HMS Orpheus (1916)

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

Orpheus in 1918
History
United Kingdom
NameHMS Orpheus
NamesakeOrpheus
OrderedNovember 1914
BuilderDoxford, Sunderland
Launched17 June 1916
CompletedSeptember 1916
Out of service1 November 1921
FateSold to be broken up
General characteristics
Class and typeAdmiralty M-class destroyer
Displacement
  • 950 long tons (970 t) normal
  • 1,021 long tons (1,037 t) full load
Length265 ft (80.77 m) p.p.
Beam26 ft 9 in (8.15 m)
Draught16 ft 3 in (4.95 m)
Propulsion
Speed34 knots (63.0 km/h; 39.1 mph)
Range3,450 nmi (6,390 km; 3,970 mi) at 15 kn (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Complement76
Armament

HMS Orpheus was a Repeat Admiralty M-class destroyer which served in the Royal Navy during the First World War. The M class were an improvement on the previous L-class, capable of higher speed. The vessel was launched on 17 June 1916 and joined the Grand Fleet. Orpheus spent much of the war undertaking anti-submarine warfare patrols in the North Sea and escorting convoys across the Atlantic Ocean. In 1917, the destroyer was involved in a friendly fire incident with the British submarine J1. After the Armistice that marked the end of the First World War, the destroyer joined the Home Fleet. However, this role did not last long and the destroyer was deemed superfluous to requirements. Soon after, Orpheus was placed in reserve, decommissioned and, on 1 November 1921, sold to be broken up.

Design and development[edit]

Orpheus was one of twenty-two Repeat Admiralty M-class destroyer destroyers ordered by the British Admiralty in November 1914 as part of the Third War Construction Programme.[1] The M-class was an improved version of the earlier L-class destroyer destroyers, originally envisaged to reach the higher speed of 36 knots (67 km/h; 41 mph) in order to counter rumoured German fast destroyers, although the eventual specification was designed for a more economic 34 knots (63 km/h; 39 mph).[2] The Repeat M class differed from the prewar vessels in having a raked stem and design improvements based on wartime experience.[3]

The destroyer was 265 feet (80.77 m) long between perpendiculars, with a beam of 26 feet 9 inches (8.15 m) and a draught of 16 feet 3 inches (4.95 m). Displacement was 950 long tons (970 t) normal and 1,021 long tons (1,037 t) deep load. Power was provided by three Yarrow boilers feeding two Brown-Curtis steam turbines rated at 25,000 shaft horsepower (19,000 kW) and driving two shafts.[3] Three funnels were fitted and 296 long tons (301 t) of oil was carried, giving a design range of 3,450 nautical miles (6,390 km; 3,970 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph).[4]

Armament consisted of three single 4-inch (102 mm) Mk IV QF guns on the ship's centreline, with one on the forecastle, one aft on a raised platform and one between the middle and aft funnels. A single 2-pounder (40 mm) pom-pom anti-aircraft gun was carried, while torpedo armament consisted of two twin mounts for 21 in (533 mm) torpedoes.[5] The ship had a complement of 76 officers and ratings.[4]

Construction and career[edit]

Laid down at their shipyard in Sunderland, Orpheus was launched by William Doxford & Sons on 17 June 1916 and completed during September.[3] The destroyer was the sixth Royal Navy ship to be named after Orpheus, the poet in Greek mythology that travelled to the world of Hades in search of Eurydice.[6][7] The vessel was deployed as part of the Grand Fleet, joining the Thirteenth Destroyer Flotilla at Scapa Flow.[8]

The destroyer was active in anti-submarine warfare but with variable results. On 18 January 1917, Orpheus was one of six destroyers that undertook patrols termed "high speed sweeps" in the North Sea using paravanes. No submarines were sighted.[9] The destroyer did spot a submarine on 19 March while on patrol and attacked with gunfire, the shells narrowly missing the conning tower. However, the victim was the British boat J1 and the friendly fire incident led to a reassessment of the advice given to submarines.[10] The Admiralty identified that the patrols were not as successful as they needed and so withdrew destroyers like Orpheus to focus on the more effective convoy model.[11] The destroyer was escorting a convoy of five empty oilers returning to Texas when one, SS Oakleaf, was torpedoed by the submarine UC-41 on 25 July.[12]

After the armistice, the Grand Fleet was disbanded and Orpheus temporarily joined the Fourth Destroyer Flotilla of the Home Fleet.[13] However, the harsh conditions of wartime service, exacerbated by the fact that the hull was not galvanised and operations often required high speed in high seas, meant that the destroyer was worn out.[14] When the Royal Navy returned to a peacetime level of mobilisation, Orpheus was declared superfluous to operational requirements. The destroyer was initially transferred to Chatham on 15 October 1919 and placed in reserve.[15] However, this position did not last long. Orpheus was decommissioned, sold to Fryer on 1 November 1921 and returned to Sunderland to be broken up.[7]

Pennant numbers[edit]

Pennant Number Date
G43 September 1915[16]
F17 January 1917[17]
F35 January 1918[18]
H28 March 1918[19]
F87 January 1919[20]

References[edit]

Citations[edit]

  1. ^ 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. ^ Preston 1985, p. 79.
  6. ^ Manning & Walker 1959, p. 327.
  7. ^ a b Colledge & Warlow 2006, p. 252.
  8. ^ "Destroyer Flotillas of the Grand Fleet". The Navy List: 12. October 1916. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
  9. ^ Naval Staff Monograph No. 34 1933, p. 91.
  10. ^ Naval Staff Monograph No. 34 1933, pp. 268–269.
  11. ^ Newbolt 1928, p. 383.
  12. ^ Naval Staff Monograph No. 35 1939, pp. 232.
  13. ^ "II Home Fleet", The Navy List, p. 703, July 1920, retrieved 23 March 2022 – via National Library of Scotland
  14. ^ Preston 1985, p. 80.
  15. ^ "647 Orpheus", The Navy List, p. 818, July 1920, retrieved 23 March 2022 – via National Library of Scotland
  16. ^ Dittmar & Colledge 1972, p. 66.
  17. ^ Bush & Warlow 2021, p. 46.
  18. ^ Bush & Warlow 2021, p. 48.
  19. ^ Bush & Warlow 2021, p. 72.
  20. ^ Bush & Warlow 2021, p. 52.

Bibliography[edit]

  • 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, J.J.; 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 978-0-71100-380-4.
  • Friedman, Norman (2009). British Destroyers: From Earliest Days to the First World War. Barnsley: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-049-9.
  • Manning, Thomas Davys; Walker, Charles Frederick (1959). British Warship Names. London: Putnam. OCLC 780274698.
  • 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. 34: Home Waters Part VIII: December 1916 to April 1917 (PDF). Naval Staff Monographs (Historical). Vol. XVIII. Naval Staff, Training and Staff Duties Division. 1933.
  • Monograph No. 35: Home Waters Part IX: 1st May 1917 to 31st July 1917 (PDF). Naval Staff Monographs (Historical). Vol. XIX. Naval Staff, Training and Staff Duties Division. 1939.
  • Newbolt, Henry (1928). Naval Operations: Volume IV. History of the Great War. London: Longmans, Green and Co. OCLC 1049894132.
  • Parkes, Oscar; Prendergast, Maurice (1969). Jane's Fighting Ships 1919. Newton Abbott: David & Charles. OCLC 907574860.
  • 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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