HMS Larne (1910)

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For other ships with the same name, see HMS Larne.

Larne
History
United Kingdom
NameLarne
NamesakeLarne
BuilderJohn I. Thornycroft & Company, Woolston
Laid down8 December 1909
Launched23 August 1910
CompletedFebruary 1911
Out of service9 May 1921
FateSold to be broken up
General characteristics (as built)
Class and typeAcorn-class destroyer
Displacement730 long tons (740 t) normal
Length246 ft (75 m) o.a.
Beam25 ft 5 in (7.7 m)
Draught8 ft 6 in (2.6 m)
Installed power4 Yarrow boilers, 13,500 shp (10,100 kW)
PropulsionParsons steam turbines, 3 shafts
Speed27 kn (50 km/h; 31 mph)
Range1,540 nmi (2,850 km; 1,770 mi) at 15 kn (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Complement72
Armament

HMS Larne was one of 20 Acorn-class (later H-class) destroyers built for the Royal Navy. The destroyer served in the First World War. The Acorn class were smaller than the preceding Beagle class but oil-fired and better armed. Launched in 1910, Larne participated in exercises that took place the following year, sustaining damage during the activity, and then a naval demonstration for Members of Parliament in 1912. At the start of the war, the ship served with the Second Destroyer Flotilla of the Grand Fleet. The destroyer undertook anti-submarine patrols around the British Isles, from Devonport to the Outer Hebrides. Despite being involved in many actions, the ship did not sink any enemy submarines. Larne ended the war in Brindisi with the Mediterranean Fleet. After the Armistice, the destroyer was placed in reserve before being sold to be broken up in 1921.

Design and description[edit]

Main article: Acorn-class destroyer

After the coal-burning Beagle class, the Acorn-class destroyers saw a return to oil-firing. Pioneered by the Tribal class of 1905 and HMS Swift of 1907, using oil enabled a more efficient design, leading to a smaller vessel which also had increased deck space available for weaponry.[1] Unlike previous destroyer designs, where the individual yards had been given discretion within the parameters set by the Admiralty, the Acorn class were a set, with the propulsion machinery the only major variation between the different ships.[2] This enabled costs to be reduced.[3] The class was renamed H class in October 1913.[4]

Larne was 240 ft (73 m) long between perpendiculars and 246 ft (75 m) overall, with a beam of 25 ft 5 in (7.7 m) and a deep draught of 8 ft 6 in (2.6 m). Displacement was 730 long tons (820 short tons; 740 tonnes) normal and 855 long tons (958 short tons; 869 t) full load.[5] Power was provided by Parsons steam turbines, fed by four Yarrow boilers.[6] Parsons supplied a complex of seven turbines, a high-pressure and two low pressure for high speed, two turbines for cruising and two for running astern, driving three shafts. The high-pressure turbine drove the centre shaft, the remainder being distributed amongst two wing-shafts.[2] Three funnels were fitted, the foremost tall and thin, the central short and thick and the aft narrow.[7] The engines were rated at 13,500 shaft horsepower (10,100 kW) and design speed was 27 knots (50 km/h; 31 mph). On trial, Larne achieved 27.9 kn (51.7 km/h; 32.1 mph).[4] The vessel carried 170 long tons (170 t) of fuel oil which gave a range of 1,540 nautical miles (2,850 km; 1,770 mi) at a cruising speed of 15 kn (28 km/h; 17 mph).[5][6]

Armament consisted of a single BL 4 in (102 mm) Mk VIII gun carried on the forecastle and another aft. Two single QF 12-pounder 3 in (76 mm) guns were mounted between the first two funnels.[8] Two rotating 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes were mounted aft of the funnels, with two reloads carried, and a searchlight fitted between the tubes.[9] The destroyer was later modified to carry a single Vickers QF 3-pounder 2 in (47 mm) anti-aircraft gun and depth charges for anti-submarine warfare.[10] The ship's complement was 72 officers and ratings.[6]

Construction and career[edit]

The 20 destroyers of the Acorn class were ordered by the Admiralty under the 1909–1910 Naval Programme. One of three in the class built by John I. Thornycroft & Company, Larne was laid down at the company's Woolston shipyard on 8 December 1909, launched on 23 August 1910 and completed in February 1911.[11] The ship was the third in Royal Navy service to be named after the town of Larne in Northern Ireland.[12][13]

Larne joined the Second Destroyer Flotilla.[14] On 8 August 1911, the destroyer participated in a fleet exercise in the Irish Sea that pitted two fleets against each other. Despite being part of the winning "blue" fleet, the destroyer suffered damage as the high speed manoeuvres meant that rivets were strained so much that water entered the hull, mixing with oil in the bunkers. Larne was repaired quickly and soon back in service.[15] On 9 July 1912, the destroyer took part in a naval demonstration organised by Winston Churchill, First Lord of the Admiralty, for Members of Parliament.[16] Larne remained part of the Second Destroyer Flotilla in 1913.[17]

