HMS Doon (1904)
.jpg) HMS Doon in a floating dock at Harwich during WWI | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| |
| Name: | HMS Doon |
| Ordered: | 1903 – 1904 Naval Estimates |
| Builder: | R.W. Hawthorn Leslie and Company, Ltd, Newcastle-upon-Tyne |
| Laid down: | 16 February 1904 |
| Launched: | 8 November 1904 |
| Commissioned: | 1 June 1905 |
| Out of service: | 1919 laid up in reserve awaiting disposal |
| Fate: | 27 May 1919 sold to Thomas W. Ward of Sheffield for breaking at Rainham, Kent, on the Thames Estuary |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type: | Hawthorn Leslie Type River Class destroyer[1][2] |
| Displacement: |
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| Propulsion: |
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| Speed: | 25.5 kn (47.2 km/h) |
| Range: |
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| Complement: | 70 officers and men |
| Armament: |
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| Service record | |
| Part of: |
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| Operations: | World War I 1914 - 1918 |
HMS Doon was a Hawthorn Leslie type River Class Destroyer ordered by the Royal Navy under the 1903 – 1904 Naval Estimates. Named after the River Doon in western Scotland, she was the first ship to carry this name in the Royal Navy.
Construction
She was laid down on 16 February 1904 at the Hawthorn Leslie shipyard at Hebburn-on-Tyne and launched on 8 November 1904. She was completed in June 1905. Her original armament was to be the same as the Turleback torpedo boat destroyers that preceded her. In 1906 the Admiralty decided to upgrade the armament by landing the five 6-pounder naval guns and shipping three 12-pounder 8 hundredweight (cwt) guns. Two would be mounted abeam at the foc'x'le break and the third gun would be mounted on the quarterdeck.
Pre-War
After commissioning she was assigned to the East Coast Destroyer Flotilla of the 1st Fleet and based at Harwich.
On 27 April 1908 the Eastern Flotilla departed Harwich for live fire and night manoeuvres. During these exercises HMS Attentive rammed and sank HMS Gala then damaged HMS Ribble.
In April 1909 she was assigned to the 3rd Destroyer Flotilla on its formation at Harwich. She remained until displaced by a Basilisk Class destroyer by May 1912. She was assigned to the 5th Destroyer Flotilla of the 2nd Fleet with a nucleus crew.
On 30 August 1912 the Admiralty directed all destroyer classes were to be designated by alpha characters starting with the letter 'A'. The ships of the River Class were assigned to the E Class. After 30 September 1913, she was known as an E Class destroyer and had the letter ‘E’ painted on the hull below the bridge area and on either the fore or aft funnel.[3]
World War I
In early 1914 when displaced by G Class destroyers she joined the 9th Destroyer Flotilla based at Chatham tendered to HMS St George. The 9th Flotilla was a Patrol Flotilla tasked with anti-submarine and counter mining patrols in the Firth of Forth area.
On 16 December 1914 under command of Lieutenant-Commander H. McLeod-Fraser, RN, as the division leader with HMS Waveney, HMS Test and HMS Moy were sent to patrol off Hartlepool. During the German Battle Cruiser Raid on Hartlepool, she was damaged by German shellfire. She was straddled by three salvoes with one near miss by an 11-inch shell grazing the after edge of the foremost funnel, damaging a Berthon collapsible lifeboat, before going overboard and bursting on impact with the water. She suffered splinter damage and had her wireless, aft gun and torpedo tube put out of action. She suffered 3 dead and 6 wounded.[4][5]
In August 1915 with the amalgamation of the 9th and 7th Flotillas she was deployed to the 7th Destroyer Flotilla based at the River Humber.[6] She remained employed on the Humber Patrol participating in counter mining operations and anti-submarine patrols for the remainder of the war.
Disposition
In 1919 she was paid off and laid up in reserve awaiting disposal. On 27 May 1919 she was sold to Thomas W. Ward of Sheffield for breaking at Rainham, Kent, on the Thames Estuary.[7]
She was not awarded a Battle Honour for her service
Pennant Numbers
| Pennant Number[8] | From | To |
|---|---|---|
| N14 | 6 Dec 1914 | 1 Sep 1915 |
| D16 | 1 Sep 1915 | 1 Jan 1918 |
| D27 | 1 Jan 1918 | 27 May 1919 |
References
- ↑ Jane, Fred T. (1969) [1905]. Jane’s Fighting Ships 1905/6. New York: first published by Sampson Low Marston, London 1905, Reprinted ARCO Publishing Company. p. 75.
- ↑ Jane, Fred T. (reprinted © 1990). Jane’s Fighting Ships of World War I. Jane’s Publishing © 1919. p. 76. ISBN 1 85170 378 0. Check date values in:
|date=(help) - ↑ Conway’s All the World’s Fighting Ships 1906 to 1922. Conway Maritime Press. 1985, Reprinted 1986, 1997, 2002, 2006. p. Page 17 to 19. ISBN 0 85177 245 5. Check date values in:
|date=(help) - ↑ "Raid on Hartelpool from Naval History.net". Retrieved 1 Jun 2013.
- ↑ "Naval Review Volume VII, No 2, May 1919, Pages 247 to 254" (PDF). Retrieved 1 Jun 2013.
- ↑ "History of the Great War, Naval Operations, Volume III, Spring 1915 to June 1916 (Part 1 of 2), by Sir Julian S Corbett, Chapter XIII, Loss of Argyl and Natal". Retrieved 1 Jun 2013.
- ↑ ""Arrowsmith" List – Part 1 Destroyer Prototypes through "River" Class". Retrieved 1 Jun 2013.
- ↑ ""Arrowsmith" List – Part 1 Destroyer Prototypes through "River" Class". Retrieved 1 Jun 2013.
- The British Destroyer by Captain T.D. Manning. Published by Godfrey Cave Associates. ISBN 0-906223-13-X.
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