HMS Peregrine (1916)

HMS Peregrine was a Admiralty M-class destroyer which served with the Royal Navy during the First World War. The M class were an improvement on the preceding L class, capable of higher speed. Launched on 29 May 1916, the vessel served with the Grand Fleet, focusing on anti-submarine warfare. In 1917, the destroyer was involved in the search for UC-65 after the submarine had sunk the protected cruiser Ariadne. After the Armistice that ended the war, the destroyer was placed in reserve and subsequently sold to be broken up on 9 May 1921.

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

History
United Kingdom
NameHMS Peregrine
NamesakePeregrine falcon
OrderedMay 1915
BuilderJohn Brown & Company, Clydebank
Yard number448
Laid down9 June 1915
Launched29 May 1916
Completed10 July 1916
Out of service5 November 1921
FateSold to be broken up
General characteristics
Class and typeAdmiralty M-class destroyer
Displacement
  • 860 long tons (870 t) normal
  • 1,021 long tons (1,037 t) full load
Length273 ft 8 in (83.4 m)
Beam26 ft 9 in (8.2 m)
Draught16 ft 3 in (4.95 m)
Propulsion
Speed34 knots (63.0 km/h; 39.1 mph)
Range3,450 nmi (6,390 km; 3,970 mi) at 15 kn (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Complement76
Armament

Design and development

Peregrine was one of sixteen Admiralty M-class destroyers ordered by the British Admiralty in May 1915 as part of the Fifth War Construction Programme.[1] The M-class was an improved version of the earlier L-class destroyer destroyers, designed to reach a higher speed in order to counter rumoured German fast destroyers, although it transpired these vessels did not exist.[2]

The destroyer was 273 feet 8 inches (83.41 m) long overall, with a beam of 26 feet 9 inches (8.15 m) and a draught of 16 feet 3 inches (4.95 m). Displacement was 860 long tons (870 t) normal and 1,021 long tons (1,037 t) full load.[3] Power was provided by three Yarrow boilers feeding two Brown-Curtis steam turbines rated at 25,000 shaft horsepower (19,000 kW) and driving two shafts, to give a design speed of 34 knots (63 km/h; 39 mph).[4] Three funnels were fitted and 296 long tons (301 t) of oil carried, giving a design range of 3,450 nautical miles (6,390 km; 3,970 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph).[5]

Armament consisted of three 4-inch (102 mm) Mk IV QF guns on the ship's centreline, with one on the forecastle, one aft on a raised platform and one between the middle and aft funnels. A single 2-pounder (40 mm) pom-pom anti-aircraft gun was carried, while torpedo armament consisted of two twin tubes for 21 in (533 mm) torpedoes.[6] The ship had a complement of 76 officers and ratings.[5]

Construction and career

Peregrine was laid down by John Brown & Company of Clydebank, alongside sister ship Penn on 9 June 1915, with the yard number 448, launched on 29 May the following year and completed on 10 June.[3] The ship was named after the Peregrine falcon, a title that dates from 1650.[7] The vessel was deployed as part of the Grand Fleet, joining the newly formed Fourteenth Destroyer Flotilla.[8]

Peregrine spent most of the First World War in anti-submarine escorting and patrols. For example, on 15 June 1917, the vessel, along with the rest of the flotilla, was involved in a large sweep of the area west of the Shetland Islands.[9] The destroyer did not succeed in spotting or sinking any submarines.[10] On 26 July, the destroyer was escorting the protected cruiser Ariadne from Immingham to Plymouth, to lay a deep minefield. Off the coast of Folkestone, the German U-boat UC-65, captained by Korvettenkapitän Otto Steinbrinck, sighted the vessels and launched two torpedoes.[11] The torpedoes hit, sinking Ariadne, while Peregrine unsuccessfully searched for the submarine.[12]

After the armistice, the Royal Navy returned to a peacetime level of mobilisation and Peregrine was declared superfluous to operational requirements. On 29 November 1919, the destroyer was reduced and placed in reserve.[13] However, this did not last long and, on 5 November 1921, Peregrine was sold to be broken up to Cashmore or Newport, Wales.[14]

Pennant numbers
Pennant number Date
G60September 1915[15]
G65January 1917[16]
H94September 1918[17]
G38January 1919[18]

References

Citations
  1. McBride 1991, p. 34.
  2. Friedman 2009, p. 132.
  3. Johnston 2014, p. 189.
  4. Parkes & Prendergast 1969, p. 109.
  5. Friedman 2009, p. 296.
  6. Gardiner & Gray 1985, p. 79.
  7. Manning & Walker 1959, p. 339.
  8. "Destroyer Flotillas of the Grand Fleet". Supplement to the Monthly Navy List: 12. July 1916. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  9. Naval Staff Monograph No. 35 1939, pp. 163.
  10. Naval Staff Monograph No. 35 1939, pp. 166.
  11. Naval Staff Monograph No. 35 1939, pp. 203.
  12. Naval Staff Monograph No. 35 1939, pp. 187.
  13. "Peregrine", The Navy List, p. 823, July 1920, retrieved 20 December 2021 – via National Library of Scotland
  14. Colledge & Warlow 2006, p. 264.
  15. Bush & Warlow 2021, p. 65.
  16. Dittmar & Colledge 1972, p. 67.
  17. Bush & Warlow 2021, p. 77.
  18. Bush & Warlow 2021, p. 64.

Bibliography
  • 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: The Complete Record of All Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy. London: Chatham Press. ISBN 978-1-93514-907-1.
  • Dittmar, F.J.; Colledge, J.J. (1972). British Warships 1914–1919. Shepperton: Ian Allan. ISBN 978-0-71100-380-4.
  • 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.
  • Johnston, Ian (2014). A Shipyard at War: Unseen Photographs of John Brown & Co. Ltd, Clydebank, 1914–18. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-59114-189-1.
  • Manning, Thomas Davys; Walker, Charles Frederick (1959). British Warship Names. London: Putnam. OCLC 780274698.
  • McBride, Keith (1991). "British 'M' Class Destroyers of 1913–14". In Gardiner, Robert (ed.). Warship 1991. London: Conway Maritime Press. pp. 34–49. ISBN 978-0-85177-582-1.
  • Monograph No. 35: Home Waters Part IX: 1st May 1917 to 31st July 1917. Naval Staff Monographs (Historical). Vol. XIX. Naval Staff, Training and Staff Duties Division. 1939.
  • Parkes, Oscar; Prendergast, Maurice (1969). Jane's Fighting Ships 1919. Newton Abbott: David & Charles. OCLC 907574860.
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