HMS Umpire (1917)

HMS Umpire was a modified Admiralty R-class destroyer which served with the Royal Navy. Launched in 1917, the ship operated with the Grand Fleet during World War I as an escort to a squadron of light cruiser and took part in the Second Battle of Heligoland Bight. After the Armistice, the vessel continued to serve and gained fame when its penant number, H10, was used as the name of the first house opened by what would become Veterans Aid after it had rescued the charity's founder from drowning. Umpire was sold to be broken up in 1930.

For other ships with the same name, see HMS Umpire.

Sistership HMS Tower during sea trials
History
United Kingdom
Name: HMS Umpire
Namesake: Umpire
Builder: William Doxford & Sons, Sunderland
Launched: 9 June 1917
Commissioned: August 1917
Decommissioned: 7 January 1930
Fate: Broken up
General characteristics
Class and type: Modified Admiralty R-class destroyer
Displacement: 1,091 long tons (1,109 t)
Length: 276 ft (84.1 m)
Beam: 27 ft (8.2 m)
Draught: 11 ft (3.4 m)
Propulsion:
  • 3 White-Forster boilers
  • 2 geared Brown-Curtis steam turbines, 27,000 shp (20,000 kW)
Speed: 36 knots (41.4 mph; 66.7 km/h)
Range: 3,450 nmi (6,390 km) at 15 kn (28 km/h)
Complement: 82
Armament:
  • 3 × QF 4-inch (101.6 mm) Mark IV guns, mounting P Mk. IX
  • 1 × single 2-pounder (40-mm) "pom-pom" Mk. II anti-aircraft gun
  • 4 × 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes (2×2)

Design and description
Main article: R-class destroyer

Umpire was one of eleven modified R-class destroyers ordered by the British Admiralty in March 1916 as part of the Eighth War Construction Programme. The vessels a slightly increased beam and draught but retained the armament of the other Admiralty designs.[1] The vessel was named after the umpire in the game of cricket.[2]

Umpire was 276 feet (84.12 m) long overall, with a beam of 27 feet (8.2 m) and a draught of 11 feet (3.35 m).[3] Displacement was 1,091 long tons (1,109 t).[4] Power was provided by three White-Forster boilers feeding two Brown-Curtis geared steam turbines rated at 27,000 shaft horsepower (20,000 kW) and driving two shafts, to give a design speed of 36 knots (67 km/h; 41 mph).[4] Two funnels were fitted, two boilers exhausting through the forward funnel. 296 long tons (301 t) of oil was carried, giving a design range of 3,450 nautical miles (6,390 km; 3,970 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph).[1]

Armament consisted of three QF 4in Mk IV guns on the ship's centreline, with one on the forecastle, one on a raised platform aft and one between the funnels. A single 2-pounder (40 mm) pom-pom anti-aircraft gun was carried, while torpedo armament consisted of two twin mounts for 21 in (533 mm) torpedoes.[3] Fire control included a single Dumaresq and a Vickers range clock.[5] The ship had a complement of 82 officers and ratings.[4]

Service

Umpire was launched on 9 June 1917 by William Doxford & Sons of Sunderland.[6] On commissioning in August that year, the ship joined the 13th Destroyer Flotilla of the Grand Fleet and served there to the end of the conflict.[7][8][9]

The vessel formed part of the escort for the 6th Light Cruiser Squadron based at Rosyth.[10] On 17 November 1917, Umpire took part in the Second Battle of Heligoland Bight in support of the 1st Cruiser Squadron, led by Vice-Admiral Trevylyan Napier in Courageous.[11] Along with sisterships Urchin and Ursa, the destroyer was one of the first to launch torpedoes at the German ships in the action.[12] The vessel also rescued aviation pioneer Jack McCleery when he ditched his aircraft on 24 September 1918.[13]

When the Grand Fleet was disbanded, Umpire was transferred to the 5th Destroyer Flotilla of the Home Fleet, under the Flag of King George V before being recommissioned in reserve on 23 October 1919.[14][15] The ship continued to serve and, while operating in Malta on 2 November 1924, Umpire rescued Gwendolin Huggins, who later went on to found Veterans Aid She named the charity's first house H10 in honour of the ship.[16]

The destroyer was decommissioned and sold on 7 January 1930 to Metal Industries to be broken up in Charlestown.[17]

Pennant numbers
Pennant Number Date
F941917[18]
F261918[18]
H101924[16]

References
  1. Friedman 2009, p. 310.
  2. Manning & Walker 1959, p. 457.
  3. Gardiner & Gray 1985, p. 81.
  4. Parkes & Prendegast 1919, p. 107.
  5. "Fire Control in H.M. Ships". The Technical History and Index: Alteration in Armaments of H.M. Ships during the War. 3 (23): 31. 1919.
  6. Dunn & Dunn 2014, p. 85.
  7. Friedman 2009, p. 311.
  8. "Destroyer Flotillas of the Grand Fleet". The Navy List: 13. July 1917. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
  9. "Destroyer Flotillas of the Grand Fleet". The Navy List: 12. January 1919. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
  10. Newbolt 1931, p. 150.
  11. ADM 137/584 Heligoland Bight Operation, 17 November 1917, Reports, 1917, retrieved 28 March 2020
  12. ADM 137/293 Gunnery and Torpedo Orders, 1917, 1917, retrieved 28 March 2020
  13. Warner 2011, p. 227.
  14. "II. Home Fleet". The Navy List: 12. July 1919. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
  15. "Umpire". The Navy List: 879. October 1920. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
  16. "A Hard Fought Ship: The Story of HMS Venomous". St Albans: Holywell House Publishing. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
  17. Colledge & Warlow 1987, p. 577.
  18. Dittmar & Colledge 1972, p. 70.

Bibliography
  • Colledge, J.J.; Warlow, Ben (1987). Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of All Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-93514-907-1.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Dittmar, F.J.; Colledge, J.J. (1972). British Warships 1914–1919. Shepperton: Ian Allan. ISBN 978-0-71100-380-4.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Dunn, Clive; Dunn, Gillian (2014). Sutherland in the Great War. Havertown, UK: Pen and Sword. ISBN 978-1-47384-658-6.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Friedman, Norman (2009). British Destroyers: From Earliest Days to the Second World War. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-049-9.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • 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.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Manning, Thomas Davys & Walker, Charles Frederick (1959). British Warship Names. London: Putnam.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • 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.
  • Newbolt, Henry (1931). "History of the Great War: Naval Operations Vol. V, April 1917 to November 1918 (Part 1 of 4)". London: Longmans, Green and Co. Retrieved 24 March 2020.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Parkes, Oscar; Prendegast, Maurice (1919). Jane’s Fighting Ships. London: Sampson Low, Marston & Co. Ltd.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Warner, Guy (2011). World War One Aircraft Carrier Pioneer : the Story and Diaries of Captain J M McCleery RNAS RAF. Barnsley: Pen & Sword Books. ISBN 978-1-84884-255-7.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)


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