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Beagle-class destroyer

The Beagle class (officially redesignated as the G class in 1913) was a class of sixteen destroyers of the Royal Navy, all ordered under the 1908-1909 programme and launched in 1909 and 1910. The Beagles served during World War I, particularly during the Dardanelles Campaign of 1915.

HMS Scourge at sea, 1914
Class overview
NameBeagle class (or G class)
Builders
Operators Royal Navy
Preceded byTribal class
Succeeded byAcorn class
Built1909 – 1910
In commission1910 – 1921
Completed16
Lost3
Scrapped13
General characteristics
TypeDestroyer
Displacement860–940 long tons (874–955 t)
Length275 ft (83.8 m)
Beam27 ft 6 in (8.38 m)
Draught8 ft 6 in (2.59 m)
Installed power12,500 hp (9,300 kW)
PropulsionCoal-fired boilers, 2 or 3 shaft steam turbines
Speed27 knots (50.0 km/h; 31.1 mph)
Complement96
Armament

Design edit

For the 1908–1909 shipbuilding programme, the British Admiralty decided to revert to a smaller, more affordable destroyer to follow-on from the large and fast Tribal class (required to reach 33 knots (61 km/h; 38 mph)) and the experimental 36-knot (67 km/h; 41 mph) HMS Swift. The destroyers needed sufficient range to operate across the North Sea in the event of a confrontation with Germany, which rendered the Cricket-class coastal destroyers which had been built as a low-cost supplement to the expensive Tribals outdated, requiring larger numbers of a cheaper standard destroyer.[1][2] While the Tribals were oil fuelled, it was decided to return to the use of coal for the new destroyers, because of concerns over the availability of oil stocks in the event of a war and to reduce costs. They were the last British destroyers to be so fueled.[2][3][4]

The Beagles were not built to a standard design, with detailed design being left to the builders of individual ships in accordance with a loose specification.[5] They were between 263 feet 11+14 inches (80.45 m) and 275 feet (83.82 m) long between perpendiculars, with a beam of between 26 feet 10 inches (8.18 m) and 28 feet 1 inch (8.56 m), with an average draught of 8 feet 6 inches (2.59 m).[6] It was expected that the ships would displace 850 long tons (860 t) but the builder's designs came out heavier,[3] at about 945 long tons (960 t) normal and 1,100 long tons (1,120 t) full load.[6] Five Yarrow or White-Forster boilers fed direct-drive steam turbines driving three propeller shafts. The machinery was rated at 14,300 shaft horsepower (10,700 kW) to give a speed of 27 knots (50 km/h; 31 mph).[6][7] Three funnels were fitted.[8]

The Beagle class was designed to carry a gun armament of five 12-pounder (76 mm) guns, with two mounted side by side on a raised platform on the ship's forecastle, two on the ship's beams, with the port gun mounted ahead of the starboard gun and one aft. While the ships were building, however, it was decided to replace the two forecastle guns by a single 4-inch (102 mm) gun,[a] giving a gun armament of one BL 4 inch naval gun Mk VIII and three QF 12-pounder 12 cwt guns)[b] Torpedo armament consisted of two 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes, with one between the ship's funnels and the aft gun, and one right aft at the stern of the ship. These torpedoes had a range of 1,000 yards (910 m) at 50 knots (93 km/h; 58 mph) or 12,000 yards (11,000 m) at 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph). Two spare torpedoes were carried.[10][11]

Wartime modifications included replacement of the aft torpedo tube by a 3-pounder (47 mm) anti-aircraft gun in some ships,[6] while depth charges were also fitted.[8]

The Beagles were followed, in the 1909-10 Programme, by the Acorn class (later known as the H class).

Service edit

As the Beagles completed in 1910, they joined the 1st Destroyer Flotilla of the Royal Navy's Home Fleet.[2] but in 1913 they were sent to the Mediterranean,[12] where they formed the 5th Flotilla, remaining there on the outbreak of the First World War.[2] They were officially redesignated the G class in October 1913 as part of a general re-designation of the Royal Navy's destroyers.[13] The Beagle class spent most of the war in the Mediterranean, with several taking part in the Dardanelles Campaign. Late in 1917, the ships of the class were recalled to British waters, where three ships were lost to accidents, two by running aground and one to collision.[2]

Being coal-fired, they were obsolete by the end of the First World War and the surviving ships were all scrapped by the end of 1921.

