HMS Tartar (1907)
.jpg) HMS Tartar
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | HMS Tartar |
| Builder | J I Thornycroft |
| Laid down | 13 November 1905 |
| Launched | 25 June 1907 |
| Commissioned | 9 April 1908 |
| Fate | Sold for scrap on 9 May 1921 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Tribal-class destroyer |
| Length | 255 ft (78 m) |
| Beam | 25 ft 6 in (7.77 m) |
| Draught | 8 ft 6 in (2.59 m) |
| Speed | 33 knots (38 mph; 61 km/h) |
| Armament |
|
_Engine_Room.JPG)
HMS Tartar was a
First World War, she served in the North Sea and the English Channel with the 6th Destroyer Flotilla
.
Construction and design
HMS Tartar was ordered from the
Admiralty laid down the basic requirements, the details of the design of individual ships was left to the builders, although the builder's designs did need to be approved by the Director of Naval Construction before orders were placed. This meant that individual ships of the class differed significantly from each other.[2][3]
Tartar was 274 feet 3 inches (83.59 m) long
Thornycroft boilers (in three boiler rooms) fed steam to turbines driving three propeller shafts. The main high-pressure turbine drove the centre shaft, with the outer shafts being fitted with low-pressure turbines, together with cruise and astern turbines. Four funnels were fitted.[1][6] The ship's machinery was rated at 14,500 shaft horsepower (10,800 kW). The ship had a complement of 74 officers and ratings.[4]
Tartar was laid down at Thornycroft's Woolston shipyard on 13 November 1905 and launched on 25 June 1907.[7] Tartar made 36.3 knots (67.2 km/h; 41.8 mph) during sea trials,[1] with one run during final trials on 16 December reaching a speed of 37.037 knots (68.593 km/h; 42.621 mph), a speed record.[8][b] She was completed in April 1908.[7] It had been realised during construction that the armament of the Tribals was too light, so it was decided to strengthen the armament of the first five ships of the class by adding another two 12-pounder guns. The two guns were added to Tartar following acceptance by the Royal Navy.[10]
Service
Tartar formed part of the
bow. She was towed stern first back to Dover, assisted by Tartar, Viking and the tug Lady Crundall.[15]
On the night of 26/27 October 1916, German
Flanders Flotilla carried out a large scale raid into the English Channel, hoping to attack the drifters watching the anti-submarine nets of the Dover Barrage, and to sink Allied shipping in the Channel. Six Tribal-class destroyers (Tartar, Mohawk, Viking, Nubian, Amazon and Cossack) were being held at readiness at Dover as a fast response force, at readiness in Dover harbour, and when the German 5th Half Flotilla attacked the drifters and sank the old supporting destroyer HMS Flirt, they were ordered to intervene. The destroyers split up as they left Dover harbour, with Viking leading Mohawk and Tartar from the Western entrance to the port, while the other three destroyers left by the Eastern entrance and failed to join up with Viking's group. Nubian and Amazon separately ran into the German 17th Half Flotilla, on its way home after sinking the merchant ship Queen, with Nubian first being badly damaged by a torpedo and Amazon then heavily hit by German shells. Viking's group then encountered a third German formation, the 18th Half Flotilla. Mohawk, second in line of the three British destroyers, was hit by German shells which caused her steering to jam, and turn out of line. Tartar followed Mohawk's turn, while Viking's attempts to pursue the German torpedo boats were thwarted when her course was blocked by Mohawk. All the German torpedo boats that took part in the nights operations escaped successfully.[16]
Tartar struck a German mine on 17 June 1917, killing 43 of her crew, including her newly appointed captain, G. K. Twiss, but was towed to safety.[11][17][18] By November 1917, Tartar had joined the 11th Destroyer Flotilla, based at Blyth, Northumberland.[19][20] On 18 February 1918, Tartar collided with the merchant ship Ardgantock off West Hartlepool, sinking the merchant ship.[15] Tartar still served with the 11th Submarine Flotilla on 11 November 1918, when the Armistice ended fighting between the Allies and Germany.[21]
Disposal
Tartar was sold for scrap on 9 May 1919 to Thos. W. Ward of Hayle.[22]
Pennant numbers
| Pennant number[22] | Date |
|---|---|
| H29 | 1914 |
| D08 | September 1915 |
| D86 | January 1918 |
Notes
- ^ cwt stands for hundredweight, 12 cwt referring to the weight of the gun.
- ^ Newspaper reports credited Tartar with speeds as high as 38 knots (70 km/h; 44 mph) in 1909.[9]
Citations
- ^ a b c Friedman 2009, p. 108
- ^ a b Gardiner & Gray 1985, pp. 71–72
- ^ a b Friedman 2009, pp. 107–108
- ^ a b Friedman 2009, p. 293
- ^ Friedman 2009, pp. 106, 109
- ^ Gardiner & Gray 1985, p. 71
- ^ a b Friedman 2009, p. 305
- ^ "The Official Trials of the Tartar" (PDF). The Engineer. 20 December 1907. p. 624. Retrieved 28 August 2015.
- ^ "Destroyer's Speed: A World Record". The Age. Melbourne, Australia. 18 January 1909. p. 7.
- ^ Friedman 2009, pp. 109–110
- ^ a b c "NMM, vessel ID 377687" (PDF). Warship Histories, vol iv. National Maritime Museum. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 October 2013. Retrieved 28 August 2015.
- ^ Manning 1961, p. 25
- ^ a b Gardiner & Gray 1985, p. 72
- ^ Friedman 2009, p. 100
- ^ Bacon 1919, pp. 361, 625
- ^ Kindell, Don. "1st - 30th June 1917 in date, ship/unit & name order". World War 1 - Casualty Lists of the Royal Navy and Dominion Navies. Naval-History.net. Retrieved 28 August 2015.
- ^ "Supplement to the Navy List Showing Organisation of the Fleet, Flag Officers' Commands &c.: I.—The Grand Fleet: Tenth Submarine Flotilla". The Navy List: 12. November 1917.
- ^ "Ships of the Royal Navy - Location/Action Date, 1914–1918: Part 2 - Admiralty "Pink Lists", 2 January 1918". Naval-History.net. Retrieved 28 August 2015.
- ^ "Ships of the Royal Navy - Location/Action Date, 1914–1918: Part 2 - Admiralty "Pink Lists", 11 November 1918". Naval-History.net. Retrieved 14 August 2015.
- ^ a b Dittmar & Colledge 1972, p. 60
Bibliography
- Bacon, Reginald (1919). The Dover Patrol 1915–1917 Volume II. London: Hutchinson & Son. OCLC 230639524.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- OCLC 220475138.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to HMS Tartar (ship, 1907).
- HMS Tartar, Index of 19th Century Naval Vessels
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in June 1917 | |
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| Shipwrecks |
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