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HMS Shamrock (1918)

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History
United Kingdom
NameHMS Shamrock
OrderedJune 1917
BuilderDoxford, Sunderland
Laid downNovember 1917
Launched26 August 1918
Completed28 March 1919
Out of service23 November 1936
FateSold to be broken up
General characteristics
Class and typeS-class destroyer
Displacement
  • 1,075 long tons (1,092 t) normal
  • 1,221 long tons (1,241 t) deep load
Length265 ft (80.8 m) p.p.
Beam26 ft 8 in (8.13 m)
Draught9 ft 10 in (3.00 m) mean
Propulsion
Speed36 knots (41.4 mph; 66.7 km/h)
Range2,750 nmi (5,090 km) at 15 kn (28 km/h)
Complement90
Armament
For other ships with the same name, see HMS Shamrock.

HMS Shamrock was an S-class destroyer, which served with the Royal Navy in the twentieth century. Launched on 26 August 1918 just before the end of the First World War, the ship was commissioned into the Home Fleet. A year later, the destroyer was sent to the Baltic Sea during the Russian Civil War to support Latvia, arriving just at the cessation of that country's war of independence. The vessel was later sent to join the Local Defence Flotilla at Gibraltar, being commissioned in 1934. It was while serving there that the destroyer helped evacuate civilians from Malaga at the start of the Spanish Civil War. Shamrock was retired soon after and sold to be broken up on 23 November 1936.

Discover more about HMS Shamrock (1918) 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.

Destroyer

Destroyer

In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or battle group and defend them against powerful short-range attackers. They were originally developed in 1885 by Fernando Villaamil for the Spanish Navy as a defense against torpedo boats, and by the time of the Russo-Japanese War in 1904, these "torpedo boat destroyers" (TBDs) were "large, swift, and powerfully armed torpedo boats designed to destroy other torpedo boats". Although the term "destroyer" had been used interchangeably with "TBD" and "torpedo boat destroyer" by navies since 1892, the term "torpedo boat destroyer" had been generally shortened to simply "destroyer" by nearly all navies by the First World War.

Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against France. The modern Royal Navy traces its origins to the early 16th century; the oldest of the UK's armed services, it is consequently known as the Senior Service.

World War I

World War I

World War I or the First World War, often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. It was fought between two coalitions, the Allies and the Central Powers. Fighting occurred throughout Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Pacific, and parts of Asia. An estimated 9 million soldiers were killed in combat, plus another 23 million wounded, while 5 million civilians died as a result of military action, hunger, and disease. Millions more died as a result of genocide, while the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic was exacerbated by the movement of combatants during the war.

Ship commissioning

Ship commissioning

Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to placing a warship in active duty with its country's military forces. The ceremonies involved are often rooted in centuries-old naval tradition.

Home Fleet

Home Fleet

The Home Fleet was a fleet of the Royal Navy that operated from the United Kingdom's territorial waters from 1902 with intervals until 1967. In 1967, it was merged with the Mediterranean Fleet creating the new Western Fleet.

Baltic Sea

Baltic Sea

The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain.

Russian Civil War

Russian Civil War

The Russian Civil War was a multi-party civil war in the former Russian Empire sparked by the overthrowing of the monarchy and the new republican government's failure to maintain stability, as many factions vied to determine Russia's political future. It resulted in the formation of the RSFSR and later the Soviet Union in most of its territory. Its finale marked the end of the Russian Revolution, which was one of the key events of the 20th century.

Latvian War of Independence

Latvian War of Independence

The Latvian War of Independence, sometimes called Latvia's freedom battles or the Latvian War of Liberation, was a series of military conflicts in Latvia between 5 December 1918, after the newly proclaimed Republic of Latvia was invaded by Soviet Russia, and the signing of the Latvian-Soviet Riga Peace Treaty on 11 August 1920.

Gibraltar

Gibraltar

Gibraltar is a British Overseas Territory and city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula. It has an area of 6.7 km2 (2.6 sq mi) and is bordered to the north by Spain. The landscape is dominated by the Rock of Gibraltar, at the foot of which is a densely populated town area, home to over 32,000 people, primarily Gibraltarians.