Ships edit

Name Builder Laid down Launch date Completed Fate
Beagle John Brown and Company, Clydebank 17 March 1909 16 October 1909 June 1910.[14] Sold for breaking up 1 November 1921.[15]
Bulldog John Brown and Company, Clydebank 30 March 1909 13 November 1909, 7 July 1910.[14] Sold for breaking up 21 September 1920.[15]
Foxhound John Brown and Company, Clydebank 1 April 1909 11 December 1909 September 1910.[14] Sold for breaking up 1 November 1921.[15]
Pincher William Denny & Brothers, Dumbarton 20 May 1909 15 March 1910 September 1910.[14] Wrecked on Seven Stones reef, Land's End 24 July 1918.[15]
Grasshopper Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering Company, Govan 17 April 1909 23 November 1909 July 1910.[14] Sold for breaking up 1 November 1921.[15]
Mosquito Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering Company, Govan 22 April 1909 27 January 1910 August 1910.[16] Sold for breaking up 31 August 1920.[15]
Scorpion Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering Company, Govan 3 May 1909 19 February 1910 September 1910.[16] Sold for breaking up 26 October 1921.[17]
Scourge R. W. Hawthorn Leslie & Company, Hebburn 9 March 1909 11 February 1910 August 1910.[16] Sold for breaking up 9 May 1921.[17]
Racoon Cammell Laird & Company, Birkenhead 1 May 1909 15 February 1910 October 1910.[16] Wrecked on Irish coast 9 January 1918 during blizzard.[15][18]
Renard Cammell Laird & Company, Birkenhead 20 April 1909 13 November 1909 September 1910.[16] Sold for breaking up 31 August 1920.[15]
Wolverine Cammell Laird & Company, Birkenhead 26 April 1909 15 January 1910 September 1910.[16] Sunk in collision with the sloop Rosemary in Lough Foyle 12 December 1917.[17][19]
Rattlesnake Harland & Wolff, Glasgow 29 April 1909 14 March 1910 September 1910.[16] Sold for breaking up 9 May 1921.[15]
Nautilus Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company, Bow Creek 14 April 1909 30 March 1910 September 1911.[16] The ship was renamed Grampus on 16 December 1913,[c] freeing up the original name for a submarine. Sold for breaking up 21 September 1920.[22]
Savage John I. Thornycroft & Company, Woolston 2 March 1909 10 March 1910 August 1910.[16] Sold for breaking up 9 May 1921.[17]
Basilisk J. Samuel White & Company, Cowes 11 May 1909 9 February 1910 September 1910.[16] Sold for breaking up 1 November 1921.[15]
Harpy J. Samuel White & Company, Cowes 23 April 1909 27 November 1909 July 1910.[16] Sold for breaking up 1 November 1921.[15]

Notes edit

  1. ^ This was as a result of tests 1906 against the destroyer Skate, which had shown that 12-pounder shells often exploded before they hit the target's engine room.[9]
  2. ^ "Cwt" is the abbreviation for hundredweight, 12 cwt referring to the weight of the gun.
  3. ^ While Friedman and Conway's list the ship as having been renamed on 16 December 1912,[2][16] the ship remained listed under her original name in the March 1913 issue of The Navy List,[20] not being noted as having been renamed until the January 1914 edition.[21]

Citations edit

  1. ^ Friedman 2009, pp. 108, 114.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Gardiner and Gray 1985, p. 74.
  3. ^ a b Friedman 2009, p. 118.
  4. ^ Manning 1961, p. 55.
  5. ^ Brown 2010, p. 68.
  6. ^ a b c d Gardiner and Gray 1985, p. 73.
  7. ^ Brown 2010, p. 69.
  8. ^ a b Friedman 2009, p. 116.
  9. ^ Friedman 2009, pp. 108–109.
  10. ^ Friedman 2009, pp. 116, 118.
  11. ^ Gardiner and Gray 1985, pp. 73–74.
  12. ^ Manning 1961, p. 26.
  13. ^ Gardiner and Gray 1985, pp. 18, 74.
  14. ^ a b c d e Friedman 2009, p. 305.
  15. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Dittmar and Colledge 1972, p. 60.
  16. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Friedman 2009, p. 306.
  17. ^ a b c d Dittmar and Colledge 1972, p. 61.
  18. ^ Moore 1990, p. 314.
  19. ^ "Wrecks Off Co. Londonderry". Irish-Wrecks Online. 24 January 2005. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  20. ^ "338: Naultilus Torpedo Boat Destroyer". The Navy List: 348. March 1913.
  21. ^ "221a: Grampus (late Nautilus) (Ch). Torpedo Boat Destroyer". The Navy List: 322. January 1914.
  22. ^ Dittmar and Colledge 1972, pp. 60–61.

