HMS Napier was a Repeat Admiralty M-class destroyer which served in the Royal Navy during the First World War. The M class were an improvement on the previous L-class destroyer, capable of higher speed. The vessel was launched on 27 November 1915 and joined the Grand Fleet. Napier had a varied war career, acting as part of the destroyer screen for the First Battle Squadron during the Second Battle of Heligoland Bight and searching for the survivors of losses like the armoured cruiser HMS Hampshire. The vessel was usually based at Scapa Flow but spent a brief time seconded to the Harwich Force in 1917. After the Armistice that marked the end of the First World War, Napier was placed in reserve before being decommissioned and sold to be broken up on 8 November 1921.

Sister ship HMS Marmion
History
United Kingdom
Name	HMS Napier
Namesake	Charles Napier
Ordered	February 1915
Builder	John Brown & Company, Clydebank
Yard number	444
Laid down	6 July 1915
Launched	27 November 1915
Completed	22 January 1916
Out of service	8 November 1921
Fate	Sold to be broken up
General characteristics
Class and type	Admiralty M-class destroyer
Displacement	860 long tons (870 t) (normal) 1,021 long tons (1,037 t) (full load)
Length	273 ft 8 in (83.41 m) o/a
Beam	26 ft 9 in (8.15 m)
Draught	16 ft 3 in (4.95 m)
Installed power	3 Yarrow boilers, 25,000 shp (19,000 kW)
Propulsion	Brown-Curtis steam turbines, 3 shafts
Speed	34 knots (63.0 km/h; 39.1 mph)
Range	3,450 nmi (6,390 km; 3,970 mi) at 15 kn (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Complement	76
Armament	3 × single QF 4-inch (102 mm) Mark IV guns 1 × single 2-pdr 40 mm (2 in) AA gun 2 × twin 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes

Design and development

Napier was one of sixteen Admiralty M-class destroyer destroyers ordered by the British Admiralty in February 1915 as part of the Fourth War Construction Programme.[1] The M-class was an improved version of the earlier L-class destroyers, required to reach a higher speed in order to counter rumoured German fast destroyers. The remit was to have a maximum speed of 36 knots (67 km/h; 41 mph) and, although the eventual design did not achieve this, the greater performance was appreciated by the navy. It transpired that the German ships did not exist.[2] The vessel was termed a Repeat M and differed from previous members of the class in having a raked stem.[3]

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.[4] Power was provided by three Yarrow boilers feeding Brown-Curtis steam turbines rated at 25,000 shaft horsepower (19,000 kW) and driving three shafts.[3] Three funnels were fitted and 296 long tons (301 t) of oil was 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 single QF 4-inch (102 mm) Mk IV 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 QF 2-pounder 40 mm (2 in) "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]

Construction and career

Laid down by John Brown & Company of Clydebank at their shipyard on 6 July 1915 with the yard number 444, Napier was launched on 27 November and completed on 22 January the following year.[4] The ship was the third to be named after Admiral Sir Charles Napier, the nineteenth century sailor, to enter naval service.[7] The vessel was deployed as part of the Grand Fleet, joining the Twelfth Destroyer Flotilla at Scapa Flow.[8]

Napier was undergoing refit in May 1916 and so missed the Battle of Jutland.[9] On 5 June, the destroyer was sent out to look for survivors from the armoured cruiser Hampshire.[10] Hampshire had been sailing to Russia without escort with the Secretary of State for War, Field Marshal Lord Kitchener,[11] but had sunk after hitting a mine and only 13 individuals, which did not include the Secretary of State, survived.[12] Napier found only three deserted boats, including a dinghy and a whaler.[13] On 16 November the destroyer sailed to confront the German High Seas Fleet at the Second Battle of Heligoland Bight as part of the defensive screen for the dreadnought battleships of the First Battle Squadron,[14] but was not called on to engage the enemy forces and returned to port without firing a shot.[15]

On 27 January 1917, the destroyer was temporally seconded to the Harwich Force to bolster defences in the south of England.[16] The posting did not last long and by July the vessel had returned to Scapa Flow.[17] Later that year, Napier was involved in escorting oilers of the Grand Fleet.[18]

After the Armistice of 11 November 1918 that ended the war, the Royal Navy returned to a peacetime level of strength. Both the number of ships and the amount of personnel needed to be reduced to save money.[19] Napier was initially placed in reserve at Devonport.[20] However, the posting did not last long. The harsh conditions of wartime service, particularly the combination of high speed and the poor weather that is typical of the North Sea, exacerbated by the fact that the hull was not galvanised, meant that much of the hull and superstructure was well worn.[21] The destroyer was deemed unfit to remain in operation, subsequently was decommissioned and, on 8 November 1921, was sold to Slough TC to be broken up in Germany.[22]

Pennant numbers

References

Citations

Bibliography