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HMS Orcadia (1916)

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History
United Kingdom
NameOrcadia
OrderedFebruary 1915
BuilderFairfield, Govan
Yard number518
Laid down24 June 1915
Launched26 July 1916
Completed29 September 1916
Out of service31 October 1921
FateSold to be broken up
General characteristics
Class and typeAdmiralty M-class destroyer
Displacement948 long tons (963 t) (normal)
Length
  • 273 ft 4 in (83.3 m) (o/a)
  • 265 feet (80.8 m) (p.p.)
Beam26 ft 8 in (8.1 m)
Draught8 ft 11 in (2.7 m)
Installed power3 Yarrow boilers, 27,800 shp (20,700 kW)
PropulsionBrown-Curtiss steam turbines, 3 shafts
Speed34 knots (63 km/h; 39 mph)
Range2,530 nmi (4,690 km; 2,910 mi) at 15 kn (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Complement80
Armament

HMS Orcadia was a Repeat Admiralty M-class destroyer that served in the Royal Navy during the First World War. The M class was an improvement on those of the preceding L class, capable of higher speed. Orcadia had a largely uneventful war. Joining the Fifteenth Destroyer Flotilla of the Grand Fleet in 1917, the ship was dispatched from the flotilla to the naval base Portsmouth, serving with the Local Defence Flotilla. The destroyer was allocated to the paravave depot, operating there into 1918. The paravane was a weapon used in anti-submarine warfare and minesweeping, although it lost favour with the Royal Navy as the war progressed. After the Armistice that ended the war, Orcadia remained with the Local Defence Flotilla at Portsmouth and was sold in 1921 to be broken up.

Design and development

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Orcadia was one of 16 Repeat Admiralty M-class destroyers ordered by the British Admiralty in February 1915 as part of the Fourth War Programme soon after the start of the First World War.[1] The M class was an improved version of the earlier L class, required to reach a higher speed in order to counter rumoured new German fast destroyers. The remit was to have a maximum speed of 36 knots (67 km/h; 41 mph) and, although ultimately the destroyers fell short of that ambition in service, the extra performance that was achieved was valued by the navy. It transpired that the German warships did not exist.[2] The Repeat M class differed from the prewar vessels in having a raked stem and minor design improvements based on wartime experience.[3]

The destroyer had a length of 265 ft (80.8 m) between perpendiculars and 273 ft 4 in (83.3 m) overall, with a beam of 26 ft 8 in (8.1 m) and draught of 8 ft 11 in (2.7 m).[4] Displacement was 948 long tons (963 t) normal. Power was provided by three Yarrow boilers feeding Brown-Curtiss steam turbines rated at 27,800 shaft horsepower (20,700 kW). The turbines drove three shafts and exhausted through three funnels. Design speed was 34 knots (63 km/h; 39 mph), which the vessel exceeded on trials.[3][1] A total of 228 long tons (232 t) of oil was carried to give a design range of 2,530 nautical miles (4,690 km; 2,910 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph).[4] The ship had a complement of 80 officers and ratings.[5]

Orcadia had a main armament consisting of three single QF 4-inch (102 mm) Mk IV guns on the 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 torpedo tubes for 21 in (533 mm) torpedoes located aft of the funnels.[6][7] Two single 1-pounder 37 mm (1.5 in) "pom-pom" anti-aircraft guns were carried.[5] The anti-aircraft guns were later replaced by 2-pdr 40 mm (1.6 in) "pom-pom" guns and the destroyer was also fitted with racks and storage for depth charges.[8] Initially, only two depth charges were carried but the number increased in service and by 1918, the vessel was carrying between 30 and 50 depth charges.[9]

Construction and career

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Orcadia was laid down by Fairfield at their shipyard in Govan on 24 June 1915 with yard number 518 at a cost of £146,528 to build, launched on 26 July 1916 and completed on 29 September the same year, the first of the name in service with the Royal Navy.[10][3][11] The vessel was deployed as part of the Grand Fleet, joining the Fifteenth Destroyer Flotilla.[12] On 22 November, the flotilla took part in exercises north of the Shetland Islands under the dreadnought Iron Duke that also involved the majority of the First and Third Battle Squadrons.[13]

