HMS Melampus (1914)

History
United Kingdom
Name: HMS Melampus
Builder: Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, Govan
Laid down: 1914
Launched: 16 December 1914
Completed: 29 June 1915
Fate: Sold for breaking up, 22 September 1921
General characteristics
Class and type: Medea-class destroyer
Displacement: 1,040 long tons (1,060 t)
Length: 273 ft 6 in (83.36 m)
Beam: 26 ft 6 in (8.08 m)
Draught: 10 ft 6 in (3.20 m)
Propulsion:
Speed: 32 knots (59 km/h; 37 mph)
Endurance: 270 tons oil
Complement: 80
Armament:

Chios was a Medea-class destroyer laid down for the Greek Navy by Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, Govan in 1914. She was launched as 16 December 1914 and completed for service in the Royal Navy as HMS Melampus on 29 June 1915.[1] On 16 April 1917 she accidentally rammed and sank the C-class submarine C16. She was sold for breaking up on 22 September 1921.

Design and construction

The Greek Navy placed orders for two light cruisers and four destroyers from a syndicate of British shipbuilders and armament companies in late 1913–early 1914. The destroyers were to be built by John Brown & Company and Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company.[2] The destroyers were of similar design to the contemporary Admiralty M-class destroyers, with the major difference being the arrangement of the ships' boiler rooms.[3]

The ships were 273 feet 4 inches (83.31 m) long overall and 235 feet 0 inches (71.63 m) between perpendiculars, with a beam of 26 feet 8 inches (8.13 m) and a draught of 11 feet 2 inches (3.40 m). Displacement was 1,040 long tons (1,060 t) normal and 1,178 long tons (1,197 t) deep load.[4] Three Yarrow three-drum boilers fed Brown-Curtis steam turbines rated at 25,000 shaft horsepower (19,000 kW) which drove three propeller shafts, giving a speed of 32 knots (59 km/h; 37 mph)[5] The ship's crew consisted of 79 officers and men.[4] Armament consisted of three QF 4-inch (102 mm) Mk IV guns mounted on the ships centreline, and four 21 inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes in two twin mounts.[5]

The outbreak of the First World War resulted in the four under-construction destroyers being purchased by Britain for the Royal Navy in August 1914.[6] The first of the two Fairfield-built ships, Melampus (which had been laid down as Chios) was launched at Fairfield's Govan, Glasgow shipyard on 16 December 1914 and was completed on 29 June 1915.[7]

References

  1. ↑ "Medea Class Destroyers". worldnavalships.com. Retrieved 12 July 2010.
  2. ↑ Gardiner & Gray 1985, pp. 58, 78
  3. ↑ Friedman 2009, p. 136
  4. 1 2 Friedman 2009, p. 297
  5. 1 2 Gardiner & Gray 1985, p. 78
  6. ↑ Dittmar & Colledge 1972, p. 68
  7. ↑ Friedman 2009, p. 309
  • Dittmar, F.J.; Colledge, J.J. (1972). British Warships 1914–1919. Shepperton, UK: Ian Allen. ISBN 0-7110-0380-7.
  • Friedman, Norman (2009). British Destroyers: From Earliest Days to the First 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.
  • Monograph No. 32: Lowestoft Raid: 24th – 25th April, 1916 (PDF). Naval Staff Monographs (Historical). XVI. The Naval Staff, Training and Staff Duties Division. 1927.
  • Monograph No. 34: Home Waters—Part VIII: December 1916 to April 1917 (PDF). Naval Staff Monographs (Historical). XVIII. The Naval Staff, Training and Staff Duties Division. 1933.



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