Minion
History
United Kingdom
NameHMS Minion
NamesakeMinion
OrderedSeptember 1914
BuilderThornycroft, Woolston, Southampton
Laid downNovember 1914
Launched11 September 1915
CompletedNovember 1915
Out of service8 November 1921
FateSold to be broken up
General characteristics
Class and typeAdmiralty M-class destroyer
Displacement971 long tons (987 t) (normal)
Length
  • 273 ft 4 in (83.3 m) (o/a)
  • 265 feet (80.8 m) (p.p.)
Beam26 ft 8 in (8.1 m)
Draught8 ft 11 in (2.7 m)
Installed power3 Yarrow boilers, 25,000 shp (19,000 kW)
PropulsionParsons steam turbines, 3 shafts
Speed34 knots (63 km/h; 39 mph)
Range2,530 nmi (4,690 km; 2,910 mi) at 15 kn (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Complement80
Armament

HMS Minion was an Admiralty M-class destroyer which served in the Royal Navy during the First World War. The M-class ships were an improvement on those of the preceding L class, capable of higher speed. Minion was launched in 1915 and joined the Grand Fleet. The destroyer participated in the Battle of Jutland in 1916 as part of the Eleventh Destroyer Flotilla, particularly in the evening action between the light cruisers. During an anti-submarine patrol during the following year, the destroyer ran low on fuel. An attempt was made to refuel from the light cruiser Calliope, which was unsuccessful, leading to the patrol being curtailed. In 1918, the vessel was transferred to Devonport as part of the Fourth Destroyer Flotilla. After the Armistice, Minion was sold to be broken up in 1921.

Design and development

Minion was one of the sixteen Admiralty M-class destroyers ordered by the British Admiralty in September 1914 as part of the First War Programme.[1] The M class was an improved version of the earlier L class, required to reach a higher speed in order to counter rumoured new German fast destroyers. The remit was to have a maximum speed of 36 knots (67 km/h; 41 mph) and, although ultimately the destroyers fell short of that ambition in service, the extra performance that was achieved was valued by the navy. It transpired that the German warships did not exist.[2]

The destroyer had a length of 265 ft (80.8 m) between perpendiculars and 273 ft 4 in (83.3 m) overall, with a beam of 26 ft 8 in (8.1 m) and draught of 8 ft 11 in (2.7 m). Displacement was 971 long tons (987 t) normal.[3] Power was provided by three Yarrow boilers feeding Brown-Curtiss rated at 23,000 shaft horsepower (17,000 kW), driving three shafts and exhausting through three funnels.[4] Design speed was 34 knots (63 km/h; 39 mph), although Minion managed 33.88 knots (62.75 km/h; 38.99 mph) on 22,500 shp (16,800 kW) during trials.[5] A total of 228 long tons (232 t) of oil was carried. Design range was 2,530 nautical miles (4,690 km; 2,910 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph), but actual endurance in service was less; sister ship Murray had a range of 2,240 nautical miles (4,150 km; 2,580 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph).[3]

Minion had a main armament consisting of three single QF 4-inch (102 mm) Mk IV guns on the centreline, with one on the forecastle, one aft on a raised platform and one between the middle and aft funnels. Torpedo armament consisted of two twin torpedo tubes for 21 in (533 mm) located aft of the funnels.[6][7] Two single 1-pounder 37 mm (1.5 in) "pom-pom" anti-aircraft guns were carried.[8] The anti-aircraft guns were later replaced by 2-pdr 40 mm (1.6 in) "pom-pom" guns.[3] The ship had a complement of 80 officers and ratings.[8]

Construction and career

Minion was laid down by John I. Thornycroft & Company at their yard in Woolston, Southampton in November 1914, was launched on 11 September the following year and was completed three months later in the following November.[9] The vessel was the fourth to be named after the minion, a small cannon.[10][11] Minion was deployed as part of the Grand Fleet, joining the Eleventh Destroyer Flotilla.[12]

On 26 and 27 February 1916, the flotilla took part in a large naval exercise east of Shetland, involving four flotillas of destroyers, as well as all the operational battlecruisers, battleships and cruisers of the Grand Fleet.[13] On 17 March, the flotilla was unsuccessful in destroying the German U-boat U-48 that had been operating off the Straits of Dover.[14] It was then split into two halves to support the Navy's light cruisers.[15] During May, the destroyer sailed to Cromarty along with eight other destroyers from the flotilla and the flotilla leader Kempenfelt to meet with the 2nd Battle Squadron. The ships sailed to rendezvous with the remainder of the Eleventh Destroyer Flotilla under the light cruiser Castor on 31 May.[16] The British ships sailed along with the rest of the Grand Fleet to confront the German High Seas fleet in the Battle of Jutland. As the two fleets converged, the flotilla formed close to the dreadnought battleship King George V, leading at the head of the Second Battle Squadron.[17][18] As evening fell, the flotilla saw a line of unknown vessels ahead, later identified as the light cruisers of the German 2nd Scouting Group.[19] Minion took no active part in the ensuing skirmish.[20]

The destroyer, along with the rest of the flotilla, returned to Scapa Flow on 2 June.[21] The destroyer remained part of the Eleventh Destroyer Flotilla on 19 August, based at Scapa Flow.[22] On 30 April 1917, Minion, along with the light cruisers Calliope and Comus, was on an anti-submarine patrol when the destroyer ran low on fuel. An unsuccessful attempt was made to refuel from Calliope. This led to the deployment being curtailed.[23] On 16 October, the ship formed part of a fleet of 84 ships, including 54 destroyers, that were sent to protect convoys travelling from Scandinavia. The deployment led to two British destroyers being sunk by German cruisers while Minion did not even sight the enemy.[24] At the beginning of the following year, the destroyer was transferred to the Fourth Destroyer Flotilla to act as local defence for the naval base at Devonport.[25]

