HMS Ardent (1913)

HMS Ardent was one of 20 Acasta-class destroyers built for the Royal Navy in the 1910s. Completed in 1914 she saw active service in the First World War, and was sunk at the Battle of Jutland in 1916.

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

Ardent
History
United Kingdom
Name: Ardent
Builder: William Denny & Brothers, Dumbarton
Laid down: 9 October 1912
Launched: 8 September 1913
Commissioned: February 1914
Fate: Sunk at Battle of Jutland, 1 June 1916
General characteristics (as built)
Class and type: Acasta-class destroyer
Displacement: 1,072 long tons (1,089 t) (deep load)
Length: 267 ft 6 in (81.5 m)
Beam: 27 ft (8.2 m)
Draught: 9 ft 6 in (2.9 m)
Installed power:
Propulsion: 2 shafts; 1 steam turbine
Speed: 29 knots (54 km/h; 33 mph)
Range: 1,540 nmi (2,850 km; 1,770 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Complement: 73
Armament:

Design and description

The Acasta class was based on an enlarged HMS Firedrake, a very fast Yarrow Special of the Acheron class.[1] Ardent was ordered to evaluate William Denny & Brothers' recently developed longitudinal framing method of building which offered greater hull strength for a given weight than conventional transverse construction.[2] The Acastas had an overall length of 267 feet 6 inches (82 m), a beam of 27 feet (8.2 m), and a normal draught of 9 feet 6 inches (2.9 m).[3] The ships displaced 1,072 long tons (1,089 t) at deep load and their crew numbered 73 officers and ratings.[4]

The destroyers were powered by a single Parsons steam turbine that drove two propeller shafts using steam provided by Yarrow boilers. Ardent differed from her sister ships in that she had only three rather than four boilers and only two funnels. The engines developed a total of 24,500 shaft horsepower (18,300 kW) and were designed for a speed of 29 knots (54 km/h; 33 mph). The ship reached a speed of 29.5 knots (54.6 km/h; 33.9 mph) during her sea trials.[1] The Acastas had a range of 1,540 nautical miles (2,850 km; 1,770 mi) at a cruising speed of 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph).[4]

The primary armament of the ships consisted of three BL 4-inch (102 mm) Mk VIII guns[Note 1] in single, unprotected pivot mounts. Ardent had one gun on the forecastle, one on a platform between her funnels and the third aft of the superstructure. The destroyers were equipped with a pair of single rotating mounts for 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes amidships and carried two reload torpedoes.[5]

Construction and career

HMS Ardent, the seventh Royal Navy ship to bear the name,[6] was ordered under the 1911–1912 Naval Programme from William Denny & Brothers. The ship was laid down at the company's Dumbarton shipyard on 9 October 1911, launched on 8 September 1912 and commissioned in February 1914.[7] She joined the 4th Destroyer Flotilla on completion, and served with the Grand Fleet on the outbreak of the First World War.[8]

She was sunk on 1 June 1916 during the Battle of Jutland by secondary fire from the German dreadnought SMS Westfalen.[9] Seventy-eight men went down with the ship; there were only two survivors.[10]

The wrecksite is designated as a protected place under the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986.[11]

Pennant numbers
Pennant number[12]FromTo
H786 December 1914  1 June 1916

Notes
  1. Ardent may have been equipped with QF 4-inch naval gun Mk IV, XII, XXII

Citations
  1. March, p. 125
  2. Friedman, p. 127; Gardner & Gray, p. 75
  3. Gardiner & Gray, p. 75
  4. Friedman, p. 295
  5. Friedman, pp. 125–127, 295
  6. Colledge, pp. 18–19
  7. Friedman, p. 306
  8. March, p. 131
  9. "Battleships-Cruisers.co.uk website - Destroyers before 1918". Retrieved 27 February 2009.
  10. "Officers and Men Killed in Action or Died of Wounds, H.M.S. Ardent, Battle of Jutland 31st May -1st June 1916".
  11. "Statutory Instrument 2008/0950". Office of Public Sector Information, 1 April 2008. Retrieved 19 July 2008.
  12. ""Arrowsmith" List: Royal Navy WWI Destroyer Pendant Numbers". Retrieved 27 February 2009.

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.
  • 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, eds. (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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