For other ships with the same name, see HMS Starfish.
HMS Starfish was an R-classdestroyer which served with the Royal Navy. She was launched on 27 September 1916 and sold to be broken up on 21 April 1928.[1] She was built by Hawthorn Leslie of Hebburn Tyne.[2][3]
Starfish was one of ten R-class destroyers ordered by the British Admiralty in December 1915 as part of the Seventh War Construction Programme. The ship was laid down at Hawthorn Leslie's Hebburn shipyard on 26 January 1916, launched on 27 September 1916 and completed on 16 December 1916.[4]
Starfish was 276 feet (84.12 m) long overall, with a beam of 26 feet 6 inches (8.08 m) and a draught of 9 feet (2.74 m). Displacement was 975 long tons (991 t) normal and 1,075 long tons (1,092 t) deep load. Three Yarrow boilers fed steam to two sets of Parsons geared steam turbines rated at 27,000 shaft horsepower (20,000 kW) and driving two shafts, giving a design speed of 36 knots (67 km/h; 41 mph). Three funnels were fitted.[5] 296 tons of oil were carried, giving a design range of 3,450 nautical miles (6,390 km; 3,970 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph).[6] Armament consisted of three QF 4in Mk IV guns on the ship's centreline, with one on the forecastle, one aft on a raised bandstand and one between the second and third funnels. A single 2-pounder (40 mm) pom-pom anti-aircraft gun, while torpedo armament consisted of four 21 inch (533 mm) torpedoes in two twin mounts.[5] The ship had a complement of 82 officers and men.[5]
Serviceedit
On commissioning, Starfish joined the 10th Destroyer Flotilla of the Harwich Force.[7] On the night of 23/24 January 1917, the Harwich Force was ordered to intercept a German destroyer flotilla that was being transferred from Germany to Zeebrugge, with Starfish part of a group of destroyers patrolling off the Schouwen Bank. The German destroyers ran into a cruiser division, with the destroyers V69 and G41 heavily damaged, but the Germans managed to escape, and passed Starfish's group of destroyers unobserved before reaching Zeebrugge. One German straggler, S50 encountered Starfish's group. An exchange of fire followed, in which S50 was hit several times by British shells, but G50 managed to torpedo the British destroyer Simoom, which later sank, before escaping and returning to Germany.[8][9]
On the night of 4/5 June 1917, the Dover Patrol carried out a bombardment of the German held Belgian port of Ostend, using the monitorsErebus and Terror. The Harwich Force was deployed to protect the bombarding force from interference, with Starfish part of a group of cruisers and destroyers patrolling off the Thornton Bank.[10] In October 1917, Starfish formed part of a large-scale operation, involving 30 cruisers and 54 destroyers deployed in eight groups across the North Sea in an attempt to stop a suspected sortie by German naval forces. Despite these countermeasures, the two German light cruisers Bremse and Brummer, managed to evade the patrols and attacked the regular convoy between Norway and Britain, sinking nine merchant ships and two destroyers, Mary Rose and Strongbow before returning safely to Germany.[10]
On 4 October 1918, Starfish, along with the destroyers Montrose, Sceptre, and Sylph, sank the German armed vessels Bremerhaven and Ober Burgermeister Adickes.[11]Starfish remained part of the 10th Destroyer Flotilla at the end of the war.[12][13]
By February 1919, Starfish had transferred to the Gunnery School at the Nore,[14] and in March was supporting the torpedo school at the Nore,[15] while by November she had transferred to the Nore Local Defence Flotilla.[16]
On 21 April 1928, Starfish was sold for scrap to Alloa of Charlestown.[17]
^ abNewbolt, Henry (2013) [Originally published by Longmans, Green and Co.: London, 1931]. "History of the Great War: Naval Operations Vol. V, April 1917 to November 1918 (Part 1 of 4)". Naval-History.net. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
^"Supplement to the Navy List Showing Organisation of the Fleet, Flag Officers' Commands &c.: II.–Harwich Force". The Navy List: 13. December 1918.
^"Ships of the Royal Navy - Location/Action Date, 1914–1918: Part 2 - Admiralty "Pink Lists", 11 November 1918". Naval-History.net. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
^"Supplement to the Monthly Navy List Showing Organisation of the Fleet, Flag Officers' Commands &c.: VI.–Local Defence and Minesweeping Flotillas and Training Establishments". The Navy List: 16. February 1919.
