H.M.S. Spitfire (1912)
| H.M.S. Spitfire (1912) | |
|---|---|
| Pendant Number: | H.41 (1914) H.1A (Jan 1918)[1] |
| Builder: | Swan Hunter[2] |
| Launched: | 23 Dec, 1912[3] |
| Completed: | Jun, 1913[4] |
| Sold: | May, 1921[5] |
H.M.S. Spitfire was one of twenty destroyers of the Acasta class.
There was also an 27 knotter of 1895 named Spitfire.
Service
Spitfire was ordered to join the Fourth Destroyer Flotilla upon commissioning.[6]
Under command of Clarence W. E. Trelawny, Spitfire was one of seven Acasta class destroyers of the Fourth Destroyer Flotilla that saw action during the Scarborough Raid on 16 December 1914, acting as one of three destroyers in the second division.[7]
At the Battle of Jutland, Spitfire operated with the Fourth Destroyer Flotilla, also under the command of Lieutenant-Commander Clarence W. E. Trelawny. During the battle, Trelawny felt he torpedoed and sank a four-funneled cruiser of indeterminate type. In the night action, she avoided a direct ramming attempt by the German battleship Nassau, but collided heavily with the dreadnought, which she wrongly judged to be a cruiser. Spitfire collected a 20 foot section of armour and side-plating from Nassau before sustaining heavy blast damage to her upper works when the battleship fired her 11-in guns overhead.[8]
| H.M.S. Spitfire after Battle of Jutland | ||
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On the night of 12 September 1916 under the command of Lieutenant Humphrey Maurice Robson, Spitfire was credited with sinking an enemy submarine by ramming while helping rescue the survivors of the hospital ship Rhodesia after she'd been torpedoed 160 miles off Fastnet by U 82. Despite the claimed sinking, no known U-boat loss seems to coincide with this date.[9]
Spitfire was reduced to a C. & M. Party at Devonport on 15 October, 1919.[10]
Captains
Dates of appointment are provided when known.
- Lieutenant-Commander Clarence W. E. Trelawny, 17 June, 1913[11][12] – 1 July, 1916[13] (in command at Battle of Jutland)
- Lieutenant in Command Humphrey M. Robson, 25 July, 1916[14][15] – 8 December, 1916[16]
- Lieutenant-Commander Edward R. M. Geake, 25 January, 1917[17][18] – 16 August, 1917[19]
- Lieutenant in Command James A. Douglas-Hamilton, 16 August, 1917[20] – 16 April, 1918
- Lieutenant & Commander Charles W. T. V. S. Lepper, 15 April, 1918 – 5 November, 1918
- Lieutenant in Command William V. H. Harris, 4 January, 1919[21] – 25 February, 1919
See Also
Footnotes
- ↑ Dittmar; Colledge. British Warships 1914–1919. p. 63.
- ↑ Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. p. 75.
- ↑ Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. p. 75.
- ↑ Friedman. British Destroyers. p. 307.
- ↑ Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. p. 75.
- ↑ The Navy List. (July, 1913). p. 377.
- ↑ Naval Operations. Volume II. pp. 26-30.
- ↑ Battle of Jutland Official Despatches. pp. 34, 44, 306.
- ↑ Robson Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/52/55. f. 411.
- ↑ The Navy List. (January, 1921). p. 866.
- ↑ Trelawny Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/46/32. f. 32.
- ↑ The Navy List. (October, 1915). p. 398d-k.
- ↑ Trelawny Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/46/32. f. 32.
- ↑ Robson Service Records. The National Archives. ADM 196/52/55. f. 411.
- ↑ The Navy List. (December, 1916). p. 398d-k.
- ↑ Robson Service Records. The National Archives. ADM 196/52/55. f. 411.
- ↑ Geake Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/51/243. F. 257.
- ↑ The Navy List. (August, 1917). p. 398.
- ↑ Geake Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/51/243. F. 257.
- ↑ The Navy List. (November, 1917). p. 398.
- ↑ The Navy List. (February, 1919). p. 910.
Bibliography
| Acasta Class Destroyer | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Acasta | Achates | Ambuscade | Christopher | Cockatrice | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Contest | Shark | Sparrowhawk | Spitfire | Lynx | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Midge | Owl | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Hardy | Paragon | Porpoise | Unity | Victor | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other Specials | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ardent | Fortune | Garland | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| <– | Acheron Class | Destroyers (UK) | Laforey Class | –> | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
