HMS_Northesk

HMS <i>Northesk</i>

HMS Northesk

British M-Class destroyer

HMS Northesk was an Admiralty M-class destroyer which served in the Royal Navy during the First World War. The M class was an improvement on the previous L-class destroyer, capable of higher speed. The vessel was launched in 1916 and joined the Grand Fleet. Northesk was involved in escorting convoys, including the first southbound convoy on the coastal route between Lerwick and Immingham in 1917. After the Armistice that marked the end of the First World War, the destroyer joined the Mediterranean Fleet and operated in the area around Sevastopol, including assisting in the evacuation of the Crimea in 1919. Soon afterwards, in 1921, Northesk was decommissioned and sold to be broken up.

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Design and development

Main article: M-class destroyer

Northesk was one of twenty-two Admiralty M-class destroyer destroyers ordered by the British Admiralty in November 1914 as part of the Third War Construction Programme.[1] The M class was an improved version of the earlier L class destroyers, designed to reach a higher speed in order to counter rumoured German fast destroyers, although it transpired these vessels did not exist. Although envisioned to have a maximum speed of 36 knots (67 km/h; 41 mph), they were eventually designed for a speed 2 knots (3.7 km/h; 2.3 mph) slower.[2]

The destroyer had a length between perpendiculars of 265 feet (80.77 m), with a beam of 26 feet 9 inches (8.15 m) and a draught of 16 feet 3 inches (4.95 m).[3] Displacement was 950 long tons (970 t) normal and 1,021 long tons (1,037 t) full load.[1] Power was provided by three Yarrow boilers feeding Brown-Curtis steam turbines rated at 25,000 shaft horsepower (19,000 kW) and driving three shafts. Three funnels were fitted.[4] A total of 268 long tons (272 t) of oil could be carried, including 40 long tons (41 t) in peace tanks that were not used in wartime, giving a range of 2,280 nautical miles (4,220 km; 2,620 mi) at 17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph).[5]

Armament consisted of three single QF 4-inch (102 mm) Mk IV guns on the ship's centreline, with one on the forecastle, one aft on a raised platform and one between the middle and aft funnels. Torpedo armament consisted of two twin mounts for 21 in (533 mm) torpedoes aft of the funnels.[6][7] A single QF 2-pounder 40 mm (1.6 in) "pom-pom" anti-aircraft gun was mounted between the torpedo tubes.[4][8] Northesk was equipped with two depth charge chutes for anti-submarine warfare, the number of depth charges carried increasing as the war progressed.[9] The ship had a complement of 80 officers and ratings.[3]

Construction and career

Laid down by Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Company of Hebburn, Northesk was launched on 5 July 1916 and completed during October that year.[4] The destroyer was the only Royal Navy ship to be named after Rear Admiral William Carnegie, 7th Earl of Northesk, who fought at the Battle of Trafalgar.[10] The vessel was deployed as part of the Grand Fleet, joining the Fifteenth Destroyer Flotilla at Scapa Flow.[11]

Due to the continued German submarine threat, the destroyer was transferred to escort duties and, along with the R-class destroyer Radstock, was responsible for escorting the first southbound convoy to travel from Lerwick to Immingham on 29 April 1917.[12] On 21 June, the destroyer was escorting a convoy of thirteen ships when the submarine SM U-19 sank two merchant ships and escaped without harm.[13] The vessel remained part of the Fifteenth Destroyer Flotilla in July 1917.[14]

After the Armistice of 11 November 1918 and the end of the First World War, Northesk was transferred to the Mediterranean Fleet at Gibraltar.[15] The Russian Civil War was raging and the United Kingdom decided to send units of the Royal Navy to the front line. Northesk was one of the ships chosen and sailed to Sevastopol, arriving on 23 November 1918.[16] The destroyer subsequently returned on 28 April 1919 and helped with the evacuation of the Crimea.[17][18] However, the posting did not last long. The destroyer returned to Britain, was decommissioned and, on 9 May 1921, sold to Thos. W. Ward to be broken up at Rainham, Kent.[19]