Bibliography edit

beagle, class, destroyer, confused, with, beagle, class, sloop, other, uses, class, destroyer, disambiguation, beagle, class, officially, redesignated, class, 1913, class, sixteen, destroyers, royal, navy, ordered, under, 1908, 1909, programme, launched, 1909,. Not to be confused with Beagle class sloop For other uses see G class destroyer disambiguation The Beagle class officially redesignated as the G class in 1913 was a class of sixteen destroyers of the Royal Navy all ordered under the 1908 1909 programme and launched in 1909 and 1910 The Beagles served during World War I particularly during the Dardanelles Campaign of 1915 HMS Scourge at sea 1914Class overview NameBeagle class or G class BuildersJohn Brown amp Company J Samuel White amp Company Fairfield Shipbuilding amp Engineering Company Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company William Denny amp Brothers Cammell Laird amp Company Harland amp Wolff R W Hawthorn Leslie amp Company John I Thornycroft amp Company Operators Royal Navy Preceded byTribal class Succeeded byAcorn class Built1909 1910 In commission1910 1921 Completed16 Lost3 Scrapped13 General characteristics TypeDestroyer Displacement860 940 long tons 874 955 t Length275 ft 83 8 m Beam27 ft 6 in 8 38 m Draught8 ft 6 in 2 59 m Installed power12 500 hp 9 300 kW PropulsionCoal fired boilers 2 or 3 shaft steam turbines Speed27 knots 50 0 km h 31 1 mph Complement96 Armament1 BL 4 inch 102 mm L 40 Mark VIII guns mounting P Mark V 3 QF 12 pounder 12 cwt Mark I mounting P Mark I 2 single 21 inch 533 mm torpedo tubes Contents 1 Design 2 Service 3 Ships 4 Notes 5 Citations 6 BibliographyDesign editFor the 1908 1909 shipbuilding programme the British Admiralty decided to revert to a smaller more affordable destroyer to follow on from the large and fast Tribal class required to reach 33 knots 61 km h 38 mph and the experimental 36 knot 67 km h 41 mph HMS Swift The destroyers needed sufficient range to operate across the North Sea in the event of a confrontation with Germany which rendered the Cricket class coastal destroyers which had been built as a low cost supplement to the expensive Tribals outdated requiring larger numbers of a cheaper standard destroyer 1 2 While the Tribals were oil fuelled it was decided to return to the use of coal for the new destroyers because of concerns over the availability of oil stocks in the event of a war and to reduce costs They were the last British destroyers to be so fueled 2 3 4 The Beagles were not built to a standard design with detailed design being left to the builders of individual ships in accordance with a loose specification 5 They were between 263 feet 11 1 4 inches 80 45 m and 275 feet 83 82 m long between perpendiculars with a beam of between 26 feet 10 inches 8 18 m and 28 feet 1 inch 8 56 m with an average draught of 8 feet 6 inches 2 59 m 6 It was expected that the ships would displace 850 long tons 860 t but the builder s designs came out heavier 3 at about 945 long tons 960 t normal and 1 100 long tons 1 120 t full load 6 Five Yarrow or White Forster boilers fed direct drive steam turbines driving three propeller shafts The machinery was rated at 14 300 shaft horsepower 10 700 kW to give a speed of 27 knots 50 km h 31 mph 6 7 Three funnels were fitted 8 The Beagle class was designed to carry a gun armament of five 12 pounder 76 mm guns with two mounted side by side on a raised platform on the ship s forecastle two on the ship s beams with the port gun mounted ahead of the starboard gun and one aft While the ships were building however it was decided to replace the two forecastle guns by a single 4 inch 102 mm gun a giving a gun armament of one BL 4 inch naval gun Mk VIII and three QF 12 pounder 12 cwt guns b Torpedo armament consisted of two 21 inch 533 mm torpedo tubes with one between the ship s funnels and the aft gun and one right aft at the stern of the ship These torpedoes had a range of 1 000 yards 910 m at 50 knots 93 km h 58 mph or 12 000 yards 11 000 m at 30 knots 56 km h 35 mph Two spare torpedoes were carried 10 11 Wartime modifications included replacement of the aft torpedo tube by a 3 pounder 47 mm anti aircraft gun in some ships 6 while depth charges were also fitted 8 The Beagles were followed in the 1909 10 Programme by the Acorn class later known as the H class Service editAs the Beagles completed in 1910 they joined the 1st Destroyer Flotilla of the Royal Navy s Home Fleet 2 but in 1913 they were sent to the Mediterranean 12 where they formed the 5th Flotilla remaining there on the outbreak of the First World War 2 They were officially redesignated the G class in October 1913 as part of a general re designation of the Royal Navy s destroyers 13 The Beagle class spent most of the war in the Mediterranean with several taking part in the Dardanelles Campaign