HMS Tipperary

HMS Tipperary, launched on 5 March 1915, was Royal Navy Faulknor-class destroyer which was sunk in action on 1 June 1916 by the Imperial German Navy at the Battle of Jutland in World War 1.

History
United Kingdom
Name: HMS Tipperary
Builder: J S White, Cowes
Launched: 5 March 1915
Fate: Sunk at Jutland, 1 June 1916
General characteristics
Class and type: Faulknor-class flotilla leader
Displacement: 1,700 tons
Length: 331 ft (100.9 m)
Beam: 32.6 ft (9.9 m)
Draught: 11 ft (3.4 m)
Propulsion: 6 White-Forster type water-tube boilers, steam turbines, 3 shafts, 30,000 shp
Speed: 32 knots
Complement: 197
Armament:

War service

Originally ordered by Chile, Tipperary and her sisters were bought by the Royal Navy at the outbreak of World War I. Initially, Tipperary served as the second flotilla leader with the 3rd Destroyer Flotilla in the Harwich Force, arriving there in June 1915.[1] Late in that same year, she took charge of a detachment of destroyers from the 2nd Flotilla,[2] while in March 1916, Tipperary had rejoined the Harwich Force, being attached to the Fifth Light Cruiser Squadron.[3]

For a while during the war she was commanded by Captain (later Admiral) Sir Barry Domvile.[4]

In May 1916 Tipperary was made the leader of the 4th Flotilla, a formation which directly supported the Grand Fleet.[5]

Sinking

About 21:58 GMT 31 May 1916 while 4th Destroyer Flotilla was searching for the German High Seas Fleet in the North Sea during Battle of Jutland she encountered the enemy's 7th Flotilla (destroyers). The Imperial German Naval vessels launched torpedoes at the British ships, none of which hit, and 7th Flotilla then turned away. Nicholas Jellicoe's account states that "Between 23:15 and 23:20 a lookout [on HMS Garland] ... saw what he thought were enemy ships on the starboard quarter".[6] A few minutes later Tipperary flashed the recognition signal and was immediately lit up by the searchlights of three German battleships and three light cruisers.[7] From 23:30 to about 23:34 around 150 5.9-inch shells from SMS Westfalen and SMS Nassau were fired at Tipperary; she was badly stricken by this fire, which left her bridge damaged and most of her forward crew casualties, including her commander, Captain Wintour. At about 02:00 GMT 1 June 1916 she was abandoned, and sank in the following hours due to battle damage.[8] 150 of her crew of 197 were killed in the action, a number of the survivors were rescued from the sea by the Imperial German Navy and transported back to Germany as prisoners of war.

Stoker David Eunson described the sinking: "As we floated away on that awful night, many died of sheer exhaustion and suffering. After drifting for well nigh 5 hours we were picked up at dawn. I saw the Tipperary, a mass of flames, keel over".[9]

Aftermath

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

Citations
  1. "Supplement to the Monthly Navy List showing Organisation of the Fleet, Flag Officers' Commands &c.: II.—Harwich Force". The Navy List: 13. June 1915.
  2. "Supplement to the Monthly Navy List showing Organisation of the Fleet, Flag Officers' Commands &c.: I.—The Grand Fleet: Flotillas of the Grand Fleet". The Navy List: 12. November 1915.
  3. "Supplement to the Monthly Navy List showing Organisation of the Fleet, Flag Officers' Commands &c.: II.—Harwich Force". The Navy List: 13. March 1916.
  4. "Admiral Sir Barry Edward Domvile, K.B.E., C.B., C.M.G. (1878-1971)". www.dumville.org. Retrieved 4 July 2018.
  5. "Supplement to the Monthly Navy List showing Organisation of the Fleet, Flag Officers' Commands &c.: I.—The Grand Fleet: Destroyer Flotillas of the Grand Fleet". The Navy List: 12. May 1916.
  6. Jellicoe, 239.
  7. Jellicoe, 239
  8. Jellicoe, 239.
  9. "Local newspaper interview with survivor".

Bibliography


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