Spanish Civil War

Spanish Civil War

The Spanish Civil War was a civil war in Spain fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republicans and the Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the left-leaning Popular Front government of the Second Spanish Republic, and consisted of various socialist, communist, separatist, anarchist, and republican parties, some of which had opposed the government in the pre-war period. The opposing Nationalists were an alliance of Falangists, monarchists, conservatives, and traditionalists led by a military junta among whom General Francisco Franco quickly achieved a preponderant role. Due to the international political climate at the time, the war had many facets and was variously viewed as class struggle, a religious struggle, a struggle between dictatorship and republican democracy, between revolution and counterrevolution, and between fascism and communism. According to Claude Bowers, U.S. ambassador to Spain during the war, it was the "dress rehearsal" for World War II. The Nationalists won the war, which ended in early 1939, and ruled Spain until Franco's death in November 1975.

Ship breaking

Ship breaking

Ship-breaking is a type of ship disposal involving the breaking up of ships for either a source of parts, which can be sold for re-use, or for the extraction of raw materials, chiefly scrap. Modern ships have a lifespan of 25 to 30 years before corrosion, metal fatigue and a lack of parts render them uneconomical to operate. Ship-breaking allows the materials from the ship, especially steel, to be recycled and made into new products. This lowers the demand for mined iron ore and reduces energy use in the steelmaking process. Fixtures and other equipment on board the vessels can also be reused. While ship-breaking is sustainable, there are concerns about the use by poorer countries without stringent environmental legislation. It is also labour-intensive, and considered one of the world's most dangerous industries.

Design and development

Main article: S-class destroyer

Shamrock was one of thirty-three Admiralty S class destroyers ordered by the British Admiralty in June 1917 as part of the Twelfth War Construction Programme. The design was a development of the R class introduced at the same time as, and as a cheaper and faster complement to, the V and W class.[1]

Shamrock had a overall length of 276 ft (84 m) and a length of 265 ft (81 m) between perpendiculars. Beam was 26 ft 8 in (8.13 m) and draught 9 ft 10 in (3.00 m). Displacement was 1,075 long tons (1,092 t) normal and 1,221 long tons (1,241 t) deep load. Three Yarrow boilers fed steam to two sets of Brown-Curtis geared steam turbines rated at 27,000 shaft horsepower (20,000 kW) and driving two shafts, giving a design speed of 36 knots (67 km/h; 41 mph) at normal loading and 32.5 knots (60.2 km/h; 37.4 mph) at deep load.[2] wo funnels were fitted. A full load of 301 long tons (306 t) of fuel oil was carried, which gave a design range of 2,750 nautical miles (5,090 km; 3,160 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph).[2]

Armament consisted of three QF 4-inch (102 mm) Mk IV guns on the ship's centreline.[3] One was mounted raised on the forecastle, one on a platform between the funnels and one aft.[4] The ship also mounted a single 40-millimetre (1.6 in) 2-pounder pom-pom anti-aircraft gun for air defence. Four 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes were fitted in two twin rotating mounts aft.[3] The ship was designed to mount two additional 18-inch (457 mm) torpedo tubes either side of the superstructure but this required the forecastle plating to be cut away, making the vessel very wet, so they were removed.[5] The weight saved enabled the heavier Mark V 21-inch torpedo to be carried.[1] The ship had a complement of 90 officers and ratings.[6]

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Admiralty (United Kingdom)

Admiralty (United Kingdom)

The Admiralty was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom responsible for the command of the Royal Navy until 1964, historically under its titular head, the Lord High Admiral – one of the Great Officers of State. For much of its history, from the early 18th century until its abolition, the role of the Lord High Admiral was almost invariably put "in commission" and exercised by the Lords Commissioner of the Admiralty, who sat on the governing Board of Admiralty, rather than by a single person. The Admiralty was replaced by the Admiralty Board in 1964, as part of the reforms that created the Ministry of Defence and its Navy Department.

R-class destroyer (1916)

R-class destroyer (1916)

The first R class were a class of 62 destroyers built between 1916 and 1917 for the Royal Navy. They were an improvement, specifically in the area of fuel economy, of the earlier Admiralty M-class destroyers. The most important difference was that the Admiralty R class had two shafts and geared turbines, compared with the three shafts and direct turbines of the Admiralty M class, but in appearance the R class could be distinguished from its predecessors by having the after 4-inch gun mounted in a bandstand. The Admiralty ordered the first two of this class of ships in May 1915. Another seventeen were ordered in July 1915, a further eight in December 1915, and a final twenty-three in March 1916.

