HMS Renard (1909)
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | Renard |
| Builder | Cammell Laird, Birkenhead |
| Laid down | 20 April 1909 |
| Launched | 13 November 1909 |
| Completed | September 1910 |
| Out of service | 31 August 1920 |
| Fate | Sold to the broken up |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Beagle-class destroyer |
| Displacement | 918 long tons (933 t) (normal) |
| Length | 266 ft 2 in (81.1 m) |
| Beam | 28 ft 2 in (8.6 m) |
| Draught | 16 ft 6 in (5.0 m) |
| Installed power | 5 x coal-fired Yarrow boilers, 12,000 shp (8,900 kW) |
| Propulsion | 3 x Parsons steam turbines driving 3 shafts |
| Speed | 27 kn (50 km/h; 31 mph) |
| Range | 2,000 nmi (3,700 km; 2,300 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) |
| Complement | 96 |
| Armament |
|
HMS Renard was a Beagle-class (from 1913 G-class) destroyer of the British Royal Navy. The Beagles were coal-fuelled ships, designed for a speed of 27 kn (31 mph; 50 km/h) and armed with a 4 in (102 mm) gun and two torpedo tubes. Built by Cammell Laird and launched in 1909, Renard was initially commissioned into the First Destroyer Flotilla at Portsmouth. In 1912, the warship joined the Third Destroyer Flotilla before being transferred to the Mediterranean Fleet as part of the Fifth Destroyer Flotilla in 1913. As the First World War approached, the destroyer was based in Alexandra Egpyt, but was swiftly redeployed to Malta, followed, in 1915, by action in the Dardanelles Campaign. While serving with the Eastern Mediterranean Squadron and its successor the Aegean Squadron, as well as undetaking escort duties, the destroyer supported sorties by irregular troops against the Ottoman Empire. After the Armistice of 1918 that ended the war, Renard was initially transferred to the Nore and then sold in 1920 to be broken up.
Design and development[edit]
Renard was one of the Beagle-class destroyers ordered as part of the 1908–1909 shipbuilding programme.[1][2] The vessels were coal-burning after concerns had been raised about the availability of fuel oil in time of war and the bridge was larger and higher than previous designs.[3] This reduced costs, although it also meant that five boilers were needed, the extra machinery meaning that deck space became more premium.[4] The Beagle class vessels were not built to a standard design, with detailed design being left to the builders of individual ships in accordance with a loose specification, in this case Cammell Laird.[5] In October 1913, as part of a wider renaming of the Royal Navy's warships into classes named alphabetically, the class was renamed as G-class.[6][a]
Renard was 266 ft 2 in (81.1 m) long, with a beam of 28 ft 2 in (8.6 m) and a draught of 16 ft 6 in (5 m).[8] Normal displacement was 918 long tons (933 t), which increased to 983 long tons (999 t) by the end of the First World War.[9][10] Five Yarrow boilers fed direct-drive Parsons steam turbines driving three shafts.[11] Two funnels were fitted. The machinery was rated at 12,000 shaft horsepower (8,900 kW) giving a design speed of 27 kn (31 mph; 50 km/h).[12] During sea trials, the destroyer reached a speed of 27.145 kn (31.238 mph; 50.273 km/h) at a displacement of 912 long tons (927 t). Up to 226 long tons (230 t) of coal was carried, giving a design range of 2,000 nautical miles (3,700 km; 2,300 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph).[13] The ship had a complement of 96 officers and ratings.[11][14]
Armament consisted of one 4 in (102 mm) BL Mk VIII gun forward and three 3 in (76 mm) QF 12-pounder 12 cwt guns aft.[b] Torpedo armament consisted of two 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes, one placed forward and the other aft. Two spare torpedoes were carried.[15][16] On 8 April 1916, the Admiralty approved fitting the destroyer with depth charges. Two depth charge launchers and two charges were carried.[17]
Construction and career[edit]
Renard was laid down at Cammell Laird's Birkenhead shipyard on 20 April 1909, was launched on 13 November and completed during September the following year.[18] The ship was the sixth of the name to serve in the Royal Navy.[19] The vessel was commissioned at Portsmouth and joined the First Destroyer Flotilla.[20] On 15 November 1911, Renard towed sister ship Scorpion to port after that vessel had been damaged in a collision with the Danish schooner Fyn when the First Flotilla was returning to Harwich after exercises in the English Channel. Scorpion was holed close to her engine room while Fyn sank.[21]