At the start of the following year, Orcadia was detached from the flotilla to serve at Portsmouth naval base.[14] There, the ship joined the Local Defence Flotilla and was allocated to the paravane depot.[15] The paravane was a towed anti-submarine weapon that had been trialled by the Royal Navy on 27 May 1915 and was considered complementary to the depth charge.[16] It was also used for minesweeping.[17] However, the weapon had been increasingly ineffective, as the German submarines were able to dive below its 136 feet (41 m) maximum depth. Despite further work, the weapon increasingly became considered obsolete.[18] Nonetheless, the destroyer remained at the paravane depot into the following year.[19]

After the Armistice of 11 November 1918 that ended the war, the Royal Navy returned to a peacetime level of strength and both the number of ships and the amount of personnel in service needed to be reduced to save money.[20] Orcadia initially remained with the Local Defence Flotilla at Portsmouth.[21] However, this service did not last long. On 31 October 1921, the destroyer was retired and sold to W A T Burden to be broken up at Poole.[22]

Pennant numbers

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Pennant number Date
G53 September 1915[23]
G80 January 1917[23]
D30 January 1918[24]
G39 January 1919[25]

References

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Citations

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  1. ^ a b McBride 1991, p. 45.
  2. ^ Friedman 2009, p. 132.
  3. ^ a b c Parkes & Prendergast 1969, p. 109.
  4. ^ a b Friedman 2009, p. 296.
  5. ^ a b Preston 1985, p. 76.
  6. ^ Preston 1985, pp. 76, 80.
  7. ^ March 1966, p. 174.
  8. ^ Friedman 2009, pp. 150, 296.
  9. ^ Friedman 2009, p. 152.
  10. ^ Peebles 1986, p. 146.
  11. ^ Manning & Walker 1959, p. 324.
  12. ^ "Destroyer Flotillas of the Grand Fleet", Supplement to The Monthly Navy List, p. 12, October 1916, retrieved 30 November 2024 – via National Library of Scotland
  13. ^ Naval Staff Monograph No. 33 1927, p. 215.
  14. ^ Naval Staff Monograph No. 34 1933, p. 379.
  15. ^ "VIII.—Local Defence Flotillas", Supplement to the Monthly ]Navy List, p. 17, January 1917, retrieved 1 December 2024 – via National Library of Scotland
  16. ^ Friedman 2009, p. 150.
  17. ^ Friedman 2014, p. 350.
  18. ^ Friedman 2009, p. 151.
  19. ^ "VIII.—Local Defence Flotillas", Supplement to the Monthly ]Navy List, p. 18, January 1918, retrieved 1 December 2024 – via National Library of Scotland
  20. ^ Moretz 2002, p. 79.
  21. ^ "Local Defence and Training Establishments, Patrol Flotillas, etc.", The Navy List, p. 704, January 1920, retrieved 30 November 2024 – via National Library of Scotland
  22. ^ Colledge & Warlow 2006, p. 251.
  23. ^ a b Bush & Warlow 2021, p. 67.
  24. ^ Dittmar & Colledge 1972, p. 69.
  25. ^ Bush & Warlow 2021, p. 64.

Bibliography

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  • 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 978-1-526793-78-2.
  • Colledge, James Joseph; 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.
  • Dittmar, F.J.; Colledge, J.J. (1972). British Warships 1914–1919. Shepperton: Ian Allan. ISBN 0-7110-0380-7.
  • Friedman, Norman (2009). British Destroyers: From Earliest Days to the First World War. Barnsley: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-049-9.
  • Friedman, Norman (2014). Fighting the Great War at Sea: Strategy, Tactics and Technology. Barnsley: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-189-2.
  • 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. 33: Home Waters: Part VII: From June 1916 to November 1916 (PDF). Naval Staff Monographs (Historical). Vol. XVII. Naval Staff, Training and Staff Duties Division. 1927.
  • Monograph No. 34: Home Waters—Part VIII: December 1916 to April 1917 (PDF). Naval Staff Monographs (Historical). Vol. XVIII. The Naval Staff, Training and Staff Duties Division. 1933. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 August 2016. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  • Moretz, Joseph (2002). The Royal Navy and the Capital Ship in the Interwar Period. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-71465-196-5.
  • Parkes, Oscar; Prendergast, Maurice (1969). Jane's Fighting Ships 1919. Newton Abbott: David & Charles. OCLC 907574860.
  • Peebles, Hugh B. (1986). Warshipbuilding on the Clyde, 1889–1939: A Financial Study Volume 2: Appendixes (Thesis). University of Stirling.
  • 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.
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