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.

Length between perpendiculars

Length between perpendiculars

Length between perpendiculars is the length of a ship along the summer load line from the forward surface of the stem, or main bow perpendicular member, to the after surface of the sternpost, or main stern perpendicular member. When there is no sternpost, the centerline axis of the rudder stock is used as the aft end of the length between perpendiculars.

Beam (nautical)

Beam (nautical)

The beam of a ship is its width at its widest point. The maximum beam (BMAX) is the distance between planes passing through the outer extremities of the ship, beam of the hull (BH) only includes permanently fixed parts of the hull, and beam at waterline (BWL) is the maximum width where the hull intersects the surface of the water.

Draft (hull)

Draft (hull)

The draft or draught of a ship's hull is the vertical distance between the waterline and the bottom of the hull (keel). The draught of the vessel is the maximum depth of any part of the vessel, including appendages such as rudders, propellers and drop keels if deployed. Draft determines the minimum depth of water a ship or boat can safely navigate. The related term air draft is the maximum height of any part of the vessel above the water.

Displacement (ship)

Displacement (ship)

The displacement or displacement tonnage of a ship is its weight. As the term indicates, it is measured indirectly, using Archimedes' principle, by first calculating the volume of water displaced by the ship, then converting that value into weight. Traditionally, various measurement rules have been in use, giving various measures in long tons. Today, tonnes are more commonly used.

Long ton

Long ton

The long ton, also known as the imperial ton or displacement ton, is the name for the unit called the "ton" in the avoirdupois system of weights or Imperial system of measurements. It was standardised in the 13th century. It is used in the United Kingdom and several other Commonwealth of Nations countries alongside the mass-based metric tonne defined in 1799, as well as in the United States for bulk commodities.

John Brown & Company

John Brown & Company

John Brown and Company of Clydebank was a Scottish marine engineering and shipbuilding firm. It built many notable and world-famous ships including RMS Lusitania, RMS Aquitania, HMS Hood, HMS Repulse, RMS Queen Mary, RMS Queen Elizabeth and the Queen Elizabeth 2.

Knot (unit)

Knot (unit)

The knot is a unit of speed equal to one nautical mile per hour, exactly 1.852 km/h. The ISO standard symbol for the knot is kn. The same symbol is preferred by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), while kt is also common, especially in aviation, where it is the form recommended by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). The knot is a non-SI unit. The knot is used in meteorology, and in maritime and air navigation. A vessel travelling at 1 knot along a meridian travels approximately one minute of geographic latitude in one hour.

Kilometres per hour

Kilometres per hour

The kilometre per hour is a unit of speed, expressing the number of kilometres travelled in one hour.

Miles per hour

Miles per hour

Miles per hour is a British imperial and United States customary unit of speed expressing the number of miles travelled in one hour. It is used in the United Kingdom, the United States, and a number of smaller countries, most of which are UK or US territories, or have close historical ties with the UK or US.

Construction and career

Laid down in November 1917 by William Doxford & Sons at their dockyard in Sunderland, Shamrock was launched on 26 August the following year, shortly before the Armistice which ended the First World War. and was completed on 28 March 1919.[6][7] The vessel was the fourth that served in the Royal Navy to bear the name.[8] Shamrock was commissioned into the Fourth Destroyer Flotilla of the Home Fleet.[9]

Although the war on the western front had finished, the escalating civil war in Russia continued. The United Kingdom decided to send units of the Royal Navy into the Baltic Sea to monitor the situation and to protect British interests. Soon into the campaign, it became clear that the Russians were planning to liberate the Baltic State of Latvia by integrating it into the new Soviet Union.[10] The fleet was therefore tasked with not simply helping to help organise the evacuation of German forces from the country but also support their war of independence. This was achieved on 14 November 1919.[11] Five days later, the destroyer arrived in Liepāja along with sister ships Serene, Sesame, Strenuous and Torbay in time to see peace restored.[12]

On 1 February 1934, the destroyer was recommissioned and joined the Local Defence Flotilla at Gibraltar.[13] In 1936, with tensions escalating in Spain, Shamrock, was joined by five other destroyers and three cruisers, just before the start of the Spanish Civil War. The destroyer was involved in evacuating British, French and American citizens from Malaga, and then other smaller settlements.[14][15] On 22 July, while undertaking these duties, the ship was bombed by Nationalist aircraft, but remained unharmed.[16] Soon after, Shamrock was taken out of service. The destroyer was chosen as one of twenty-two destroyers given to Thos. W. Ward of Sheffield in exchange for the liner RMS Majestic.[17] In consequence, on 23 November 1936, the ship was handed over to be broken up at Milford Haven.[18]

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Keel laying

Keel laying

Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship.

