H.M.S. Thrasher (1895)

H.M.S. Thrasher (1895)
Pendant Number:	D.79 (1914) D.94 (Sep 1915) D.90 (Jan 1918)
Builder:	Laird
Ordered:	1894-95 Programme
Laid down:	30 May, 1895
Launched:	5 Nov, 1895
Commissioned:	Jun, 1897
Broken up:	1919

H.M.S. Thrasher was one of twenty-four "B" class destroyers built for the Royal Navy — a "30 knotter".

Service

Thrasher was named at launch on 5 November 1895 by Miss Eleanor B. Laird, daughter of the late Mr. Macgregor Laird, "the African explorer of the Niger and its tributaries". She made a full-power coal consumption trial on the Clyde on 15 December 1896, obtaining a speed of 30.02 knots over three hours. On 13 January 1897, she obtained 30.34 knots and completed her steering trials.

Early in her career, Thasher was observed to require 8-10 knots speed to steer reliably and she made a knot per 12 revolutions.

She arrived at Devonport on 9 April to be completed for sea. She was specially commissioned at Deveonport on 15 June for service with the Mobilized Fleet.

After participating as one of thirty T.B.Ds. in the Diamond Jubilee, Thrasher was assigned to a division of destroyers to exercise off Plymouth for three days under the overall command of Captain H. B. Jackson.

The destroyer paid off at Devonport on 12 July 1897.

She was commissioned along with the Virago on 10 August 1897 for the Pacific Station, tender to the second class protected cruiser Phaeton. They departed Plymouth on 19 August after Thrasher obtained 26 knots at her commissioning trials, one knot less than Virago.

Collision, August 1897

Thrasher suffered the first of two accidents early in her service that same day as they set out for Vigo, when she collided with Phaeton in a cloudy night of heavy rain following a wrongly-copied course change signal. Both vessels were damaged and a First-Class Petty Officer named Cruikshank was drowned. Thrasher had her fore funnel, steel breakwater and gun mountings removed, and her crew transferred to the Sparrowhawk for passage to the Pacific, the latter destroyer having been diverted from previous plans to join the North American and West Indies Station.

Thrasher's Lieutenant & Commander Oscar Valentin de Satgé and Gunner Frank C. Marston were Court Martialled on 27 August aboard the first class protected cruiser Blenheim. Thrasher had been six cables distant from her cruiser, on the starboard beam. A Morse flashed signal from Phaeton for a course change to south 58° west was copied in Thrasher as "south 38° west, which error produced a course on which the destroyer was converging on her leader by 20 degrees. The collision occurred either 15 or 25 minutes following the course change, and navigating Lieutenant Guy M. Marston in Phaeton heard Thrasher's syren a minute or two before the impact, though he could not see her hull.

The flashed signal proved difficult at both ends. Sidney Bastin, the signalman of the Phaeton, tried first to signal from the lower bridge, but he received the reply, "get further aft". Bastin, for some reason, did precisely the opposite – he moved to the forecastle. The signal made from there elicited the general answer from Alfred Dunstan, the signalman aboard Thrasher. It is worth noting that a Morse "5" (as in "south 58 west") is five long flashes, and a "3" (as in "south 38 west") three short flashes and two long. Durstin reported he'd had difficulty seeing the signal flashes due to glare from Phaeton's bow light and the rolling of his own destroyer, as a downward roll prevented him from seeing the remote light at all. Durstin admitted that in this case he only saw the first three flashes of the numeral, and that the unseen flashes left open the possibility that it was "3", "4" or "5". He apologized that he had not informed the officer of the watch of the dubious reception of the signal.

Lieutenant de Satgé testified that he had left the deck of Thrasher at 8.30 after over six hours on deck, leaving gunner Marston in charge of the ship. When a man came to his cabin to report the course change signal at 9pm, de Satgé started putting on his sea boots to go check that all was well when he heard the steam whistle blowing and the engines being reversed, as well as much shouting. He ran on deck and was halfway up the companion ladder when the collision occurred.

Lieutenant C. D. Graham, officer of the watch aboard Phaeton, reported he was making 9-10 knots at the time of the accident, and while he did not observe the destroyer approaching, he did hear its whistle and responded by stopping his engines and starboarding his helm.

Thrasher's Marston pointed out a ten minute discrepancy in signal time reports between the two ships, and the fact that Phaeton was not showing the customary position lights which would have made it easier to discern her course. No defence witnesses were called. The court acquitted de Satgé and Marston was severely reprimanded and dismissed the ship.

Grounding, September 1897

On the morning of 29 September 1897, Thrasher ran aground along with Lynx off Cornwall. Thrasher's bows were shortened by about two feet (four tons weight) as part of the repairs, which was duly effected on 11 October, and she would have to be cut in two and a bend in the hull made good. It was intended that the lost length in the bow would be inserted before mending the halved hull.

