HMS Jackal (1911)

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HMS Jackal in pre-war black paint, with funnel bands
History
United Kingdom
NameJackal
Builder
R. W. Hawthorn Leslie & Company, Hebburn[2]
Launched9 September 1911[1]
FateSold, 28 September 1920[1]
General characteristics
Class and typeAcheron-class destroyer
Displacement990 long tons (1,010 t)
Length246 ft (75 m)
Beam26 ft (7.9 m)
Draught8.9 ft (2.7 m)
Installed power13,500 shp (10,100 kW)
Propulsion
Speed27 knots (50 km/h; 31 mph)
Complement70
Armament

HMS Jackal was an Acheron-class destroyer of the Royal Navy that served during the World War I and was sold for breaking in 1920. She was the seventh Royal Navy ship to be named Jackal, after the predatory mammal of the same name.

Construction

She was built under the 1910-11 shipbuilding programme by

R. W. Hawthorn Leslie & Company of Hebburn, Tyneside[2] to an Admiralty design and was launched on 9 September 1911.[3]

Career

Pre-War

Jackal served with the

British Grand Fleet in 1914 on the outbreak of the First World War.[3]

The Battle of Heligoland Bight

She was present on 28 August 1914 at the Battle of Heligoland Bight, detached from the First Destroyer Flotilla along with Badger, Beaver and Sandfly.[4] She shared in the prize money for the engagement.[5]

The Battle of Dogger Bank

On 24 January 1915, the First Destroyer Flotilla — including Jackal — were present at the

Grounding of Argyll

The light cruiser Argyll went aground on Bell Rock near Dundee on 28 October after failing to sight the light due to a failure of communications between the ship and the lighthouse. Jackal and Hornet were diverted from their patrol to assist and rescued the crew of approximately 650; there were no fatalities.[7]

SS Lanfranc

At 19:30 on 17 April 1917, the

prisoners of war, and of these patients, 326 were cot-bound. Approximately 570 survivors were picked up by Badger and Jackal, aided by the P-class patrol boat P.47 and the French patrol boat Roitelet, and taken to Portsmouth.[8]

Mediterranean Service

In 1917, the Third Battle Squadron was sent to the Mediterranean, where they took part in the 1918 Naval campaign in the Adriatic, including enforcing the Otranto Barrage.

On the night of 22–23 April 1918, the

Lieutenant-Commander A M Roberts — but after approximately 15 minutes of firing, Herkner in Triglav broke off the engagement, reasoning that the alarm had certainly been raised. Jackal continued the pursuit, but the faster Austro-Hungarians pulled ahead, and she lost sight of them by 00:20. Alarm, Torrens and Cimeterre had caught up with Jackal by 00:45, but by 01:35 the pursuit was called off.[9]

Hornet was seriously damaged, and Jackal had lost her mainmast, but the appearance of Allied reinforcements had driven the Austrians back to Cattaro (now Kotor in Montenegro).[10][11] The British lost seven killed (including two in Jackal) and 25 wounded, while the Austro-Hungarians suffered no hits. Despite the one-sided casualty figures, two pre-war Royal Navy destroyers had succeeded in driving off five of the latest enemy destroyers.[9]

Jackal was present at the entry of the Allied Fleet through the Dardanelles on 12 November.[12] The Fleet sighted the minarets of Constantinople at 07:00 on 13 November and anchored an hour later. The destroyers maintained an anti-submarine patrol to the west of the anchored fleet.[12]

Disposal

HMS Jackal at Malta[13]

Along with most ships of her class, she was laid up after the war, and on 28 September 1920 she was sold to J Smith for breaking.[1]

Pennant numbers

Pennant Number[1] From To
H55 6 December 1914 1 January 1918
H44 1 January 1918 Early 1919
H95 Early 1919 28 September 1920

References

  1. ^ a b c d ""Arrowsmith" List: Royal Navy WWI Destroyer Pendant Numbers". Retrieved 30 June 2008.
  2. ^ .
  3. ^ a b "Battleships-Cruisers.co.uk website - Acheron Class". Retrieved 30 June 2008.
  4. ^ "Battle of Heligoland Bight - Order of Battle (World War 1 Naval Combat website)". Retrieved 8 March 2009.
  5. ^ a b "An Index of Prize Bounties as announced in the London Gazette 1915 - 1925". Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 28 September 2008.
  6. ^ "Battle of Dogger Bank - Order of Battle (World War 1 Naval Combat website)". Retrieved 8 March 2009.
  7. ^ "Bell Rock Lighthouses - the loss of HMS Argyll, 1915". Retrieved 9 April 2009.
  8. ^ "Blue Star Line website - Lanfranc 2". Retrieved 30 June 2008.
  9. ^ .
  10. ^ "French Naval Operations, Engagements and Ship Losses in the Adriatic in World War 1". Retrieved 9 March 2009.
  11. ^ "John Beech's Austro-Hungarian Navy Website". Archived from the original on 28 April 2006. Retrieved 9 March 2009.
  12. ^ a b S E Brooks. "The Entry of the Allied Fleet through the Dardanelles". Oxford University. Retrieved 11 November 2009.
  13. ^ "I-class destroyers (extract from Jane's Fighting Ships of 1919)". Archived from the original on 3 June 2011. Retrieved 9 April 2009.