Late in 1917 the ships of the class were recalled to British waters where three ships were lost to accidents two by running aground and one to collision 2 Being coal fired they were obsolete by the end of the First World War and the surviving ships were all scrapped by the end of 1921 Ships editName Builder Laid down Launch date Completed Fate Beagle John Brown and Company Clydebank 17 March 1909 16 October 1909 June 1910 14 Sold for breaking up 1 November 1921 15 Bulldog John Brown and Company Clydebank 30 March 1909 13 November 1909 7 July 1910 14 Sold for breaking up 21 September 1920 15 Foxhound John Brown and Company Clydebank 1 April 1909 11 December 1909 September 1910 14 Sold for breaking up 1 November 1921 15 Pincher William Denny amp Brothers Dumbarton 20 May 1909 15 March 1910 September 1910 14 Wrecked on Seven Stones reef Land s End 24 July 1918 15 Grasshopper Fairfield Shipbuilding amp Engineering Company Govan 17 April 1909 23 November 1909 July 1910 14 Sold for breaking up 1 November 1921 15 Mosquito Fairfield Shipbuilding amp Engineering Company Govan 22 April 1909 27 January 1910 August 1910 16 Sold for breaking up 31 August 1920 15 Scorpion Fairfield Shipbuilding amp Engineering Company Govan 3 May 1909 19 February 1910 September 1910 16 Sold for breaking up 26 October 1921 17 Scourge R W Hawthorn Leslie amp Company Hebburn 9 March 1909 11 February 1910 August 1910 16 Sold for breaking up 9 May 1921 17 Racoon Cammell Laird amp Company Birkenhead 1 May 1909 15 February 1910 October 1910 16 Wrecked on Irish coast 9 January 1918 during blizzard 15 18 Renard Cammell Laird amp Company Birkenhead 20 April 1909 13 November 1909 September 1910 16 Sold for breaking up 31 August 1920 15 Wolverine Cammell Laird amp Company Birkenhead 26 April 1909 15 January 1910 September 1910 16 Sunk in collision with the sloop Rosemary in Lough Foyle 12 December 1917 17 19 Rattlesnake Harland amp Wolff Glasgow 29 April 1909 14 March 1910 September 1910 16 Sold for breaking up 9 May 1921 15 Nautilus Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company Bow Creek 14 April 1909 30 March 1910 September 1911 16 The ship was renamed Grampus on 16 December 1913 c freeing up the original name for a submarine Sold for breaking up 21 September 1920 22 Savage John I Thornycroft amp Company Woolston 2 March 1909 10 March 1910 August 1910 16 Sold for breaking up 9 May 1921 17 Basilisk J Samuel White amp Company Cowes 11 May 1909 9 February 1910 September 1910 16 Sold for breaking up 1 November 1921 15 Harpy J Samuel White amp Company Cowes 23 April 1909 27 November 1909 July 1910 16 Sold for breaking up 1 November 1921 15 Notes edit This was as a result of tests 1906 against the destroyer Skate which had shown that 12 pounder shells often exploded before they hit the target s engine room 9 Cwt is the abbreviation for hundredweight 12 cwt referring to the weight of the gun While Friedman and Conway s list the ship as having been renamed on 16 December 1912 2 16 the ship remained listed under her original name in the March 1913 issue of The Navy List 20 not being noted as having been renamed until the January 1914 edition 21 Citations edit Friedman 2009 pp 108 114 a b c d e f Gardiner and Gray 1985 p 74 a b Friedman 2009 p 118 Manning 1961 p 55 Brown 2010 p 68 a b c d Gardiner and Gray 1985 p 73 Brown 2010 p 69 a b Friedman 2009 p 116 Friedman 2009 pp 108 109 Friedman 2009 pp 116 118 Gardiner and Gray 1985 pp 73 74 Manning 1961 p 26 Gardiner and Gray 1985 pp 18 74 a b c d e Friedman 2009 p 305 a b c d e f g h i j k Dittmar and Colledge 1972 p 60 a b c d e f g h i j k l Friedman 2009 p 306 a b c d Dittmar and Colledge 1972 p 61 Moore 1990 p 314 Wrecks Off Co Londonderry Irish Wrecks Online 24 January 2005 Retrieved 14 June 2015 338 Naultilus Torpedo Boat Destroyer The Navy List 348 March 1913 221a Grampus late Nautilus Ch Torpedo Boat Destroyer The Navy List 322 January 1914 Dittmar and Colledge 1972 pp 60 61 Bibliography edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Beagle class destroyer Brown David K 2010 The Grand Fleet Warship Design and Development 1906 1922 Barnsley UK Seaforth Publishing ISBN 978 1 84832 085 7 Colledge J J Warlow Ben 2006 1969 Ships of the Royal Navy The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy Rev ed London Chatham Publishing 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 Friedman Norman 2009 British Destroyers From Earliest Days to the Second World War Barnsley UK Seaforth Publishing 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 OCLC 6470051 Moore John 1990 Jane s Fighting Ships of World War I London Studio ISBN 1 85170 378 0 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Beagle class destroyer amp oldid 1106451943, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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