HMS Abdiel (1915)
HMS Abdiel fitted as a minelayer. The aft end of the ship is screened off with canvas to conceal the minelaying equipment
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History | |
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United Kingdom | |
Name | HMS Abdiel |
Builder | Cammell Laird, Birkenhead |
Laid down | 6 May 1915 |
Launched | 12 October 1915 |
Commissioned | 26 March 1916 |
Honours and awards | Jutland 1916[1] |
Fate | Sold for scrap July 1936 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Marksman-class flotilla leader |
Displacement |
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Length | 324 ft 10 in (99.01 m) (overall) |
Beam | 31 ft 9 in (9.68 m) |
Draught | 12 ft (3.66 m) |
Propulsion |
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Speed | 34 kn (63 km/h; 39 mph) |
Range | 4,290 nmi (7,950 km; 4,940 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) |
Complement | 104 |
Armament |
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HMS Abdiel was a
Construction and design
In November 1914, as part of the Emergency War Programme of shipbuilding, the
The Marksman-class ships were 324 feet 10 inches (99.01 m)
The armament of the Marksman-class was planned to be four
In 1917, Abdiel was fitted with a modified superstructure, while in 1918, her mine rails were modified to allow 80 mines to be carried, and a third 4-inch gun fitted.[12]
Service
First World War
On commissioning on 26 March 1916,[3] Abdiel joined the Grand Fleet, based at Scapa Flow in Orkney.[13][14] Abdiel, under the command of Commander Berwick Curtis was employed carrying out night-time minelaying missions in the Heliogoland Bight and off Horns Reef.[13] Abdiel accompanied the Grand Fleet at the Battle of Jutland on 31 May/1 June 1916.[15] During the main fleet engagement, Abdiel was on the disengaged side of Jellicoe's battleships,[16] After nightfall, Jellicoe ordered Abdiel to lay a minefield in the expected path of the retreating German fleet, to the northwest of Sylt. Abdiel successfully laid her mines between 01:24 and 02:04. Later that morning, the German battleship Ostfriesland struck a mine laid by Abdiel on 4 May, blowing a hole 12.2 m × 4.9 m (40 ft × 16 ft), and causing damage that kept Ostfriesland in dock until 26 July.[15][17]
Abdiel continued her minelaying operations through 1917 and into 1918, with her earlier solo missions being superseded by more complex operations involving more ships which resulted in larger minefields being laid.[18] In February 1918, the 20th Destroyer Flotilla, a specialist minelaying flotilla based at Immingham on the Humber, was formed, with Curtis in command and Abdiel as his flagship, tasked with mining the swept channels that German minesweepers made in existing minefields.[19][20] On 27 March 1918, while laying minefield A34 70 nmi (81 mi; 130 km) north-west of Heligoland, Abdiel, together with Legion, Telemachus, Vanquisher, Ariel and Ferret encountered three armed German trawlers, Polarstern, Mars and Scharbentz. All three trawlers were sunk and 72 prisoners were captured.[21][22]
During July 1918, Abdiel underwent a much needed refit.[23] On 1 August 1918, Abdiel was leading the 20th Flotilla on its way to lay minefield A67 when the flotilla ran into a German minefield, with the destroyers Vehement and Ariel striking mines. Ariel sank quickly with the loss of 49 of her crew, but Abdiel took the remains of Vehement in tow. (Vehement's bow had been blown off by the explosion, which killed 48 of her crew). The attempt proved unsuccessful, however, with the tow having to be abandoned and Vehement was scuttled.[24] The Flotilla continued its minelaying operations until the end of the war,[25] with Abdiel laying 6293 mines during the war.[26]
Post war-operations
Abdiel continued as leader of the 20th Flotilla following the end of the war,
It was decided to retain Abdiel for service as a minelayer postwar, and she was refitted at
Pennant numbers
Pennant Number | From | To |
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G35 | March 1916 | January 1917[38] |
F43 | January 1917 | January 1918[38] |
F49 | 1 Jan 1918 | 1919 |
F60 | 1919 | - [39] |
Notes
- ^ The first two ships of the class, Marksman and Lightfoot, were ordered as part of the 1913–1914 shipbuilding programme, with two more ships, Kempenfelt and Nimrod as part of the 1914–1915 programme.[2]
- ^ Jane's Fighting Ships of World War I gives a crew of 110,[6] while Jane's Fighting Ships 1931 gives a crew of 128.[7]
- ^ Both Kempenfelt and Gabriel were considered for the prototype minelayer conversion, but Abdiel was chosen owing to the progress of her construction.[8]
Citations
- ^ "World War 1 at Sea: Battle Honours and Single-Ship Actions of The Royal Navy 1914-18". naval-history.net. Retrieved 21 February 2015.
