HMS Bittern (1897)
A close-up of HMS Bittern alongside a pier
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History | |
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United Kingdom | |
Name | Bittern |
Ordered | 1896 – 1897 Naval Estimates |
Builder | Barrow Shipbuilding Company and Vickers, Sons and Maxim, Barrow-in-Furness |
Laid down | 18 February 1896 |
Launched | 1 February 1897 |
Commissioned | April 1899 |
Fate | 4 April 1918 sunk by collision with merchant ship SS Kenilworth in the English Channel |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Vickers three-funnel, 30-knot destroyer[1][2] |
Displacement |
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Length | 214 ft 3 in (65.30 m) o/a |
Beam | 20 ft (6.1 m) |
Draught | 8 ft 5 in (2.57 m) |
Propulsion |
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Speed | 30 knots (56 km/h) |
Range |
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Complement | 63 |
Armament |
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HMS Bittern was a Vickers three-funnel, 30-knot destroyer ordered by the Royal Navy under the 1895 – 1896 Naval Estimates. She was the fourth ship to carry this name since it was introduced in 1796 for an 18-gun sloop, sold in 1833.[3][4]
Construction and career
She was
In January 1900 Bittern replaced
On 30 August 1912 the
World War I
In August 1914 she was in active commission in the Devonport Local Flotilla tendered to HMS Vivid, Royal Navy Barracks. She remained in this deployment until her loss.
SS Clan Sutherland
On 17 April 1917, the
It was two days before Captain Calderwood of Clan Sutherland was granted permission from the Admiralty to board his ship. On doing so, he found that the ship had been ransacked and looted.[9] Clan Sutherland was later repaired and returned to service. She was sold to Japan in 1921 and renamed Shinshu Maru.[11]
On 4 April 1918, Bittern was involved in a collision with SS Kenilworth off the Isle of Portland in thick fog. The destroyer was overwhelmed and sank quickly with the loss of all hands. A Court of Inquiry found negligence on the part of the master of SS Kenilworth. His instructions had been to hug the coast as closely as possible from Portland Bill to Start Point. Instead he headed straight across, showing no lights nor sounding for fog. At 0315 Kenilworth saw a red light and a ship 'small and low down' at the moment of impact.[12]
Salvage award
The various parties involved in the saving of Clan Sutherland put in their claims for rewards under
Mr Justice Hill criticised the Admiralty for not allowing Captain Calderwood to return to his ship at the earliest opportunity. Addressing the question of the ship being looted, he laid the blame squarely on the crew of Bittern as only men from that ship had been aboard Clan Sutherland the whole time she was under salvage. Irving was criticised for not exercising proper control over his crew or exercising due diligence in preventing or detecting the thefts. As punishment, he ordered that the crew of Bittern forfeit their salvage reward, regardless of whether or not they had been involved in the looting. Although Lieutenant Irving was cleared of any involvement in the looting, his reward was cut to £100.[9]
Pennant numbers
Pennant number[13] | From | To |
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D03 | 6 Dec 1914 | 1 Sep 1915 |
D5A | 1 Sep 1915 | 1 Jan 1918 |
D10 | 1 Jan 1918 | 4 Apr 1918 |
References
NOTE: All tabular data under General Characteristics only from the listed Jane's Fighting Ships volume unless otherwise specified
- ^ Jane, Fred T. (1969) [1905]. Jane's Fighting Ships 1905. New York: first published by Sampson Low Marston, London 1905, reprinted ARCO Publishing Company. p. 77.
- ISBN 1-85170-378-0.
- ^ a b Jane, Fred T. (1969) [1898]. Jane's All the World's Fighting Ships 1898. New York: first published by Sampson Low Marston, London 1898, reprinted ARCO Publishing Company. pp. 84 to 85.
- ^ ISBN 1-85170-378-0.
- ^ "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36049. London. 26 January 1900. p. 7.
- ^ "Disaster to Bluejackets - Boat Swamped at Brighton - Seven Seamen Drowned". News of the World. 15 April 1900.
- ^ "HMS Bittern". Index of 19th Century Naval Vessels and a few of their movements. Archived from the original on 21 September 2004. Retrieved 13 January 2014.
- ISBN 0-85177-245-5.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-84415-565-1.
- ^ "Clan Sutherland". Uboat. Retrieved 4 June 2010.
- ^ "C.W. Cayzer & Company / Cayzer, Irvine & Company / Clan Line of Steamers Limited / Clan Line". The Ships List. Archived from the original on 7 July 2009. Retrieved 4 June 2010.
- ISBN 0-907771-29-7.
- ^ ""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.
- 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.
- Lyon, David (2001) [1996]. The First Destroyers. London: Caxton Editions. ISBN 1-84067-3648.
- 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.