HMS Seafire

HMS Seafire was an S-class destroyer built for the Royal Navy during the First World War.

Seafire circa 1918
History
United Kingdom
Name: HMS Seafire
Ordered: July 1917
Builder: John Brown & Company, Clydebank
Yard number: 478[1]
Launched: 10 August 1918
Identification: Pennant number: G68
Fate: Handed over for scrapping, 14 September 1936
General characteristics
Class and type: S-class destroyer
Displacement: 1,075 long tons (1,092 t)
Length: 276 ft (84 m) o/a
Beam: 26 ft 8 in (8.13 m)
Draught: 9 ft (2.7 m)
Installed power:
Propulsion: 2 Shafts; 2 steam turbines
Speed: 36 knots (67 km/h; 41 mph)
Range: 2,750 nmi (5,090 km; 3,160 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Complement: 90
Armament:
  • 3 × QF 4-inch (102 mm) Mark IV guns
  • 1 × QF 2-pounder (40 mm) "pom-pom" anti-aircraft gun
  • 2 × twin 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes
  • 2 × single 18-inch (45 cm) torpedo tubes

Description

The S-class destroyers were improved versions of the preceding Modified R class. They displaced 1,075 long tons (1,092 t).[2] The ships had an overall length of 276 feet (84.1 m), a beam of 26 feet 8 inches (8.1 m) and a draught of 9 feet (2.7 m). They were powered by two Brown-Curtis geared steam turbines, each driving one propeller shaft, using steam provided by two Yarrow boilers. The turbines developed a total of 27,000 shaft horsepower (20,000 kW) and gave a maximum speed of 36 knots (67 km/h; 41 mph). The ships carried a maximum of 301 long tons (306 t) of fuel oil that gave them a range of 2,750 nautical miles (5,090 km; 3,160 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph). The ships' complement was 90 officers and ratings.[3]

Seafire was armed with three QF 4-inch (102 mm) Mark IV guns in single mounts and a single 2-pounder (40 mm) "pom-pom" anti-aircraft gun. The ship was fitted with two twin mounts for 21-inch (533 mm) torpedoes.[2] Two additional single mounts were positioned abreast the bridge at the break of the forecastle for 18-inch (45 cm) torpedoes. All torpedo tubes were above water and traversed to fire.[4]

Construction and career

Seafire was ordered as part of the second batch of the S class and was built by John Brown & Company, Clydebank and launched on 10 August 1918.[1] She saw service during the Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War. She was one of the obsolete destroyers handed over to the shipbreakers Ward in part-payment for RMS Majestic on 14 September 1936, and was then broken up at Inverkeithing.[1]

Notes
  1. "HMS Seafire". Clydebuilt Database. Archived from the original on 3 April 2012. Retrieved 30 April 2014.CS1 maint: unfit url (link)
  2. Gardiner & Gray, pp. 84–85
  3. Lenton, p. 137
  4. Friedman, p. 169

Bibliography
  • 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 (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.
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