After the Armistice of 11 November 1918 that ended the war, the Royal Navy returned to a peacetime level of strength and both the number of ships and the amount of personnel needed to be reduced to save money.[26] Minion continued to be operated as part of the defence flotilla at Devonport into 1919.[27] However, the harsh conditions of wartime operations, 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 the ship was soon worn out.[28] The destroyer was declared superfluous to operational requirements, retired, and, on 8 November 1921, was sold to Slough Trading Company. Minion was sent to Germany to be broken up.[11]

Pennant numbers

Pennant number Date
HC7 August 1915[29]
G09 January 1918[30]
G14 March 1918[31]
H82 June 1918[32]
F90 January 1919[33]

References

Citations

  1. ↑ McBride 1991, p. 45.
  2. ↑ Friedman 2009, p. 132.
  3. 1 2 3 Friedman 2009, p. 296.
  4. ↑ Parkes & Prendergast 1969, p. 109.
  5. ↑ McBride 1991, p. 44.
  6. ↑ Preston 1985, pp. 76, 80.
  7. ↑ March 1966, p. 174.
  8. 1 2 Preston 1985, p. 76.
  9. ↑ Friedman 2009, p. 308.
  10. ↑ Manning & Walker 1959, p. 299.
  11. 1 2 Colledge & Warlow 2006, p. 227.
  12. ↑ "Destroyer Flotillas of the Grand Fleet". Supplement to the Monthly Navy List: 12. October 1915. Retrieved 2 June 2023 – via National Library of Scotland.
  13. ↑ Naval Staff Monograph No. 31 1926, p. 83.
  14. ↑ Naval Staff Monograph No. 34 1933, p. 342.
  15. ↑ Corbett 1920, p. 318.
  16. ↑ Brooks 2016, pp. 154–155.
  17. ↑ Brooks 2016, p. 270.
  18. ↑ Corbett 1920, p. 428.
  19. ↑ Campbell 1998, p. 280.
  20. ↑ Campbell 1998, p. 288.
  21. ↑ Newbolt 1928, p. 1.
  22. ↑ Naval Staff Monograph No. 33 1927, p. 259.
  23. ↑ Naval Staff Monograph No. 35 1939, p. 1.
  24. ↑ Newbolt 1931, pp. 151–156.
  25. ↑ "VII Local Defence and Escort Flotillas". The Supplement to the Monthly Navy List: 17. April 1918. Retrieved 2 June 2023 – via National Library of Scotland.
  26. ↑ Moretz 2002, p. 79.
  27. ↑ "III Local Defence and Training Establishments". The Supplement to the Monthly Navy List: 13. July 1919. Retrieved 2 June 2023 – via National Library of Scotland.
  28. ↑ Preston 1985, p. 80.
  29. ↑ Bush & Warlow 2021, p. 79.
  30. ↑ Bush & Warlow 2021, p. 61.
  31. ↑ Bush & Warlow 2021, p. 62.
  32. ↑ Bush & Warlow 2021, p. 63.
  33. ↑ Bush & Warlow 2021, p. 52.

Bibliography

  • Brooks, John (2016). The Battle of Jutland. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-107-15014-0.
  • 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.
  • Campbell, John (1998). Jutland: An Analysis of the Fighting. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 978-0-85177-750-4.
  • Colledge, James Joseph; 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.
  • Corbett, Julian S. (1920). Naval Operations: Volume III. History of the Great War. London: Longmans, Green and Co. OCLC 1049894619.
  • Friedman, Norman (2009). British Destroyers: From Earliest Days to the First World War. Barnsley: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-049-9.
  • Manning, Thomas Davys; Walker, Charles Frederick (1959). British Warship Names. London: Putnam. OCLC 780274698.
  • 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.
  • 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. 31: Home Waters Part VI: From October 1915 to May 1916 (PDF). Naval Staff Monographs (Historical). Vol. XV. Naval Staff, Training and Staff Duties Division. 1926.
  • Monograph No. 33: Home Waters: Part VII: From June 1916 to November 1916 (PDF). Naval Staff Monographs (Historical). Vol. XVII. Naval Staff, Training and Staff Duties Division. 1927.
  • Monograph No. 34: Home Waters—Part VIII: December 1916 to April 1917 (PDF). Naval Staff Monographs (Historical). Vol. 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). Vol. XIX. The Naval Staff, Training and Staff Duties Division. 1939.
  • Moretz, Joseph (2002). The Royal Navy and the Capital Ship in the Interwar Period. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-71465-196-5.
  • Newbolt, Henry (1928). Naval Operations: Volume IV. History of the Great War. London: Longmans, Green and Co. OCLC 1049894132.
  • Newbolt, Henry (1931). Naval Operations: Volume V. History of the Great War. London: Longmans, Green and Co. OCLC 220475309.
  • Parkes, Oscar; Prendergast, Maurice (1969). Jane's Fighting Ships 1919. Newton Abbott: David & Charles. OCLC 907574860.
  • Preston, Antony (1985). "Great Britain and Empire Forces". In Gardiner, Robert; Gray, Randal (eds.). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. London: Conway Maritime Press. pp. 1–104. ISBN 978-0-85177-245-5.
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