HMS Orwell (1898)
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HMS Orwell was a B-class torpedo boat destroyer of the British Royal Navy. She was built by Laird, Son & Company, and served from 1900 until 1920.
Construction and design
As part of the 1897–1898 construction programme for the Royal Navy, the British Admiralty placed an order with Laird, Son & Company of Birkenhead for a single "thirty-knotter" destroyer. Laird's design was based on the Script error: No such module "WPSHIPS utilities". of six destroyers ordered under the 1895–1896 programme, which were in turn closely based on Laird's Script error: No such module "WPSHIPS utilities". ordered under the 1894–1895 programme.[1]
Orwell had an overall length of Script error: No such module "convert"., with a beam of Script error: No such module "convert". and a draught of Script error: No such module "convert".. The ship was powered by two triple expansion steam engines, fed by four Normand boilers, rated at Script error: No such module "convert". and was fitted with four funnels, giving a speed of 30 knots.[2][3] Displacement was Script error: No such module "convert". light and Script error: No such module "convert". full load.[3]
Armament was as normal for the "thirty-knotters", with a QF 12 pounder 12 cwt (Script error: No such module "convert". calibre) gun on a platform on the ship's conning tower (in practice the platform was also used as the ship's bridge), with a secondary armament of five 6-pounder guns, and two 18 inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes.[4][5]
HMS Orwell was laid down on 9 November 1897 and launched on 29 September 1898.[6]
Service
Orwell was completed in January 1900, joining the Mediterranean Squadron in April that year, under the command of Commander Ralph Hudleston.[6][7] In September 1902 she visited Nauplia with other ships of the squadron.[8] Early the following year she took part in a three-weeks cruise with other ships of her squadron in the Greek islands around Corfu.[9] While there, Orwell collided with the cruiser HMS Pioneer on 30 January 1903, during night exercises near Corfu. OrwellTemplate:'s bow was cut off in the collision with the loss of 15 of her crew.[10][11]
Orwell returned to the United Kingdom in 1906, remaining in home waters for the rest of her Royal Navy career.[6] In 1910, Orwell was part of the Fifth Destroyer Flotilla at Devonport, supported by the destroyer depot ship Script error: No such module "WPSHIPS utilities"., and was still a part of the same flotilla in 1912.[10]
On 30 August 1912 the Admiralty directed all destroyers were to be grouped into classes designated by letters based on appearance.[12][13] to provide some system to the naming of HM destroyers. "30 knotter" vessels with 4 funnels, were classified by the Admiralty as the B-class, the 3-funnelled, "30 knotters" became the C-class and the 2-funnelled ships the D-class). As a four-funneled ship, Orwell was listed as a B-class destroyer on 1 October 1913.[14] By 1913, she was part as the Seventh Destroyer Flotilla,[10] still based at Devonport, one of four patrol flotillas equipped with older destroyers and torpedo boats.[15][16]
On the outbreak of the First World War, the Seventh Destroyer Flotilla was transferred to the East coast of the United Kingdom.[17] Late in 1914, Orwell was transferred to Scapa Flow, where she carried out local patrol and escort duties.[10][18][19] By March 1918, Orwell was one of only three destroyers assigned to local defence of Scapa,[20] but by June that year she had been transferred to the Irish Sea Flotilla.[21]
Orwell was sold for scrap to S Castle of Plymouth on 1 July 1920 and was broken up in October 1922.[22]
References
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- ↑ Lyon 2001, pp. 61–63.
- ↑ Lyon 2001, pp. 61, 63.
- ↑ a b Chesneau and Kolesnik 1979, p. 94.
- ↑ Lyon 2001, pp. 98–99.
- ↑ Friedman 2009, p. 40.
- ↑ a b c Lyon 2001, p. 63.
- ↑ Script error: No such module "template wrapper".
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- ↑ a b c d Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Gardiner and Gray 1985, p. 18.
- ↑ Manning 1961, pp. 17–18.
- ↑ Gardiner and Gray 1985, p. 73.
- ↑ Manning 1961, p. 25.
- ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
- ↑ Manning 1961, pp. 25–26.
- ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
- ↑ Manning 1961, p. 27.
- ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
- ↑ Dittmar and Colledge 1972, p. 57.
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Bibliography
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- Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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- Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".