Get Our Extension
Select Wikiz in another Language
DeutschSuomi
Settings
A
A
Text Highlights
Notes/Citations
Edit on Wikipedia

Share This Article

About Wikiz About Us Cookies Policy Terms & Services Privacy Policy Contact Contact us Enjoying Wikipedia Content? DONATE TO WIKIPEDIA
Enjoying Wikipedia Content? DONATE TO WIKIPEDIA

HMAS Swordsman

From Wikipedia, in a visual modern way
HMAS Swordsman
History
Australia
BuilderScott's Shipbuilding and Engineering Company
Laid down1917
Launched28 December 1918
CompletedMarch 1919
Commissioned27 January 1920
Decommissioned21 December 1929
FateScuttled off Sydney, 8 February 1939
General characteristics
Class and typeAdmiralty S-class destroyer
Displacement1,075 tons
Length
Beam26 ft 10 in (8.18 m)
Propulsion3 × Yarrow boilers, Brown-Curtis turbines, 27,000 shp (20,000 kW), 2 shafts
Speed33 knots (61 km/h; 38 mph)
Range2,990 nautical miles (5,540 km; 3,440 mi) at 11.5 knots (21.3 km/h; 13.2 mph)
Complement6 officers, 93 sailors
Armament

HMAS Swordsman (H11) was an Admiralty S-class destroyer of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Built for the Royal Navy during World War I, the ship was not completed until 1919, and was transferred to the RAN at the start of 1920. The destroyer's career was uneventful, with most of it spent moored in Sydney. Swordsman was decommissioned in 1929, and scuttled off Sydney in 1939.[1]

Design and construction

Main article: S-class destroyer (1917)

Swordsman was built to the Admiralty design of the S class destroyer, which was designed and built as part of the British emergency war programme.[2] The destroyer had a displacement of 1,075 tons, a length of 276 feet (84 m) overall and 265 feet (81 m) between perpendiculars, and a beam of 26 feet 10 inches (8.18 m).[3] The propulsion machinery consisted of three Yarrow boilers feeding Brown-Curtis turbines, which supplied 27,000 shaft horsepower (20,000 kW) to the ship's two propeller shafts.[4] Swordsman had a maximum speed of 33 knots (61 km/h; 38 mph), and a range of 2,990 nautical miles (5,540 km; 3,440 mi) at 11.5 knots (21.3 km/h; 13.2 mph).[2] The ship's company was made up of 6 officers and 93 sailors.[4]

The destroyer's primary armament consisted of three QF 4-inch Mark IV guns.[4] These were supplemented by a 2-pounder pom-pom, two 9.5-inch howitzer bomb throwers, five .303 inch machine guns (a mix of Lewis and Maxim guns), two twin 21-inch torpedo tube sets, two depth charge throwers, and two depth charge chutes.[4]

Swordsman was laid down by Scott's Shipbuilding and Engineering Company at their Greenock shipyard in 1917.[3] The destroyer was launched on 28 December 1918, and completed during March 1919.[3] In June 1919, the destroyer was marked for transfer to the RAN, along with four sister ships.[2][5] Swordsman was commissioned into the RAN on 27 January 1920.[4]

Discover more about Design and construction related topics

S-class destroyer (1917)

S-class destroyer (1917)

The S class was a class of 67 destroyers ordered for the Royal Navy in 1917 under the 11th and 12th Emergency War Programmes. They saw active service in the last months of the First World War and in the Russian and Irish Civil Wars during the early 1920s. Most were relegated to the reserve by the mid-1920s and subsequently scrapped under the terms of the London Naval Treaty. Eleven survivors saw much action during the Second World War.

Length overall

Length overall

Length overall is the maximum length of a vessel's hull measured parallel to the waterline. This length is important while docking the ship. It is the most commonly used way of expressing the size of a ship, and is also used for calculating the cost of a marina berth.