The grounding resulted in a Court Martial on the morning of 13 October, with Commander Robert Henry Travers charged with having negligently or by default stranded his ship. Thrasher had been leading the Lynx by a cable's length in a thick fog. Soundings were being taken at every quarter hour, but speed was never reduced to facilitate this operation; the last sounding was taken at twelve knots about two minuutes before the grounding and revealed sand and shell at 26 fathoms. When land was suddenly seen ahead, a signal was being hoisted to reduce speed to ten knots and Travers ordered his engines astern but could find no good place to run his ship aground, and he struck at seven or eight knots. The engine room responded with alacrity, despite having been provided no advance warning that they might have to suddenly reverse.

Further Operations

In early March, 1901, Thrasher returned to Plymouth escorted by the Locust after three weeks cruising in the Channel, leaking badly, it was supposed, due to strain which occurred during a recent transit from Kingstown.

In April, 1902, Thrasher collided with the Coquette, and her Captain Raikes was found at fault. He was warned to be more cautious in future.

Thrasher arrived at Malta on 2 February 1904 in company with six other destroyers.

In mid-1913, she was serving with the Seventh Destroyer Flotilla — a patrol flotilla.

On 8 February, 1917, she sank UC 39 after blowing her to the surface with a single well-placed depth charge. This feat would earn him his D.S.O., Vice-Admiral Commanding, East Coast of England Stuart Nicholson writing, "It was owing to the able manner and good judgment with which Lt. Hawkins handled his ship that the capture of Germ. S/M/ UC 39 was effected."

In September, 1917 when she transferred to the Nore Local Defence Flotilla, serving there until at December, 1918. From January, 1919, she remained at The Nore "temporarily".

Captains

Dates of appointment are provided when known.

• Lieutenant & Commander Philip Francklin, 15 June, 1897 – August, 1897  (participated in the Jubilee Naval Review and the Annual Manoeuvres of 1897)
• Lieutenant & Commander Oscar V. de Satgé, 3 August, 1897
• Commander Robert H. Travers, 10 September, 1897 – 17 November, 1897
• Commander Alexander L. Duff, 17 November, 1897 – 26 December, 1897
• Lieutenant & Commander Walter M. Ellerton, 30 July, 1898 – 6 October, 1898
• Lieutenant & Commander Thomas D. Pratt, 25 August, 1899 – 25 August, 1900
• Lieutenant in Command Harry F. Cayley, 25 August, 1900
• Lieutenant & Commander Arthur K. Macrorie, 15 November, 1900 – 16 March, 1901
• Lieutenant & Commander Cecil D. S. Raikes, 5 December, 1901 – 3 August, 1902
• Lieutenant in Command Cecil D. S. Raikes, 16 October, 1902 – 21 December, 1903
• Lieutenant & Commander Norman H. Carter, 21 December, 1903 – 28 December, 1904
• Lieutenant & Commander Cecil H. Pilcher, 5 April, 1905 – 8 September, 1906
• Lieutenant & Commander Archibald T. Stewart, 1 October, 1906 – 13 April, 1907
• Lieutenant & Commander George Johnstone, 13 April, 1907 – 8 August, 1907
• Lieutenant & Commander Rodney S. Hewlett, 18 August, 1907 – 19 November, 1907
• Lieutenant & Commander George H. Knowles, 19 November, 1907 – 24 January, 1910
• Lieutenant & Commander Reginald Watkins Grubb, 24 January, 1910 – 10 September, 1910
• Lieutenant & Commander Richard A. A. Plowden, 10 September, 1910 – 4 January, 1911
• Commander Hugh J. Tweedie, 4 January, 1911 – 1 March, 1911
• Lieutenant & Commander Thomas K. Maxwell, 1 March, 1911 – 26 March, 1912
• Lieutenant-Commander Reginald B. C. Hutchinson, 10 September, 1912 – 14 October, 1912
• Lieutenant & Commander Henry V. Hudson, 14 October, 1912 – 22 September, 1913
• Commander Douglas W. Hamilton-Gordon, 22 September, 1913 – 20 January, 1914  (died while in command)
• Commander Hugh T. Prichard, 23 January, 1914 – October, 1914
• Lieutenant R.N.R. in Command Ernest M. Hawkins, 6 May, 1915 – 10 May, 1917
• Lieutenant R.N.R. in Command Lionel M. Kelly, 7 May, 1917 – 31 July, 1917
• Lieutenant R.N.R. in Command Walter H. Poole, 30 April, 1918 – 25 January, 1919

See Also

• Wikipedia