Pennant numbers

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References

Citations

  1. [1]
    McBride 1991, p. 45.
  2. [2]
    Friedman 2009, p. 132.
  3. [3]
    Preston 1985, p. 79.
  4. [4]
    Parkes & Prendergast 1969, p. 109.
  5. [5]
    Friedman 2009, p. 157.
  6. [6]
    Preston 1985, pp. 76, 80.
  7. [7]
    March 1966, p. 174.
  8. [8]
    Friedman 2009, p. 156.
  9. [9]
    Friedman 2009, pp. 150, 152.
  10. [10]
    Manning & Walker 1959, p. 318.
  11. [11]
    "Destroyer Flotillas of the Grand Fleet". The Navy List: 12. October 1916. Retrieved 19 March 2022 – via National Library of Scotland.
  12. [12]
    Naval Staff Monograph No. 34 1933, pp. 375–376.
  13. [13]
    Naval Staff Monograph No. 35 1939, p. 168.
  14. [14]
    Naval Staff Monograph No. 35 1939, p. 295.
  15. [15]
    "X Mediterranean", The Navy List, p. 21, July 1919, retrieved 19 March 2022 – via National Library of Scotland
  16. [16]
    Snook 1989, p. 44.
  17. [17]
    Snook 1989, p. 45.
  18. [18]
    Halpern 2019, p. 66.
  19. [19]
    Colledge & Warlow 2006, p. 246.
  20. [20]
    Bush & Warlow 2021, p. 62.
  21. [21]
    Dittmar & Colledge 1972, p. 66.
  22. [22]
    Bush & Warlow 2021, p. 71.
  23. [23]
    Bush & Warlow 2021, p. 64.

Bibliography

  • 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. ISBN 978-1-52679-378-2.
  • Colledge, J.J.; Warlow, Ben (2006). Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of All Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy. London: Chatham Press. ISBN 978-1-93514-907-1.
  • Corbett, Julian S. (1920). Naval Operations: Volume III. History of the Great War. London: Longmans, Green and Co. OCLC 1049894619.
  • Dittmar, F.J.; Colledge, J.J. (1972). British Warships 1914–1919. Shepperton: Ian Allan. ISBN 978-0-71100-380-4.
  • Friedman, Norman (2009). British Destroyers: From Earliest Days to the First World War. Barnsley: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-049-9.
  • Halpern, Paul (2019). The Mediterranean Fleet, 1919-1929. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-1-91142-387-4.
  • Manning, Thomas Davys; Walker, Charles Frederick (1959). British Warship Names. London: Putnam. OCLC 780274698.
  • 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.
  • McBride, Keith (1991). "British 'M' Class Destroyers of 1913–14". In Gardiner, Robert (ed.). Warship 1991. London: Conway Maritime Press. pp. 34–49. ISBN 978-0-85177-582-1.
  • Monograph No. 34: Home Waters Part VIII: December 1916 to April 1917 (PDF). Naval Staff Monographs (Historical). Vol. XVIII. Naval Staff, Training and Staff Duties Division. 1933.
  • Monograph No. 35: Home Waters Part IX: 1st May 1917 to 31st July 1917 (PDF). Naval Staff Monographs (Historical). Vol. XIX. Naval Staff, Training and Staff Duties Division. 1939.
  • Parkes, Oscar; Prendergast, Maurice (1969). Jane's Fighting Ships 1919. Newton Abbott: David & Charles. OCLC 907574860.
  • Preston, Antony (1985). "Great Britain and Empire Forces". In Gardiner, Robert; Gray, Randal (eds.). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. London: Conway Maritime Press. pp. 1–104. ISBN 978-0-85177-245-5.
  • Snook, David (1989). "British Naval Operations in the Black Sea 1918-1920: Part I". Warship International. 26 (1): 36–50.
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