Ceremonial ship launching

Ceremonial ship launching

Ceremonial ship launching involves the performance of ceremonies associated with the process of transferring a vessel to the water. It is a nautical tradition in many cultures, dating back thousands of years, to accompany the physical process with ceremonies which have been observed as public celebration and a solemn blessing, usually but not always, in association with the launch itself.

Armistice of 11 November 1918

Armistice of 11 November 1918

The Armistice of 11 November 1918 was the armistice signed at Le Francport near Compiègne that ended fighting on land, sea, and air in World War I between the Entente and their last remaining opponent, Germany. Previous armistices had been agreed with Bulgaria, the Ottoman Empire and Austria-Hungary. It was concluded after the German government sent a message to American president Woodrow Wilson to negotiate terms on the basis of a recent speech of his and the earlier declared "Fourteen Points", which later became the basis of the German surrender at the Paris Peace Conference, which took place the following year.

4th Destroyer Flotilla

4th Destroyer Flotilla

The British 4th Destroyer Flotilla , or Fourth Destroyer Flotilla, was a naval formation of the Royal Navy from August 1909 to July 1951.

Home Fleet

Home Fleet

The Home Fleet was a fleet of the Royal Navy that operated from the United Kingdom's territorial waters from 1902 with intervals until 1967. In 1967, it was merged with the Mediterranean Fleet creating the new Western Fleet.

Baltic Sea

Baltic Sea

The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain.

Latvian War of Independence

Latvian War of Independence

The Latvian War of Independence, sometimes called Latvia's freedom battles or the Latvian War of Liberation, was a series of military conflicts in Latvia between 5 December 1918, after the newly proclaimed Republic of Latvia was invaded by Soviet Russia, and the signing of the Latvian-Soviet Riga Peace Treaty on 11 August 1920.

HMS Serene (1918)

HMS Serene (1918)

HMS Serene was an S-class destroyer, which served with the Royal Navy. Launched on 30 November 1918 just after the end of the First World War, the ship was commissioned into the Reserve Fleet. Excluding a brief expedition to Latvia near to the end of that nation's War of Independence in 1919, the destroyer remained in reserve at Devonport until 1936. During this period, the condition of the destroyer deteriorated. Then, as part of a deal for the liner Majestic, Serene was sold to be broken up on 14 September.

HMS Sesame (1918)

HMS Sesame (1918)

HMS Sesame was an S-class destroyer, which served with the Royal Navy in the twentieth century. Launched on 30 November 1918 just after the end of the First World War, the ship was commissioned into the Reserve Fleet. A year later, the destroyer was sent to Latvia in support of the country's call for independence, arriving just at the cessation of that county's war of independence. Returning to the United Kingdom, Sesame was later equipped to act as a plane guard within the Home Fleet, with all armament removed and a davit fitted to rescue aircraft. The vessel remained in that configuration for a short time, but the London Naval Treaty sounded the death knell for the ship as it limited the destroyer tonnage that the Royal Navy could operate. As newer and more powerful destroyers entered service, Sesame was one of those retired, being sold to be broken up on 4 May 1934.

HMS Strenuous (1918)

HMS Strenuous (1918)

HMS Strenuous was an S-class destroyer, which served with the Royal Navy. Launched 9 November 1918 two days before the Armistice, the ship was too late to see service in the First World War. Instead, the destroyer served for only a few months as part of the Atlantic Fleet before being transferred to Reserve in May 1920, where the ship remained for the next ten years. The London Naval Treaty, signed in 1930, required the retirement of some destroyers to meet the Royal Navy's tonnage requirement and Strenuous was chosen as one of those to leave the service. The destroyer was therefore decommissioned and sold to be broken up on 25 August 1932.

