HMS Harpy (1909)
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| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | Harpy |
| Namesake | Harpy |
| Builder | J. Samuel White, Cowes |
| Laid down | 23 April 1909 |
| Launched | 27 November 1909 |
| Commissioned | 29 July 1910 |
| Out of service | 27 November 1921 |
| Fate | Sold to the broken up |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Beagle-class destroyer |
| Displacement | 972 normal ) |
| Length | 266 ft (81.1 m) |
| Beam | 28 ft (8.5 m) |
| Draught | 16 ft 6 in (5.0 m) |
| Installed power | 5 x coal-fired kW ) |
| Propulsion | 3 x shafts |
| Speed | 27 kn (50 km/h; 31 mph) |
| Range | 2,000 nmi (3,700 km; 2,300 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) |
| Complement | 96 |
| Armament |
|
HMS Harpy was a
Nore and then sold in 1921 to be broken up
.
Design and development
Harpy was one of the Beagle-class destroyers ordered as part of the 1908–1909 shipbuilding programme.[1][2] The vessels were coal-burning after concerns had been raised about the availability of fuel oil in time of war and the bridge was larger and higher than previous designs.[3] This reduced costs, although it also meant that five boilers were needed, the extra machinery meaning that deck space became more premium.[4] The Beagle class vessels were not built to a standard design, with detailed design being left to the builders of individual ships in accordance with a loose specification, in this case J. Samuel White.[5] In October 1913, as part of a wider renaming of the Royal Navy's warships into classes named alphabetically, the class was renamed as G-class.[6][a]
Harpy was 275 ft (83.8 m) long, with a
sea trials, the destroyer reached a speed of 27.755 kn (31.940 mph; 51.402 km/h). Up to 226 long tons (230 t) of coal was carried, giving a design range of 2,000 nautical miles (3,700 km; 2,300 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph).[12] The ship had a complement of 96 officers and ratings.[10]
Armament consisted of one
throwers and 50 from racks mounted aft.[17]
Construction and career
Harpy was
yard number 1292 on 23 April 1909, and launched on 27 November.[18] The ship cost £114,404.[9] Harpy was the fifth to serve in the Royal Navy named for the monster with the face of a woman and the wings of a bird.[19] The vessel was commissioned at Portsmouth on 29 July 1910.[20] Harpy initially joined the First Destroyer Flotilla but, in 1912, a reorganisation of the Home Fleet resulted in the ships of the Beagle class forming the new Third Destroyer Flotilla.[21] The vessel remained part of the Third Flotilla in March 1913.[22] Shortly afterwards, Harpy was transferred, along with the rest of the class, to the newly-formed Fifth Destroyer Flotilla as part of the Mediterranean Fleet.[23][24]
In 1914, as the
Straits of Messina on 7 October.[27] The attempts to intercept Goeben and Breslau failed, and the two German ships reached Turkey on 10 August.[28][29]
Harpy spent the next year supporting the
naval operations in the Dardanelles Campaign with the Eastern Mediterranean Squadron.[30] On 25 May, the destroyer succeeded in driving off a submarine that could have attacked the French battleship Saint Louis.[31] The ship was one of five, including sister ship Renard, that undertook minesweeping in the Dardanelles on 25 and 26 June. Despite heavy fire, the ships achieved achieved their objective in what Rear Admiral John de Robeck, commander of the squadron, described as "a most satisfactory manner".[32]
Harpy stayed with the Eastern Mediterranean Squadron into 1916. The year saw an intensification of
Coast of Ireland Station based at Buncrana.[38] The destroyers at Buncrana assisted convoys travelling across the Atlantic Ocean to and from the American industrial complex at Hampton Roads and via Sydney, Nova Scotia, arriving and departing ports on the Clyde and Mersey.[39] The division also provided three escorts every eight days to protect fast convoys travelling to and from Halifax, Nova Scotia.[40] The vessel ended the war as a member of the Fourth Destroyer Flotilla based at Devonport.[41]
After the
The Nore.[43] However, that deployment did not last long. As the force returned to a peacetime level of strength, both the number of ships and personnel needed to be reduced to save money.[44] Declared superfluous to operational requirements, Harpy was retired, and, on 27 November 1921, sold to Fryer of Sunderland to be broken up.[45]
Pennant numbers
| Pennant number | Date |
|---|---|
| D88 | February 1915[46] |
| H19 | January 1918[47] |
| H71 | June 1918[48] |
| H32 | January 1919[49] |
Notes
- ^ The Laforey-class (L-class) under construction were renamed so the destroyers' names matched the class designation.[7]
- ^ "Cwt" is the abbreviation for hundredweight, 12cwt referring to the weight of the gun.
References
Citations
- ^ Friedman 2009, pp. 118, 305–306.
- ^ Manning 1961, p. 56.
- ^ Cocker 1981, p. 23.
- ^ Friedman 2009, p. 116.