After the British Empire declared war on Germany at the beginning of the First World War in August 1914, the flotilla became part of the Grand Fleet and the destroyers were deployed to Devonport to undertake escort duties.[6][18] Following reports of submarine activity in Loch Ròg and other areas of the Outer Hebrides on 12 and 13 November, Larne and sister ship Rifleman were dispatched to the area, and found what they felt was evidence of their operation. However, this was illusionary as there were no German submarines in the area at the time.[19] On 2 February the following year, the destroyer was part of a division led by sister ship Cameleon that was transferred to Barrow-in-Furness to provide anti-submarine patrols.[20] The division was then commanded to sail with the dreadnought battleship Conqueror, which was travelling to Liverpool for repairs. Accompanying the battleship into Liverpool on 14 February and then travelling on to Scapa Flow, Larne was the only member of the division to manage the whole journey, Cameleon being damaged at Greenock and the remaining destroyers leaking and having to leave early.[21]

A year later, on 14 February 1916, Larne was recommissioned at Devonport.[22] On 28 April, while returning to Devonport from escorting merchant ships, the destroyer shot at a surfaced submarine at long range, likely to be U-45, but no hits were reported. However, the sighting was sufficient for the Admiralty to immediately halt all merchant sailing in the Irish Sea, seeing this as the only way to ensure ships were not sunk there.[23] On 9 September, after movements had resumed, the destroyer rescued the crew of the merchant ship Pronto, sunk by submarine the night before.[24] During 1917, the destroyer was transferred to the Mediterranean Fleet based at Brindisi.[25] Larne was serving with the Aegean Squadron on 20 January 1918, once again acting as an escort protecting shipping against submarines.[26]

After the Armistice, the Royal Navy returned to a peacetime level of strength and both the number of ships and the amount of personnel needed to be reduced to save money.[27] Larne was decommissioned and place in reserve at Devonport.[28] The vessel was sold to be broken up at Lelant to Thos. W. Ward on 9 May 1921.[13]

Pennant numbers[edit]

Pennant Number Date
H60 December 1914[29]
H67 January 1918[30]
H97 January 1919[31]

References[edit]

Citations[edit]

  1. ^ Brown 2010, p. 69.
  2. ^ a b Brassey 1912, p. 28.
  3. ^ Brown 2010, p. 68.
  4. ^ a b Parkes & Prendergast 1969, p. 113.
  5. ^ a b Friedman 2009, p. 295.
  6. ^ a b c d Preston 1985, p. 74.
  7. ^ Friedman 2009, p. 119.
  8. ^ March 1966, p. 112.
  9. ^ Friedman 2009, p. 211.
  10. ^ Friedman 2009, p. 147.
  11. ^ Friedman 2009, p. 306.
  12. ^ Manning & Walker 1959, p. 263.
  13. ^ a b Colledge & Warlow 2006, p. 194.
  14. ^ "Naval and Military Intelligence; Movements of Ships". The Times. No. 39866. 6 April 1912. p. 4.
  15. ^ "Stern Mimic Naval War: Seven Destroyers Crippled but Triumphant: Thrilling Sea Fight". Geelong Advertiser. Geelong, Australia. 9 August 1911. p. 3. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
  16. ^ "The Sailing Of The Fleet". The Times. No. 39866. 10 July 1912. p. 4.
  17. ^ "275a Larne (Dev.) Torpedo Boat Destroyer". The Navy List: 338. July 1913. Retrieved 7 July 2022 – via National Library of Scotland.
  18. ^ Naval Staff Monograph No. 30 1926, p. 193.
  19. ^ Naval Staff Monograph No. 28 1925, p. 48.
  20. ^ Naval Staff Monograph No. 29 1925, p. 15.
  21. ^ Naval Staff Monograph No. 29 1925, p. 57.
  22. ^ "450 Larne (Dev.) Torpedo Boat Destroyer". The Navy List: 828. July 1919. Retrieved 7 July 2022 – via National Library of Scotland.
  23. ^ Naval Staff Monograph No. 31 1926, pp. 123, 124, 250.
  24. ^ Naval Staff Monograph No. 33 1927, p. 136.
  25. ^ "XV Mediterranean". Supplement to the Monthly Navy List: 22. July 1918. Retrieved 7 July 2022 – via National Library of Scotland.
  26. ^ Newbolt 1931, p. 87.
  27. ^ Moretz 2002, p. 79.
  28. ^ "V Vessels in Reserve at Home Bases and Other Ports". Supplement to the Monthly Navy List: 17. July 1919. Retrieved 7 July 2022 – via National Library of Scotland.
  29. ^ Bush & Warlow 2021, p. 74.
  30. ^ Bush & Warlow 2021, p. 75.
  31. ^ Bush & Warlow 2021, p. 76.

Bibliography[edit]

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