HMS Mameluke (1915)

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History
United Kingdom
NameHMS Mameluke
NamesakeMameluke
OrderedNovember 1914
BuilderJohn Brown & Company, Clydebank
Yard number439
Laid down23 December 1914
Launched14 August 1915
Completed30 October 1915
Out of service22 September 1921
FateSold to be broken up
General characteristics
Class and typeAdmiralty M-class destroyer
Displacement
Length273 ft 8 in (83.4 m) (o.a.)
Beam26 ft 9 in (8.2 m)
Draught16 ft 3 in (5.0 m)
Installed power3 Yarrow boilers, 25,000 shp (19,000 kW)
PropulsionBrown-Curtis steam turbines, 3 shafts
Speed34 knots (63.0 km/h; 39.1 mph)
Range2,280 nmi (4,220 km) at 17 kn (31 km/h)
Complement80
Armament

HMS Mameluke was an Admiralty M-class destroyer which served with the Royal Navy during the First World War. The M class was an improvement on the preceding L class, capable of higher speeds. The ship, the first Royal Navy vessel to be named after the Mamelukes, a class of ex-slaves that ruled Egypt, was launched in 1915. The destroyer joined the Twelfth Destroyer Flotilla and, although under refit during the Battle of Jutland and so unable to participate, later took part in anti-submarine operations as part of this flotilla, although no submarines were sighted or sunk. The conditions of service in the North Sea meant that the destroyer was soon worn out and, after the armistice, Mameluke was placed in reserve. Despite a service life of only six years, the vessel was decommissioned and, in 1921, sold to be broken up.

Design and development[edit]

Mameluke was one of the nine Admiralty M-class destroyers ordered by the British Admiralty in November 1914 as part of the Second Emergency War Programme.[1] The M class was an improved version of the earlier L-class destroyers, required to reach a higher speed in order to counter rumoured German fast destroyers. The remit was to have a maximum speed of 36 knots (67 km/h; 41 mph) and, although the eventual design did not achieve this, the greater performance was appreciated by the navy. It transpired that the German ships did not exist.[2]

The destroyer was 273 feet 8 inches (83.4 m) long overall, with a beam of 26 feet 9 inches (8.2 m) and a draught of 16 feet 3 inches (5.0 m). Displacement was 860 long tons (870 t) normal and 1,021 long tons (1,037 t) full load.[3] Power was provided by three Yarrow boilers feeding Brown-Curtis steam turbines rated at 25,000 shaft horsepower (19,000 kW) that drove three shafts to give a design speed of 34 knots (63 km/h; 39 mph). Three funnels were fitted.[4] A total of 268 long tons (272 t) of oil could be carried, including 40 long tons (41 t) in peace tanks that were not used in wartime, giving a range of 2,280 nautical miles (4,220 km; 2,620 mi) at 17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph).[5]

Armament consisted of three single QF 4-inch (102 mm) Mk IV 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. Torpedo armament consisted of two twin mounts for 21 in (533 mm) torpedoes.[6][7] A single QF 2-pounder 40 mm (1.6 in) "pom-pom" anti-aircraft gun was mounted between the torpedo tubes.[4][8] After February 1916, for anti-submarine warfare, Mameluke was equipped with two chutes for depth charges.[9] The number of depth charges carried increased as the war progressed.[10] The ship had a complement of 80 officers and ratings.[11]

Construction and career[edit]

Mameluke was laid down by John Brown & Company of Clydebank on 23 December 1914 with the yard number 439, launched on 14 August the following year and completed on 30 October.[3] The destroyer was the first vessel in the British navy to be named after the Mamelukes, ex-slaves that formed a powerful military force and founded a Sultanate that ruled Egypt.[12] The ship was deployed as part of the Grand Fleet, joining the newly formed Twelfth Destroyer Flotilla.[13]

Mameluke was undergoing refit in May 1916 and so missed the Battle of Jutland.[14] On 24 August, the vessel, as part of the Twelfth Flotilla, unsuccessfully searched for the German submarine UB-27 which had sunk the armed boarding steamer Duke of Albany.[15] The flotilla subsequently took part in a large exercise with other flotillas and fleets of the Grand Fleet, led by the dreadnought battleship Iron Duke, between 22 and 24 November.[16] The destroyer was also involved in anti-submarine patrols between 15 and 22 June the following year. Once again, Mameluke did not see or attack any enemy vessels.[17]

The harsh conditions of wartime operations, particularly the combination of high speed and the poor weather that is typical of the North Sea, exacerbated by the fact that the hull was not galvanised, meant that the destroyer was soon worn out from such service.[18] 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 needed to be reduced to save money.[19] On 15 October 1919, the destroyer was given a reduced complement and placed in reserve at Devonport.[20] However, this did not last long and, after being decommissioned, on 22 September 1921, Mameluke was sold to G Cohen to be broken up in Germany.[21]

Pennant numbers[edit]

Pennant number Date
G11 September 1915[22]
G27 January 1917[23]
G26 January 1918[23]
G02 September 1918[24]
G22 January 1919[22]

References[edit]

Citations[edit]

  1. ^ McBride 1991, p. 44.
  2. ^ Friedman 2009, p. 132.
  3. ^ a b Johnston 2014, p. 189.
  4. ^ a b Parkes & Prendergast 1969, p. 109.
  5. ^ Friedman 2009, p. 157.
  6. ^ Preston 1985, pp. 76, 80.
  7. ^ March 1966, p. 174.
  8. ^ Friedman 2009, p. 156.
  9. ^ Friedman 2009, p. 150.
  10. ^ Friedman 2009, p. 152.
  11. ^ Preston 1985, p. 79.
  12. ^ Manning & Walker 1959, p. 285.
  13. ^ "Flotillas of the Grand Fleet". The Navy List: 12. October 1915. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  14. ^ Corbett 1920, p. 427.
  15. ^ & Naval Staff Monograph No. 33 1927, p. 89.
  16. ^ & Naval Staff Monograph No. 33 1927, p. 215.
  17. ^ Naval Staff Monograph No. 35 1939, pp. 164–165.
  18. ^ Preston 1985, p. 80.
  19. ^ Moretz 2002, p. 79.
  20. ^ "Mameluke", The Navy List, p. 808, July 1920, retrieved 5 February 2022 – via National Library of Scotland
  21. ^ Colledge & Warlow 2006, p. 214.
  22. ^ a b Bush & Warlow 2021, p. 62.
  23. ^ a b Bush & Warlow 2021, p. 63.
  24. ^ Dittmar & Colledge 1972, p. 68.

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.
  • Corbett, Julian S. (1920). Naval Operations: Volume III. History of the Great War. London: Longmans, Green and Co. OCLC 1049894619.
  • 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.
  • Johnston, Ian (2014). A Shipyard at War: Unseen Photographs of John Brown & Co. Ltd, Clydebank, 1914–18. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-59114-189-1.
  • 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 0-85177-582-9.
  • 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. 35: Home Waters—Part IX.: 1st May, 1917 to 31st July, 1917 (PDF). Naval Staff Monographs (Historical). Vol. XIX. The Naval Staff, Training and Staff Duties Division. 1939.
  • 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.
  • 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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