H.M.S. Swordfish (1895)
| H.M.S. Swordfish (1895) | |
|---|---|
| Builder: | Armstrong, Whitworth & Company[1] |
| Ordered: | 1893-94[2] |
| Laid down: | 4 Jun, 1894[3] |
| Launched: | 27 Feb, 1895[4] |
| Commissioned: | Dec, 1896[5] |
| Broken up: | 1910[6] |
H.M.S. Swordfish was one of thirty-six 27 Knotters, a broad meta-class of early Torpedo Boat Destroyers built for the Royal Navy in the 1890s.
Like most of the 27 knotters, she was broken up before the war.
Service
Swordfish was launched by Mrs. Saxton Noble on 27 February, 1895.[7] She was delivered to Chatham to be completed by 8 June.[8]
She ventured out for her steam trials on 7 July, 1896.[9] Though she missed her guaranteed speed by a quarter knot, she did develop 300 H.P. over her contracted power level. She was accepted in mid-July.[10]
By October, she must have improved her speed a bit, as her complete trial results were reported as 27.12 knots, 203 PSI in boilers, 399 RPM, 4,570 mean indicated HP.[11]
The crew of Haughty turned over to Swordfish at Chatham on 4 March, 1897.[12]
Swordfish was commissioned at Chatham on 6 January, 1899 by Lieutenant and Commander Alan Cameron Bruce to take the place of Mallard in the Medway Instructional Flotilla.[13]
She collided with the destroyer Violet in early 1904. Lt. in Command of Violet, Reginald Gay Copleston, had entered a basin at an unsafe speed.[14]
Swordfish was broken up in 1910.
Captains
Dates of appointment are provided when known.
- Lieutenant & Commander William F. De Salis, 4 March, 1897[15] (transferred in from Haughty)
- Lieutenant & Commander James R. P. Hawksley, 10 September, 1898[16]
- Lieutenant & Commander Alan C. Bruce, 6 January, 1899[17] – 11 April, 1899[18]
- Lieutenant & Commander Charles Tibbits, 2 September, 1899[19] – 7 November, 1899[20]
- Lieutenant & Commander John W. E. Townsend, May, 1902[21] – 27 February, 1903
- Lieutenant & Commander Colin K. MacLean, 28 February, 1903[22] – 26 June, 1903
- Gunner in Command William Cooper, 15 June, 1904 – 1 April, 1906
- Lieutenant & Commander Sidney J. Meyrick, 14 July, 1904[23] – 6 September, 1904 (lent, for Annual Manoeuvres of 1904)
- Commander Douglas W. O'B. Forsyth, July 1905[24] – August 1905[Inference] (lent, for Annual Manoeuvres of 1905)
- Commander Charles J. Collins, 1 April, 1906 – 28 May, 1906
- Lieutenant in Command Joseph A. Shuter, 28 May, 1906[25] – 3 August, 1906[26]
- Lieutenant & Commander George W. McO. Campbell, 23 January, 1907[27][28] – 21 January, 1909[29]
- Lieutenant & Commander Arthur W. Benson, 21 January, 1909 – 30 April, 1909
Equipment
In 1896, Swordfish and Spitfire were fitted with Tower's Steady Platform for its search light which proved "very satisfactory,"[30] having been improved since the initial 1889 evaluation. In tests at Chatham on 13th October, 1896, Spitfire was moored in basin number 3 and rolled about 25 degrees while she shone her light on a hatch-painted test vessel. The light beam did not waver by more than a half degree during the test.[31]
See Also
Footnotes
- ↑ Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. p. 93.
- ↑ Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. p. 92.
- ↑ Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. p. 93.
- ↑ "Naval & Military Intelligence." The Times (London, England), 28 Feb. 1895, p. 4.
- ↑ Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. p. 93.
- ↑ Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. p. 93.
- ↑ "Naval & Military Intelligence." The Times (London, England), 28 Feb. 1895, p. 4.
- ↑ "Naval & Military Intelligence." The Times (London, England), 8 June 1896, p. 12.
- ↑ "Naval & Military Intelligence." The Times (London, England), 6 July 1896, p. 8.
- ↑ "Naval & Military Intelligence." The Times (London, England), 14 July 1896, p. 11.
- ↑ "Naval & Military Intelligence." The Times (London, England), 23 Oct. 1896, p. 4.
- ↑ "Naval & Military Intelligence." The Times (London, England), 5 Mar. 1897, p. 7.
- ↑ "Naval & Military Intelligence." The Times (London, England), Saturday, Jan 07, 1899; pg. 10; Issue 35720.
- ↑ Copleston Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/44/99. f. 110.
- ↑ "Naval & Military Intelligence." The Times (London, England), 5 Mar. 1897, p. 7.
- ↑ The Navy List. (October, 1898). p. 300.
- ↑ Bruce Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43/319. f. 351.
- ↑ Bruce Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43/319. f. 351.
- ↑ Tibbits Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43/243. f. 268.
- ↑ Tibbits Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43/243. f. 268.
- ↑ "Naval & Military intelligence" The Times (London). Thursday, 1 May 1902. (36756), p. 6.
- ↑ The Navy List. (May, 1903). p. 305s.
- ↑ "Appointments for the Naval Manoeuvres." The Times (London, England), Saturday, Jul 09, 1904; pg. 12; Issue 37442.
- ↑ Forsyth Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/45/246. f. 250.
- ↑ Shuter Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/44/283. f. 318.
- ↑ Shuter Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/44/283. f. 318.
- ↑ Campbell Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/44/341. f. 341.
- ↑ The Navy List. (October, 1908). p. 381.
- ↑ Campbell Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/44/341. f. 341.
- ↑ Annual Report of the Torpedo School, 1896. p. ix.
- ↑ Annual Report of the Torpedo School, 1896. p. 51.
Bibliography
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