HMS Skate (1895)

For other ships of the same name, see HMS Skate.
History
United Kingdom
Name: HMS Skate
Builder: Vickers
Launched: 13 March 1895
Out of service: Sold on 9 April 1907
Fate: Scrapped
General characteristics
Class & type: Sturgeon-class destroyer
Displacement: 340 tons
Length: 194 feet 6 inches (59.28 m)
Beam: 19 feet (5.79 m)
Draught: 7 feet 7 inches (2.31 m)
Propulsion:
  • Blechynden boilers
  • 4,000 hp (2,983 kW)
Speed: 27 knots (50 km/h; 31 mph)
Range:
  • 1,370 nautical miles (2,540 km; 1,580 mi)
  • at 11 knots (20 km/h; 13 mph)
Complement: 53
Armament:

HMS Skate was a Sturgeon-class destroyer which served with the Royal Navy. Built by Vickers, she was launched on 13 March 1895 and sold on 9 April 1907.

Construction and design

On 8 November 1893, the British Admiralty placed an order with the Naval Construction and Armament Company of Barrow-in-Furness (later to become part of Vickers) for three "Twenty-Seven Knotter" destroyers as part of the 1893–1894 construction programme for the Royal Navy,[1] with in total, 36 destroyers being ordered from various shipbuilders for this programme.[2]

The Admiralty only laid down a series of broad requirements for the destroyers, leaving detailed design to the ships' builders. The requirements included a trial speed of 27 knots (31 mph; 50 km/h), a "turtleback" forecastle and a standard armament of a QF 12 pounder 12 cwt (3 in (76 mm) calibre) gun on a platform on the ship's conning tower (in practice the platform was also used as the ship's bridge), with a secondary armament of five 6-pounder guns, and two 18-inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes.[3][4][5]

The Naval Construction and Armament Company produced a design with a length of 194 feet 6 inches (59.28 m) overall and 190 feet (57.91 m) between perpendiculars, with a beam of 19 feet (5.79 m) and a draught of 7 feet 7 inches (2.31 m). Displacement was 300 long tons light and 340 long tons deep load.[1] Three funnels were fitted, with the foremast between the ship's bridge and the first funnel.[6][7] Four Blechyndnen water-tube boilers fed steam at 200 pounds per square inch (1,400 kPa) to two three-cylinder triple expansion steam engines rated at 4,000 indicated horsepower (3,000 kW).[1][8] 60 tons of coal were carried,[9] giving a range of 1,370 nautical miles (2,540 km; 1,580 mi) at a speed of 11 knots (20 km/h; 13 mph).[10] The ship's crew was 53 officers and men.[10]

Service history

After her commission she served at the Mediterranean station, and was ordered to return home in early 1902.[11] She left Gibraltar on 9 May,[12] convoyed by the cruiser Astraea, and arrived in Plymouth on 14 May.[13] She paid off at Devonport on 20 May, and was placed in the A Division of the Fleet Reserve.[14]

Used in firing trials as target for 3-inch 12-pounder guns in 1906, it was proved these guns were not heavy enough to stop any destroyer. Sold in 1907, she was the first destroyer of this type to go to the breakers.

References

Notes
  1. 1 2 3 Lyon 2001, p. 69
  2. ↑ Lyon 2001, p. 19
  3. ↑ Lyon 2001, p. 20
  4. ↑ Lyon 2001, pp. 98–99
  5. ↑ Friedman 2009, p. 40
  6. ↑ Friedman 2009, p. 50
  7. ↑ Manning 1961, p. 38
  8. ↑ The Engineer 11 October 1895, p. 365
  9. ↑ Brassey 1902, p. 274
  10. 1 2 Friedman 2009, p. 291
  11. ↑ "Naval & Military intelligence" The Times (London). Thursday, 20 February 1902. (36696), p. 10.
  12. ↑ "Naval & Military intelligence" The Times (London). Saturday, 10 May 1902. (36764), p. 8.
  13. ↑ "Naval & Military intelligence" The Times (London). Friday, 16 May 1902. (36769), p. 11.
  14. ↑ "Naval & Military intelligence" The Times (London). Monday, 19 May 1902. (36771), p. 8.
References
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