- ^ Brown 2010, p. 68.
- ^ Preston 1985, p. 74.
- ^ Friedman 2009, p. 132.
- ^ Parkes & Prendergast 1969, p. 114.
- ^ a b March 1966, p. 65.
- ^ a b Preston 1985, p. 73.
- ^ Manning 1961, pp. 54, 57.
- ^ March 1966, p. 66.
- ^ March 1966, p. 86.
- ^ Friedman 2009, pp. 116, 118.
- ^ Preston 1985, pp. 73–74.
- ^ Friedman 2009, p. 151.
- ^ March 1966, p. 79.
- ^ Williams & Sprake 1993, p. 86.
- ^ Manning & Walker 1959, p. 222.
- ^ "Naval And Military Intelligence". The Times. No. 39337. 29 July 1910. p. 10.
- ^ Manning 1961, p. 25.
- ^ "Fleets and Squadrons in Commission at Home and Abroad: Flotillas of the First Fleet". The Navy List: 269a. March 1913. Retrieved 17 June 2024 – via National Library of Scotland.
- ^ "Naval And Military Intelligence: Fifth Destroyer Flotilla for the Mediterranean". The Times. No. 40358. 1 November 1913. p. 14.
- ^ "Fleets and Squadrons in Commission at Home and Abroad: Mediterranean Fleet". The Monthly Navy List: 270a. November 1913. Retrieved 17 June 2024 – via National Library of Scotland.
- ^ Massie 2007, pp. 47–48.
- ^ Corbett 1923, p. 28.
- ^ Grehan & Mace 2014, p. 55.
- ^ Newbolt 1928, p. 277.
- ^ Halpern 2015, p. 292.
- ^ "X1.—Mediterranean Fleet". Supplement to the Monthly Naval List: 20. January 1917. Retrieved 17 June 2024 – via National Library of Scotland.
- ^ Halpern 2015, p. 312.
- ^ Newbolt 1931, p. 75.
- ^ "VII.—Coast of Ireland Station". Supplement to the Monthly Naval List: 17. October 1917. Retrieved 17 June 2024 – via National Library of Scotland.
- ^ Newbolt 1931, p. 103.
- ^ Newbolt 1928, p. 106.
- ^ "VII.—Local Defence and Escort Flotillas". Supplement to the Monthly Naval List: 17. October 1918. Retrieved 17 June 2024 – via National Library of Scotland.
- ^ Manning 1961, p. 28.
- ^ "X.—Vessels at Home Ports Temporarily: The Nore". Supplement to the Monthly Naval List: 19. February 1919. Retrieved 17 June 2024 – via National Library of Scotland.
- ^ Moretz 2002, p. 79.
- ^ Colledge & Warlow 2006, p. 156.
- ^ Bush & Warlow 2021, p. 41.
- ^ Bush & Warlow 2021, p. 71.
- ^ Bush & Warlow 2021, p. 75.
- ^ Bush & Warlow 2021, p. 72.
Bibliography
- Brown, David K. (2010). The Grand Fleet: Warship Design and Development 1906–1922. Barnsley: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-085-7.
- 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 978-1-52679-378-2.
- Cocker, Maurice (1981). Destroyers of the Royal Navy, 1893–1981. London: Ian Allan. ISBN 978-0-71101-075-8.
- OCLC 924170124.
- ISBN 978-1-93514-907-1.
- ISBN 978-1-84832-049-9.
- Grehan, John; Mace, Martin (2014). Gallipoli and the Dardanelles 1915–1916. Barnsley: Pen and Sword. ISBN 978-1-47383-819-2.
- Halpern, Paul G. (2015). The Naval War in the Mediterranean: 1914-1918. London: Taylor and Francis. ISBN 978-1-31739-186-9.
- Manning, Thomas Davys (1961). The British Destroyer. London: Putnam. OCLC 6470051.
- Manning, Thomas Davys; Walker, Charles Frederick (1959). British Warship Names. London: Putnam. OCLC 780274698.
- 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.
- Massie, Robert K. (2007). Castles of Steel: Britain, Germany and the Winning of the Great War at Sea. London: Vintage Books. ISBN 978-0-09952-378-9.
- Monograph No. 4 – Operations in the Mediterranean, August 4th–10th 1914 (PDF). Naval Staff Monographs (Historical). Vol. I. Naval Staff, Training and Staff Duties Division. 1919. pp. 176–217.
- Monograph No. 21: The Mediterranean 1914–1915 (PDF). Naval Staff Monographs (Historical). Vol. VIII. The Naval Staff, Training and Staff Duties Division. 1923.
- Moretz, Joseph (2002). The Royal Navy and the Capital Ship in the Interwar Period. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-71465-196-5.
- OCLC 1049894132.
- 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.
- Williams, David L.; Sprake, Raymond F. (1993). White's of Cowes : "White's-built, Well-built!". Peterborough: Silver Link. ISBN 978-1-85794-011-4.