In 1912, a reorganisation of the Home Fleet resulted in the ships of the Beagle class forming the Third Destroyer Flotilla.[22] Renard was recommissioned at Sheerness on 3 September and joined the flotilla at Chatham.[23] The vessel remained part of the Third Flotilla in March 1913.[24] Renard was transferred, along with the rest of the class, to the newly-formed Fifth Destroyer Flotilla as part of the Mediterranean Fleet.[25][26]
As the First World War approached, Renard was part of the First Division of the Fifth Flotilla and based in Alexandra.[27] The destroyer sailed to Malta, joining the rest of the flotilla on 9 August.[28] The island had a coal shortage, which restricted the vessel's activity.[29] On 6 August 1914, the destroyer was deployed searching for the German warships Goeben and Breslau but this was curtailed by a lack of fuel.[30] In 1915 Renard participated in the naval operations in the Dardanelles Campaign with the Eastern Mediterranean Squadron. On 25 and 26 June, the destroyer was one of five, including sister ship Rattlesnake, that undertook minesweeping in the Dardanelles. Despite heavy fire, the ships achieved achieved their objective in what Rear Admiral John de Robeck, commander of the squadron, described as "a most satisfactory manner".[31]
Renard stayed with the Eastern Mediterranean Squadron into 1916. The year saw an intensification of submarine action by the Imperial German Navy in the Mediterranean Sea and an increasing demand on destroyers as escorts. In February alone, fifty ships, totalling 101,000 long tons (103,000 t), were lost. Due to a lack of resources, the destroyers in the Mediterranean Fleet could only escort high value ships, like troopships.[32] However, the ship also saw other duties, including supporting raids on the Ottoman Empire. For example, on 24 July, the destroyer, as part of a small detachment that also included the monitor M33 and a minesweeper, escorted 172 irregular troops on a raid near the cities of Mytilene and Smyrna, the current İzmir. Despite being bombed by an aircraft of the Ottoman Aviation Squadrons, they returned with 3,200 sheep and other animals.[33]
The destroyer remained a member of the Fifth Destroyer Flotilla within the Mediterranean Fleet.[34] As the following year opened, the need for destroyer escorts increased dramatically as the German navy introduced unrestricted submarine warfare.[35] By June, the submarines were sinking 142,338 long tons (144,622 t) of shipping a month.[36] In response, the Admiralty introduced convoys on major routes, including those between Malta and Egypt, although Renard was still called upon to escort occasional single high-value ships as well.[37] For example, on 20 January the following year, Renard accompanied the Acheron-class destroyer Archer escorting a tanker. At this point, the destroyer was deployed as part of the Second Detached Squadron of the squadron, now renamed the Aegean Squadron, based at Pyrgos on the island of Imbros.[38]
After the Armistice that ended the war, the Royal Navy quickly withdrew all pre-war destroyers from active service.[39] By February 1919, Renard had been transferred to The Nore.[40] However, that deployment did not last long. As the force returned to a peacetime level of strength, both the number of ships and the amount of personnel needed to be reduced to save money.[41] Declared superfluous to operational requirements, Renard was retired, and, on 31 August 1920, sold to Ward at New Holland to be broken up.[42]
Pennant numbers[edit]
| Pennant number | Date |
|---|---|
| H99 | January 1918[43] |
| H27 | January 1919[44] |
Notes[edit]
- ^ The Laforey-class (L-class) under construction were renamed so the destroyers' names matched the class designation.[7]
- ^ "Cwt" is the abbreviation for hundredweight, 12cwt referring to the weight of the gun.
References[edit]
Citations[edit]
- ^ Friedman 2009, pp. 118, 305–306.
- ^ Manning 1961, p. 56.
- ^ Cocker 1981, p. 23.
- ^ Friedman 2009, p. 116.
- ^ Brown 2010, p. 68.
- ^ Preston 1985, p. 74.
- ^ Friedman 2009, p. 132.
- ^ March 1966, p. 85.
- ^ "402: Renard. Torpedo boat Destroyer". The Navy List: 365. March 1913. Retrieved 15 January 2024 – via National Library of Scotland.
- ^ Parkes & Prendergast 1969, p. 114.
- ^ a b Preston 1985, p. 73.
- ^ Manning 1961, pp. 54, 57.
- ^ March 1966, p. 86.
