HMS Plover (1916)

HMS Plover 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 previous L-class, capable of higher speed. Launched on 3 March 1916 by Hawthorn Leslie on the River Tyne, the vessel served as part of the Grand Fleet. Plover was based at Scapa Flow and took part in sorties in response to German submarine activity. After an uneventful war, the destroyer was placed in reserve and decommissioned, being sold to be broken up on 9 May 1921.

For other ships with the same name, see HMS Plover.
History
United Kingdom
Name: HMS Plover
Namesake: Plover
Ordered: September 1914
Builder: Hawthorn Leslie, Hebburn
Laid down: 14 July 1915
Launched: 3 March 1916
Completed: 2 June 1916
Out of service: 9 May 1921
Fate: Sold to be broken up
General characteristics
Class and type: Admiralty M-class destroyer
Displacement:
Length: 265 ft (80.8 m)
Beam: 26 ft 7 in (8.1 m)
Draught: 8 ft 7 in (2.62 m)
Propulsion:
Speed: 34 knots (39.1 mph; 63.0 km/h)
Range: 3,450 nmi (6,390 km) at 15 kn (28 km/h)
Complement: 76
Armament:

Design and development

Plover was one of sixteen Admiralty M-class destroyers ordered by the British Admiralty in May 1915 as part of the Fifth War Construction Programme. The M-class was an improved version of the earlier L-class, required to reach the higher speed in order to counter rumoured German fast destroyers.[1] The vessels ordered in May 1915 differed from earlier members of the class in having a raking stem and are sometimes known as the Repeat M class.[2]

The destroyer was 265 feet (80.77 m) long overall, with a beam of 26 feet 7 inches (8.10 m) and a draught of 8 feet 7 inches (2.62 m). displacement was 994 long tons (1,010 t) normal and 1,028 long tons (1,044 t) full load.[3] Power was provided by three Yarrow boilers feeding two Parsons 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. 296 long tons (301 t) of oil were 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 in (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 mounts for 21 in (533 mm) torpedoes.[6] The ship had a complement of 76 officers and ratings.[5] Originally consisting of a single rangefinder, fire control was upgraded during 1917 and a Dumaresq and a Vickers range clock were added.[7] This was later complemented by a kite balloon and searchlight installed in 1918.[8]

Construction and career
Plover under construction alongside Pigeon and Sarpedon

Plover was laid down by Hawthorn Leslie of Hebburn on the River Tyne on 14 July 1915, launched on 3 March the following year and completed on 2 June.[4] The ship was the third of the name, named after the birds.[9] The vessel was deployed as part of the Grand Fleet, joining the Fourteenth Destroyer Flotilla, remaining there until the end of the war.[10][11] The flotilla was based at the Royal Navy base at Scapa Flow.[12] The destroyer had a relatively uneventful war, occasionally taking part in sorties to search for submarines. On 14 February 1917, for example, Plover formed part of a flotilla of four destroyers that patrolled the area off the coast between Aberdeen and Peterhead, although in this instance no enemy vessels were found.[13]

After the war, the Royal Navy returned to a peacetime level of mobilisation, and surplus vessels were culled. Plover was placed alongside 50 other destroyers in reserve at Portsmouth.[14] On 9 May 1921, the vessel was sold to Thos W Ward of Hayle and broken up.[15]

Pennant numbers
Pennant Number Date
G651915[16]
G871917[16]

References

Citations
  1. Friedman 2009, p. 132.
  2. Friedman 2009, p. 155.
  3. McBride 1991, p. 44.
  4. Parkes & Prendergast 1969, p. 109.
  5. Friedman 2009, p. 296.
  6. Gardiner & Gray 1985, p. 79.
  7. "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.
  8. Friedman 2009, p. 312.
  9. Manning & Walker 1959, p. 344.
  10. "Destroyer Flotillas of the Grand Fleet". Supplement to The Monthly Navy List: 12. October 1916. Retrieved 2 December 2020 – via National Library of Scotland.
  11. "Destroyer Flotillas of the Grand Fleet". Supplement to The Monthly Navy List: 12. October 1918. Retrieved 2 December 2020 – via National Library of Scotland.
  12. Naval Staff Monograph No. 35 1939, p. 295.
  13. Naval Staff Monograph No. 34 1933, p. 253.
  14. "Vessels in Reserve at Home Ports and Other Bases". The Navy List: 707. October 1919. Retrieved 2 December 2020 – via National Library of Scotland.
  15. Colledge & Warlow 2010, p. 311.
  16. Dittmar & Colledge 1972, p. 67.

Bibliography
  • Colledge, J.J.; Warlow, Ben (2010). Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of All Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy. Haverhill: Casemate. 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.
  • 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 0-85177-582-9.
  • Monograph No. 34: Home Waters—Part VIII: December 1916 to April 1917 (PDF). Naval Staff Monographs (Historical). XVIII. The Naval Staff, Training and Staff Duties Division. 1933.
  • Monograph No. 35: Home Waters Part IX: 1st May 1917 to 31st July 1917 (PDF). Naval Staff Monographs (Historical). IX. 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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