HMS Lysander (1913)

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For other ships with the same name, see HMS Lysander and HMS Ulysses.

Lysander
History
United Kingdom
NameHMS Lysander
NamesakeLysander
Builder
Swan Hunter, Wallsend
Laid down8 August 1912
Launched18 August 1913
Completed9 December 1913
Out of service9 June 1922
FateBroken up by Cashmore of Newport
General characteristics (as built)
Class and typeLaforey-class destroyer
Displacement
  • 976 long tons (992 t) (
    normal
    )
  • 1,150 long tons (1,170 t) (
    deep load
    )
Length268 ft 8 in (82 m) o/a
Beam27 ft 8 in (8 m)
Draught10 ft 6 in (3 m)
Propulsion
Speed29 knots (33.4 mph; 53.7 km/h)
Range1,720 nmi (3,190 km) at 15 kn (28 km/h)
Complement73
Armament

HMS Lysander was a

paddle-steamers Prince of Wales and Queen Victoria off the coast of Ostend. In 1916, the destroyer was involved in action with German battlecruisers following the bombardment of Yarmouth and Lowestoft but escaped unharmed, and rescued the survivors from the Canadian hospital ship Llandovery Castle in 1918. With the cessation of hostilities, the ship was placed in reserve and sold to be broken up
in June 1922.

Design and development

Main article: L-class destroyer

Lysander was one of twenty-two L- or

Swan Hunter on 29 March 1912.[1][2] The design followed the preceding Acasta-class but with improved seakeeping properties and armament, including twice the number of torpedo tubes.[3]

The destroyer had a

deep load. Power was provided by four Yarrow boilers feeding two Parsons steam turbines which had a combined rating of 24,500 shaft horsepower (18,300 kW) and drove two shafts.[4] Design speed was 29 knots (54 km/h; 33 mph), although the vessel achieved 29.9 knots (55.4 km/h; 34.4 mph) on trial. Three funnels were fitted.[1] 268 long tons (272 t) of oil were carried, giving a design range of 1,720 nautical miles (3,190 km; 1,980 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph).[5] The ship's complement was 73 officers and ratings.[4]

Armament consisted of three single

21 in (533 mm) torpedoes mounted aft. Capacity to lay four Vickers Elia Mk.4 mines was included, but the facility was never used.[7]

Construction and career

Built under the 1912–1913 Programme and originally named Ulysses, the ship was

Shakespeare's plays and the Waverley novels by Sir Walter Scott, the destroyer joined what was to be the first in a new way of naming classes of warships, with each class of destroyers named after a successive letter of the alphabet.[4]

Lysander and the other destroyers of the Fourth Division under fire from Maintz during the Battle of Heligoland Bight

On commissioning, the newly renamed Lysander joined the Third Destroyer Flotilla as part of the Harwich Force.[11] After the British entry into the First World War on 4 August 1914, the flotilla was tasked with harassing the Imperial German Navy and on 26 August was ordered to attack German torpedo boats on their patrol as part of a large Royal Navy fleet in what was to be the Battle of Heligoland Bight.[12] The following day, Lysander was part of the Fourth Division, which included fellow L-class destroyers Laertes, Laurel and Liberty, when the German torpedo boat G194 was sighted.[13] The destroyers set off at speed in pursuit, engaging with G194 and G196, and soon encountering the German 5th Flotilla.[14] Lysander was third in the line when their pursuit brought them to the light cruiser Mainz, which swiftly brought in a barrage of fire against the British vessels. The cruiser hit all three of the other destroyers, but Lysander avoided both substantial damage by shells and colliding with Liberty by responding quickly to the helm.[15] Despite being outgunned, the destroyer returned fire, expending 93 rounds of ammunition.[16] The arrival of the light cruisers of the First Light Cruiser Squadron turned the tide and the British forces overwhelmed the German ship.[17]

On 24 and 25 October 1914, the Harwich Force, including Lysander, covered the seaplane carriers Engadine and Riviera, as the carriers' aircraft attempted to attack a German airship base at Cuxhaven. However, the attack was aborted due to the poor weather, with few of the seaplanes getting airborne and those which did failing to reach the objective.[18] On 2–3 November 1914, Lysander was part of a patrol of four destroyers led by the light cruiser Undaunted from Harwich to off Terschelling which narrowly missed encountering a German force of battlecruisers and cruisers on the way to bombard and lay mines off the town of Great Yarmouth.[19]

On 23 January 1915, the destroyer formed part of the First Division of the Third Flotilla during the

Dardanelles campaign.[24]

From 28 July to 31 July 1915, cruisers and destroyers from the Grand Fleet and Harwich Force carried out Operation C, a large scale sweep into the Skagerrak with the intent of disrupting sea trade between Sweden and Germany. Lysander detained one Danish merchant ship, the Cito which was thought to be acting suspiciously, and escorted the steamer to the Humber for further examination.[25] Lysander formed part of the covering force for minelaying operations on 16–18 August and 11 September.[26] The Third Flotilla, including Lysander, was renumbered the Ninth Destroyer Flotilla on 4 September that year, although it remained as part of the Harwich Force.[27][28][29]