.303 British

.303 British

The .303 British or 7.7×56mmR, is a .303-inch (7.7 mm) calibre rimmed rifle cartridge. The .303 inch bore diameter is measured between rifling lands as is the common practice in Europe which follows the traditional black powder convention.

Lewis gun

Lewis gun

The Lewis gun is a First World War–era light machine gun. Designed privately in the United States though not adopted there, the design was finalised and mass-produced in the United Kingdom, and widely used by troops of the British Empire during the war. It had a distinctive barrel cooling shroud and top-mounted pan magazine. The Lewis served to the end of the Korean War, and was widely used as an aircraft machine gun during both World Wars, almost always with the cooling shroud removed, as air flow during flight offered sufficient cooling.

Maxim gun

Maxim gun

The Maxim gun is a recoil-operated machine gun invented in 1884 by Hiram Stevens Maxim. It was the first fully automatic machine gun in the world.

Depth charge

Depth charge

A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon. It is intended to destroy a submarine by being dropped into the water nearby and detonating, subjecting the target to a powerful and destructive hydraulic shock. Most depth charges use high explosive charges and a fuze set to detonate the charge, typically at a specific depth. Depth charges can be dropped by ships, patrol aircraft, and helicopters.

Greenock

Greenock

Greenock is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council area in Scotland, United Kingdom and a former burgh within the historic county of Renfrewshire, located in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. It forms part of a contiguous urban area with Gourock to the west and Port Glasgow to the east.

Sister ship

Sister ship

A sister ship is a ship of the same class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They often share a common naming theme, either being named after the same type of thing or person or with some kind of alliteration. Typically the ship class is named for the first ship of that class. Often, sisters become more differentiated during their service as their equipment are separately altered.

Operational history

After arriving in Australian waters, the majority of Swordsman's career was spent moored in Sydney.[4]

Decommissioning and fate

Swordsman was paid off into reserve on 21 December 1929.[4] She was sold to Penguins Limited of Balmain, New South Wales for ship breaking on 4 June 1937.[4] Her hull (with engines removed) was scuttled off Sydney on 8 February 1939 in location 34°11′S 151°31′E / 34.183°S 151.517°E / -34.183; 151.517 (HMAS Swordsman).[1]

Source: "HMAS Swordsman", Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, (2021, November 6th), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMAS_Swordsman.

Enjoying Wikiz?

Enjoying Wikiz?

Get our FREE extension now!

Download Extension

Further Reading

HMAS Nepal (G25)

HMAS Nestor (G02)

HMAS Quadrant

HMAS Tasmania

HMAS Tattoo

HMAS Stuart (D00)

HMAS Anzac (G90)

HMAS Norman (G49)

HMAS Vendetta (D69)

HMAS Torrens (D67)

HMAS Huon (D50)

HMAS Success (H02)

HMAS Stalwart (H14)

HMS Partridge (1916)

HMS Tirade

HMS Simoom (1918)
Citations
  1. ^ a b [1]
  2. ^ a b c Cassells, The Destroyers, pp. 122–3
  3. ^ a b c Cassells, The Destroyers, p. 122
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Cassells, The Destroyers, p. 123
  5. ^ Dittmar & Colledge, British Warships 1914–1919, p. 74
References
  • Cassells, Vic (2000). The Destroyers: Their Battles and Their Badges. East Roseville, NSW: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-7318-0893-2. OCLC 46829686.
  • Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.
  • Dittmar, F.J.; Colledge, J.J. (1972). British Warships 1914–1919. Shepperton, UK: Ian Allan. ISBN 0-7110-0380-7.
  • Friedman, Norman (2009). British Destroyers: From Earliest Days to the Second World War. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-049-9.
  • Gardiner, Robert & Gray, Randal, eds. (1985). Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-245-5.
  • 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.
Categories

The content of this page is based on the Wikipedia article written by contributors..
The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence & the media files are available under their respective licenses; additional terms may apply.
By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use & Privacy Policy.
Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization & is not affiliated to WikiZ.com.