HMCS Champlain (1919)

HMCS Champlain (1919)

HMCS Champlain was a Thornycroft S-class destroyer, formerly HMS Torbay built for the Royal Navy in 1917–19. She was transferred to the Royal Canadian Navy in 1928 and served primarily as a training ship until 1936.

Gibraltar

Gibraltar

Gibraltar is a British Overseas Territory and city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula. It has an area of 6.7 km2 (2.6 sq mi) and is bordered to the north by Spain. The landscape is dominated by the Rock of Gibraltar, at the foot of which is a densely populated town area, home to over 32,000 people, primarily Gibraltarians.

Pennant numbers

Pennant numbers
Pennant number Date
F50 August 1919[19]
D94 November 1919[20]
H06 January 1922[21]

Source: "HMS Shamrock (1918)", Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, (2023, March 21st), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Shamrock_(1918).

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Further Reading

HMS Seafire

HMS Rosalind (1916)

HMS Taurus (1917)

HMS Sorceress (1916)

HMS Restless (1916)

HMS Rowena (1916)

HMS Rocket (1916)

HMS Medway (1916)

HMS Plover (1916)

HMS Tara (1918)

HMS Serene (1918)

HMS Trojan

HMS Trinidad (1918)

HMS Sepoy (1918)

HMS Senator (1918)

HMS Sesame (1918)

HMS Peregrine (1916)

HMS Octavia (1916)
References

Citations

  1. ^ a b Gardiner & Gray 1985, p. 85.
  2. ^ a b Friedman 2009, p. 297.
  3. ^ a b Gardiner & Gray 1985, p. 84.
  4. ^ Friedman 2009, p. 163.
  5. ^ March 1966, p. 221.
  6. ^ a b Parkes & Prendergast 1969, p. 107.
  7. ^ "Shamrock". The Navy List: 868. January 1921. Retrieved 9 May 2022 – via National Library of Scotland.
  8. ^ Manning & Walker 1959, p. 403.
  9. ^ "II – Home Fleet". The Navy List: 703. October 1919. Retrieved 9 May 2022 – via National Library of Scotland.
  10. ^ Head 2009, p. 136.
  11. ^ Head 2009, p. 147.
  12. ^ Dunn 2020, p. 234.
  13. ^ "Shamrock". The Navy List: 274. October 1935.
  14. ^ Alpert 2021, p. 53.
  15. ^ Frank 1969, p. 254.
  16. ^ Alpert 2021, p. 55.
  17. ^ "49/73) HMS CALEDONIA of 1936-1939". Warship International. 11 (1): 93. 1974.
  18. ^ Colledge & Warlow 2006, p. 318.
  19. ^ Dittmar & Colledge 1972, p. 74.
  20. ^ Bush & Warlow 2021, p. 42.
  21. ^ Bush & Warlow 2021, p. 70.

Bibliography

  • Alpert, Michael (2021). The Spanish Civil War at Sea. Barnsley: Pen & Sword Maritime. ISBN 978-1-52676-439-3.
  • 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: a complete record of all fighting ships of the Royal Navy from the 15th century to the present. London: Chatham. ISBN 978-1-85367-566-9.
  • Dittmar, F.J.; Colledge, J.J. (1972). British Warships 1914–1919. Shepperton: Ian Allan. ISBN 978-0-71100-380-4.
  • Dunn, Steve (2020). Battle in the Baltic: The Royal Navy and the Fight to Save Estonia & Latvia 1918-20. Barnsley: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-52674-273-5.
  • Frank, Willard Chabot (1969). Sea Power, Politics, and the Onset of the Spanish War, 1936. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh.
  • Friedman, Norman (2009). British Destroyers: From Earliest Days to the First World War. Barnsley: 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 978-0-85177-245-5.
  • Head, Michael (2009). "The Baltic Campaign, 1918-1920: Part I". Warship International. 46 (2): 134–150.
  • 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. London: Seeley Service. OCLC 164893555.
  • Parkes, Oscar; Prendergast, Maurice (1969). Jane's Fighting Ships 1919. Newton Abbott: David & Charles. OCLC 907574860.
  • Snook, David (1989). "British Naval Operations in the Black Sea 1918-1920: Part II". Warship International. 26 (4): 331–356.
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