^"Supplement to the Monthly Navy List Showing Organisation of the Fleet, Flag Officers' Commands &c.: VI.–Local Defence and Minesweeping Flotillas and Training Establishments". The Navy List: 14. March 1919.
^"III.–Local Defence and Training Establishments, Patrol Flotillas, etc". The Navy List: 704. November 1919.
Bush, Steve; Warlow, Ben (2021). Pendant Numbers of the Royal Navy: A Complete History of the Allocation of Pendant Numbers to Royal Navy Warships & Auxiliaries. Barnsley: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN978-1-526793-78-2.
Dittmar, F.J.; Colledge, J.J. (1972). British Warships 1914–1919. Shepperton, UK: Ian Allan. ISBN0-7110-0380-7.
Friedman, Norman (2009). British Destroyers: From Earliest Days to the First World War. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN978-1-84832-049-9.
Gardiner, Robert; Gray, Randal, eds. (1985). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN0-85177-245-5.
Karau, Mark K. (2014). The Naval Flank of the Western Front: The German MarineKorps Flandern 1914–1918. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN978-1-84832-231-8.
Newbolt, Henry (1928). History of the Great War: Naval Operations: Volume IV. London: Longmans, Green & Co.
May 05, 2024
starfish, 1916, other, ships, with, same, name, starfish, starfish, class, destroyer, which, served, with, royal, navy, launched, september, 1916, sold, broken, april, 1928, built, hawthorn, leslie, hebburn, tyne, history, united, kingdom, namehms, starfish, b. For other ships with the same name see HMS Starfish HMS Starfish was an R class destroyer which served with the Royal Navy She was launched on 27 September 1916 and sold to be broken up on 21 April 1928 1 She was built by Hawthorn Leslie of Hebburn Tyne 2 3 History United Kingdom NameHMS Starfish BuilderHawthorn Leslie Hebburn Tyne Launched27 September 1916 FateSold 21 April 1928 General characteristics Class and typeR class destroyer Displacement975 long tons 991 t Length276 ft 84 1 m Draught9 ft 10 in 3 00 m Propulsion3 boilers 2 geared Brown Curtis steam turbines 27 000 shp Speed36 knots 41 4 mph 66 7 km h Range3 440 nmi 6 370 km at 15 kn 28 km h Complement82 Armament3 QF 4 inch 101 6 mm Mark IV guns mounting P Mk IX 1 single 2 pounder 40 mm pom pom Mk II anti aircraft gun 4 21 in 533 mm torpedo tubes 2 2 Contents 1 Construction 2 Service 3 Pennant numbers 4 References 5 BibliographyConstruction editStarfish was one of ten R class destroyers ordered by the British Admiralty in December 1915 as part of the Seventh War Construction Programme The ship was laid down at Hawthorn Leslie s Hebburn shipyard on 26 January 1916 launched on 27 September 1916 and completed on 16 December 1916 4 Starfish was 276 feet 84 12 m long overall with a beam of 26 feet 6 inches 8 08 m and a draught of 9 feet 2 74 m Displacement was 975 long tons 991 t normal and 1 075 long tons 1 092 t deep load Three Yarrow boilers fed steam to two sets of Parsons geared steam turbines rated at 27 000 shaft horsepower 20 000 kW and driving two shafts giving a design speed of 36 knots 67 km h 41 mph Three funnels were fitted 5 296 tons of oil were carried giving a design range of 3 450 nautical miles 6 390 km 3 970 mi at 15 knots 28 km h 17 mph 6 Armament consisted of three QF 4in Mk IV guns on the ship s centreline with one on the forecastle one aft on a raised bandstand and one between the second and third funnels A single 2 pounder 40 mm pom pom anti aircraft gun while torpedo armament consisted of four 21 inch 533 mm torpedoes in two twin mounts 5 The ship had a complement of 82 officers and men 5 Service editOn commissioning Starfish joined the 10th Destroyer Flotilla of the Harwich Force 7 On the night of 23 24 January 1917 the Harwich Force was ordered to intercept a German destroyer flotilla that was being transferred from Germany to Zeebrugge with Starfish part of a group of destroyers patrolling off the Schouwen Bank The German destroyers ran into a cruiser division with the destroyers V69 and G41 heavily damaged but the Germans managed to escape and passed Starfish s group of destroyers unobserved before reaching Zeebrugge One German straggler