II. — Harwich Force". The Navy List: 13. October 1918. Retrieved 10 December 2017 – via National Library of Scotland.
  11. ^ "Thisbe". The Navy List: 873. August 1920. Retrieved 10 December 2017 – via National Library of Scotland.
  12. ^ "Naval and Military: Small Craft Refits". The Times. No. 43811. 17 November 1924. p. 7.
  13. ^ Fanning 1986, p. 233.
  14. ^ Colledge & Warlow 2006, p. 349.
  15. ^ Bush & Warlow 2021, p. 52.
  16. ^ Dittmar & Colledge 1972, p. 70.
  17. ^ Bush & Warlow 2021, p. 67.
  18. ^ Bush & Warlow 2021, p. 75.

Bibliography edit

  • 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: a Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy from the 15th Century to the Present. London: Chatham. ISBN 978-1-85367-566-9.
  • Dittmar, F.J.; Colledge, J.J. (1972). British Warships 1914–1919. Shepperton: Ian Allan. ISBN 978-0-71100-380-4.
  • Fanning, Anthony Edward (1986). Steady as She Goes: A History of the Compass Department of the Admiralty. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office. ISBN 978-0-11290-425-0.
  • Friedman, Norman (2009). British Destroyers: From Earliest Days to the First World War. Barnsley: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-049-9.
  • Friedman, Norman (2014). Fighting the Great War at Sea: Strategy, Tactics and Technology. Barnsley: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-189-2.
  • Manning, Thomas Davys; Walker, Charles Frederick (1959). British Warship Names. London: Putnam. OCLC 780274698.
  • Monograph No. 34: Home Waters Part VIII: December 1916 to April 1917 (PDF). Naval Staff Monographs (Historical). Vol. XVIII. Naval Staff, Training and Staff Duties Division. 1933.
  • Newbolt, Henry (1931). Naval Operations: Volume V. History of the Great War. London: Longmans, Green and Co. OCLC 220475309.
  • Parkes, Oscar; Prendergast, Maurice (1969). Jane's Fighting Ships 1919. Newton Abbott: David & Charles. OCLC 907574860.
  • Preston, Antony (1985). "Great Britain and Empire Forces". In Gardiner, Robert; Gray, Randal (eds.). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. London: Conway Maritime Press. pp. 1–104. ISBN 978-0-85177-245-5.

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