- ^ a b c Freidman 2009, pp. 136–137.
- ^ a b c Friedman 2009, p. 307.
- ^ a b c d e f Gardiner and Gray 1985, p. 77.
- ^ a b Friedman 2009, pp. 296–297.
- ^ Moore 1990, p. 67.
- ^ Parkes 1931, p. 60.
- ^ Smith 2005, pp. 16–19.
- ^ Friedman 2009, p. 153.
- ^ Smith 2005, pp. 18, facing p. 86.
- ^ Smith 2005, pp. 16–17.
- ^ Smith 2005, pp. 24–25.
- ^ a b Smith 2005, p. 19.
- ^ "Supplement to the Navy List Showing Organisation of the Fleet, Flag Officers' Commands &c.: Destroyer Flotillas of the Grand Fleet". The Navy List. March 1916. p. 10. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
- ^ a b Smith 2005, pp. 20–21.
- ^ Campbell 1998, p. 150.
- ^ Campbell 1998, pp. 274, 314–315, 336.
- ^ Smith 2005, pp. 27, 31, 33–35, 36–37.
- ^ Smith 2005, pp. 38–39.
- ^ Friedman 2009, p. 155.
- ^ Dewar 1922, p. 954.
- ^ Smith 2005, pp. 44–49.
- ^ Smith 2005, pp. 68–72.
- ^ Smith 2005, pp. 74–85.
- ^ Smith 2005, p. 89.
- ^ Smith 2005, p. 95.
- ^ "Supplement to the Navy List Showing Organisation of the Fleet, Flag Officers' Commands &c.: Destroyer Flotillas of the Grand Fleet". The Navy List: 15. January 1919. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
- ^ Bennett 2002, p. 122.
- ^ Bennett 2002, p. 131.
- ^ Bennett 2002, p. 162.
- ^ Bennett 2002, p. 163.
- ^ Bennett 2002, pp. 171–174.
- ^ Bennett 2002, pp. 176–180.
- ^ a b English 2019, p. 15.
- ^ a b c "NMM, vessel ID 379236" (PDF). Warship Histories, Vol. IV. National Maritime Museum. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 October 2013. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
- ^ Smith p. 99.
- ^ a b English 2019, p. 16.
- ^ a b c Dittmar and Colledge 1972, p. 69.
- ^ Smith 2002, p. 64.
References
- Bennett, Geoffrey (2002). Freeing The Baltic. Edinburgh: Birlinn. ISBN 1-84341-001-X.
- Campbell, John (1998). Jutland: An Analysis of the Fighting. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-750-3.
- Dewar, Alfred C. (1922). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 31 (12th ed.). London & New York: The Encyclopædia Britannica Company. pp. 949–955. . In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.).
- Dittmar, F.J.; Colledge, J.J. (1972). British Warships 1914–1919. Shepperton, UK: Ian Allan. ISBN 0-7110-0380-7.
- English, John (2019). Grand Fleet Destroyers: Part I: Flotilla Leaders and 'V/W' Class Destroyers. Windsor, UK: World Ship Society. OCLC 1275090303.
- Friedman, Norman (2009). British Destroyers: From Earliest Days to the First 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.
- Moore, John (1990). Jane's Fighting Ships of World War I. London: Studio. ISBN 1-85170-378-0.
- Parkes, Oscar (1973) [First published 1931 by Sampson Low, Marston & Co., Ltd: London]. Jane's Fighting Ships 1931. Newton Abbot, UK: David and Charles. ISBN 0-7153-5849-9.
- Smith, Peter C. (2005). Into the Minefields: British Destroyer Minelaying 1916–1960. Barnsley, UK: Pen & Sword Maritime. ISBN 1-84415-271-5.