S50 encountered Starfish s group An exchange of fire followed in which S50 was hit several times by British shells but G50 managed to torpedo the British destroyer Simoom which later sank before escaping and returning to Germany 8 9 On the night of 4 5 June 1917 the Dover Patrol carried out a bombardment of the German held Belgian port of Ostend using the monitors Erebus and Terror The Harwich Force was deployed to protect the bombarding force from interference with Starfish part of a group of cruisers and destroyers patrolling off the Thornton Bank 10 In October 1917 Starfish formed part of a large scale operation involving 30 cruisers and 54 destroyers deployed in eight groups across the North Sea in an attempt to stop a suspected sortie by German naval forces Despite these countermeasures the two German light cruisers Bremse and Brummer managed to evade the patrols and attacked the regular convoy between Norway and Britain sinking nine merchant ships and two destroyers Mary Rose and Strongbow before returning safely to Germany 10 On 4 October 1918 Starfish along with the destroyers Montrose Sceptre and Sylph sank the German armed vessels Bremerhaven and Ober Burgermeister Adickes 11 Starfish remained part of the 10th Destroyer Flotilla at the end of the war 12 13 By February 1919 Starfish had transferred to the Gunnery School at the Nore 14 and in March was supporting the torpedo school at the Nore 15 while by November she had transferred to the Nore Local Defence Flotilla 16 On 21 April 1928 Starfish was sold for scrap to Alloa of Charlestown 17 Pennant numbers editPennant Number Date F60 January 1917 17 4 F64 January 1918 18 G50 January 1919 19 H70 January 1922 20 References edit H M S Starfish 1916 Dreadnought Project 2012 Retrieved 11 May 2013 RN Destroyer Class Admiralty R Class 1916 1917 RNwarships informe com 2007 2008 Retrieved 11 May 2013 Admiralty R class destroyers 1915 1917 Royal Navy org Archived from the original on 3 December 2013 Retrieved 11 May 2013 a b Friedman 2009 p 310 a b c Gardiner and Gray 1985 p 81 Friedman 2009 p 296 Supplement to the Navy List Showing Organisation of the Fleet Flag Officers Commands amp c II Harwich Force The Navy List 13 December 1916 Newbolt 1928 pp 73 79 Karau 2014 pp 113 114 a b Newbolt Henry 2013 Originally published by Longmans Green and Co London 1931 History of the Great War Naval Operations Vol V April 1917 to November 1918 Part 1 of 4 Naval History net Retrieved 31 October 2015 No 32105 The London Gazette 29 October 1920 p 10413 Supplement to the Navy List Showing Organisation of the Fleet Flag Officers Commands amp c II Harwich Force The Navy List 13 December 1918 Ships of the Royal Navy Location Action Date 1914 1918 Part 2 Admiralty Pink Lists 11 November 1918 Naval History net Retrieved 31 October 2015 Supplement to the Monthly Navy List Showing Organisation of the Fleet Flag Officers Commands amp c VI Local Defence and Minesweeping Flotillas and Training Establishments The Navy List 16 February 1919 Supplement to the Monthly Navy List Showing Organisation of the Fleet Flag Officers Commands amp c VI Local Defence and Minesweeping Flotillas and Training Establishments The Navy List 14 March 1919 III Local Defence and Training Establishments Patrol Flotillas etc The Navy List 704 November 1919 a b Dittmar and Colledge 1972 p 70 Bush amp Warlow 2021 p 50 Bush amp Warlow 2021 p 65 Bush amp Warlow 2021 p 75 Bibliography editBush Steve Warlow Ben 2021 Pendant Numbers of the Royal Navy A Complete History of the Allocation of Pendant Numbers to Royal Navy Warships amp Auxiliaries Barnsley Seaforth Publishing ISBN 978 1 526793 78 2 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 First 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 Karau Mark K 2014 The Naval Flank of the Western Front The German MarineKorps Flandern 1914 1918 Barnsley UK Seaforth Publishing ISBN 978 1 84832 231 8 Newbolt Henry 1928 History of the Great War Naval Operations Volume IV London Longmans Green amp Co Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title HMS Starfish 1916 amp oldid 1078034653, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