On 24 April 1916, a force of German battlecruisers and cruisers set out from Kiel to bombard the coastal towns of Lowestoft and Yarmouth. Later that day, the German battlecruiser Seydlitz struck a mine, and the resultant radio traffic warned the British of the German operation.[30][31] The Harwich Force, including Lysander left port at midnight on the night of 24/25 April.[32] The German battlecruisers aborted their bombardment of Yarmouth to engage the Harwich force, hitting the cruiser Conquest and the destroyer Laertes but retired to the East rather than attempt to destroy the smaller British force. Lysander was undamaged.[33][34]

By April 1917, the destroyer had moved to the

Leipzig War Crimes Trials.[38][39] After the Armistice of 11 November 1918 that ended the war, the Royal Navy returned to a peacetime level of strength and both the number of ships and personnel in service needed to be reduced to save money.[40] Lysander was initially placed in reserve at Plymouth alongside over 49 other destroyers.[41] On 9 June 1922, the vessel was sold to Cashmore of Newport, Wales, and was subsequently broken up.[42]

Pennant numbers

Pennant number Date
H93 December 1914[43]
H68 January 1918[44]
H81 January 1919 [45]

References

Citations

  1. ^ a b c d Parkes & Prendergast 1969, p. 111.
  2. ^ Friedman 2009, p. 131.
  3. ^ Friedman 2009, p. 129.
  4. ^ a b c Preston 1985, p. 76.
  5. ^ a b Friedman 2009, p. 296.
  6. ^ Campbell 1985, p. 59.
  7. ^ March 1966, p. 149.
  8. ^ Friedman 2009, p. 307.
  9. ^ Colledge & Warlow 2010, p. 224.
  10. ^ Manning & Walker 1959, p. 280.
  11. ^ "Flotillas of the First Fleet", The Navy List, p. 269a, April 1914, retrieved 10 October 2020 – via National Library of Scotland
  12. ^ Naval Staff Monograph No. 11 1921, p. 111.
  13. ^ Naval Staff Monograph No. 11 1921, p. 119.
  14. ^ Naval Staff Monograph No. 11 1921, p. 123.
  15. ^ Naval Staff Monograph No. 11 1921, p. 134.
  16. ^ Naval Staff Monograph No. 11 1921, p. 165.
  17. ^ Naval Staff Monograph No. 11 1921, p. 135.
  18. ^ Naval Staff Monograph No. 24 1924, pp. 139–140, 190 (Note A 310).
  19. ^ Naval Staff Monograph No. 28 1925, pp. 6–7.
  20. ^ Corbett 1921, p. 86.
  21. ^ Corbett 1921, p. 92.
  22. ^ Naval Staff Monograph No. 29 1925, pp. 10–16.
  23. ^ Naval Staff Monograph No. 29 1925, p. 219.
  24. ^ Naval Staff Monograph No. 29 1925, pp. 263–264
  25. ^ Naval Staff Monograph No. 30 1926, pp. 46–49.
  26. ^ Naval Staff Monograph No. 30 1926, pp. 146, 165–166.
  27. ^ Naval Staff Monograph No. 30 1926, p. 165, fn 6.
  28. ^ a b Manning 1979, p. 26.
  29. ^ "Supplement to the Navy List Showing Organisation of the Fleet, Flag Officers' Commands &c.: II - Harwich Force", The Navy List: 13, October 1915
  30. ^ Massie 2007, p. 558.
  31. ^ Naval Staff Monograph No. 32 1927, p. 11.
  32. ^ Naval Staff Monograph No. 32 1927, p. 16.
  33. ^ Corbett 1923, pp. 306–308.
  34. ^ Naval Staff Monograph No. 32 1927, pp. 21–23.
  35. ^ "Vessels under Rear-Admiral Commanding East Coast of England", Supplement to the Monthly Navy List, p. 16, April 1917, retrieved 28 October 2020 – via National Library of Scotland
  36. ^ "IV.—Miscellaneous Ships in Home Waters or on Detached Service: Destroyers (under orders of Commander-in-Chief, Devonport)", Supplement to the Monthly Navy List, p. 14, August 1917, retrieved 3 November 2020 – via National Library of Scotland
  37. ^ Newbolt 1931, p. 53.
  38. ^ Taulbee 2018, p. 24.
  39. ^ Hurd 1929, pp. 332–333.
  40. ^ Moretz 2002, p. 79.
  41. ^ "Vessels in Reserve at Home Ports and Other Bases", The Navy List, p. 707, October 1919, retrieved 10 October 2020 – via National Library of Scotland
  42. ^ Colledge & Warlow 2010, p. 240.
  43. ^ Dittmar & Colledge 1972, p. 63.
  44. ^ Bush & Warlow 2021, p. 75.
  45. ^ Bush & Warlow 2021, p. 76.

Bibliography

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