- ^ Hythe 1912, p. 249.
- ^ Friedman 2009, pp. 116, 118.
- ^ Preston 1985, pp. 73–74.
- ^ Friedman 2009, p. 151.
- ^ Friedman 2009, p. 306.
- ^ Colledge & Warlow 2006, p. 285.
- ^ "Naval And Military Intelligence". The Times. No. 39408. 20 October 1910. p. 12.
- ^ "Naval Matters—Past and Prospective: Chatham Dockyard". The Marine Engineer and Naval Architect. Vol. 34. December 1911. p. 150.
- ^ Manning 1961, p. 25.
- ^ "Naval And Military Intelligence". The Times. No. 39990. 29 August 1912. p. 2.
- ^ "Fleets and Squadrons in Commission at Home and Abroad: Flotillas of the First Fleet". The Navy List: 269a. March 1913. Retrieved 11 April 2024 – via National Library of Scotland.
- ^ "Naval And Military Intelligence: Fifth Destroyer Flotilla for the Mediterranean". The Times. No. 40358. 1 November 1913. p. 14.
- ^ "Fleets and Squadrons in Commission at Home and Abroad: Mediterranean Fleet". The Monthly Navy List: 270a. November 1913. Retrieved 11 April 2024 – via National Library of Scotland.
- ^ Grehan & Mace 2014, p. 55.
- ^ Newbolt 1928, p. 277.
- ^ Halpern 2015, p. 292.
- ^ "X1.—Mediterranean Fleet". Supplement to the Monthly Naval List: 21. January 1917. Retrieved 11 April 2024 – via National Library of Scotland.
- ^ Halpern 2015, p. 307.
- ^ Halpern 2015, p. 312.
- ^ Newbolt 1931, p. 75.
- ^ Newbolt 1931, p. 87.
- ^ Manning 1961, p. 28.
- ^ "X.—Vessels at Home Ports Temporarily: The Nore". Supplement to the Monthly Naval List. February 1919. p. 19. Retrieved 11 April 2024 – via National Library of Scotland.
- ^ Moretz 2002, p. 79.
- ^ Colledge & Warlow 2006, p. 291.
- ^ Bush & Warlow 2021, p. 76.
- ^ Bush & Warlow 2021, p. 72.
Bibliography[edit]
- Brown, David K. (2010). The Grand Fleet: Warship Design and Development 1906–1922. Barnsley: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-085-7.
- 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 978-1-52679-378-2.
- Cocker, Maurice (1981). Destroyers of the Royal Navy, 1893–1981. London: Ian Allan. ISBN 978-0-71101-075-8.
- Corbett, Julian S. (1921). Naval Operations: Volume II. History of the Great War. London: Longmans, Green & Co.
- Corbett, Julian S. (1923). Naval Operations: Volume III. History of the Great War. London: Longmans, Green & Co.
- 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.
- Friedman, Norman (2009). British Destroyers: From Earliest Days to the Second World War. Barnsley: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-049-9.
- Grehan, John; Mace, Martin (2014). Gallipoli and the Dardanelles 1915–1916. Barnsley: Pen and Sword. ISBN 978-1-47383-819-2.
- Halpern, Paul G (2015). The Naval War in the Mediterranean: 1914-1918. London: Taylor and Francis. ISBN 978-1-31739-186-9.
- Hythe, Thomas, ed. (1912). The Naval Annual. Portsmouth: J. Griffin & Co.
- Manning, Thomas Davys (1961). The British Destroyer. London: Putnam. OCLC 6470051.
- 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.
- Monograph No. 4 – Operations in the Mediterranean, August 4th–10th 1914 (PDF). Naval Staff Monographs (Historical). Vol. I. Naval Staff, Training and Staff Duties Division. 1919. pp. 176–217.
- Monograph No. 21: The Mediterranean 1914–1915 (PDF). Naval Staff Monographs (Historical). Vol. VIII. The Naval Staff, Training and Staff Duties Division. 1923.
- Moretz, Joseph (2002). The Royal Navy and the Capital Ship in the Interwar Period. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-71465-196-5.
- Newbolt, Henry (1928). Naval Operations: Volume IV. History of the Great War. London: Longmans, Green and Co. OCLC 1049894132.
- Newbolt, Henry (1931). Naval Operations: Volume V. History of the Great War. London: Longmans, Green and Co. OCLC 220475309.
- 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.