History
United Kingdom
NameSearcher
OrderedJune 1917
BuilderJohn Brown & Company, Clydebank
Yard number479
Laid down30 March 1918
Launched11 September 1918
Completed25 November 1918
Out of service25 March 1938
FateSold to be broken up
General characteristics
Class and typeS-class destroyer
Displacement
Length265 ft (80.8 m) p.p.
Beam26 ft 9 in (8.15 m)
Draught9 ft 10 in (3.00 m) mean
Propulsion
Speed36 knots (41.4 mph; 66.7 km/h)
Range2,750 nmi (5,090 km) at 15 kn (28 km/h)
Complement90
Armament

HMS Searcher was an S-class destroyer that served with the Royal Navy during the Russian Civil War. The S class was a development of the previous R class, with minor differences, constructed at the end of the First World War. Searcher was launched in September 1918 and joined the Grand Fleet days after the end of the War. The destroyer then joined the British campaign in the Baltic, sailing as part of a detachment of ten destroyers under the command of Admiral Walter Cowan in March 1919. Searcher sailed to Tallinn in support of the Estonian War of Independence the following month. On returning to the UK, the ship was placed in reserve. In 1931, the destroyer resumed active service and joined the defence flotilla at Gibraltar, and, subsequently, the Mediterranean Fleet, accompanying ships like the aircraft carrier Glorious and the dreadnought Queen Elizabeth on cruises around the Mediterranean Sea. The vessel also took part in the naval review to celebrate the Silver Jubilee of George V in 1935. Searcher was sold to be broken up in 1938.

Design and development

Searcher was one of 33 Admiralty S-class destroyers ordered by the British Admiralty in June 1917 as part of the Twelfth War Construction Programme. The design was a development of the R class introduced as a cheaper and faster alternative to the V and W class.[1][2] Differences from the R class were minor, such as having the searchlight further aft.[3]

Searcher had an overall length of 276 ft (84 m) and a length of 265 ft (81 m) between perpendiculars. The beam was 26 ft 9 in (8.15 m) and draught 9 ft 10 in (3.00 m). Displacement was 1,075 long tons (1,092 t) normal and 1,221 long tons (1,241 t) deep load. Three Yarrow boilers fed steam to two sets of Brown-Curtis geared steam turbines rated at 27,000 shaft horsepower (20,000 kW) and driving two shafts, giving a design speed of 36 knots (67 km/h; 41 mph) at normal loading and 32.5 knots (60.2 km/h; 37.4 mph) at deep load. Two funnels were fitted. A full load of 301 long tons (306 t) of fuel oil was carried, which gave a design range of 2,750 nautical miles (5,090 km; 3,160 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph).[4][5]

Armament consisted of three QF 4 in (102 mm) Mk IV guns on the ship's centreline.[6] One was mounted raised on the forecastle, one on a platform between the funnels, and one aft.[7] The ship also mounted a single 2-pounder 40 mm (1.6 in) "pom-pom" anti-aircraft gun for air defence. Four 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes were carried in two twin rotating mounts aft.[6] Four depth charge chutes were also fitted aft. Typically ten depth charges were carried.[8] The ship was designed to mount two additional 18 in (457 mm) torpedo tubes either side of the superstructure but this required the forecastle plating to be cut away, causing excess water to come aboard at sea, so they were removed.[3] The weight saved enabled the heavier Mark V 21-inch torpedo to be carried.[1] Fire control included a training-only director, single Dumaresq and a Vickers range clock.[9] The ship had a complement of 90 officers and ratings.[10]

Construction and career

One of nine of the class to be built by the shipyard, Searcher was laid down on 30 March 1918 by John Brown & Company in Clydebank with the yard number 479, launched on 11 September the following year and completed on 25 November, days after the Armistice that ended the First World War.[5][10] The second vessel with the name to serve in the Royal Navy, Searcher joined the Fourteenth Destroyer Flotilla of the Grand Fleet.[11][12]

Although the war had finished, the escalating civil war in Russia continued. The Royal Navy decided to send a small contingent of warships into the Baltic Sea to monitor the situation.[13] The fleet was tasked with not simply helping to organise the evacuation of German forces from the country but also supporting the Estonian War of Independence.[14] Searcher was sent as part of a detachment of ten destroyers under the command of Admiral Walter Cowan in the light cruiser Caledon. The flotilla left on 25 March 1919, sailing initially to Oslo, Norway, and Copenhagen, Denmark.[15] Remaining there until 26 April, Searcher then departed for Tallinn to support the Estonian armed forces.[16] The vessel did not remain long and had left the theatre within the month.[17]

At the same time, the Royal Navy was returning to a peacetime level of strength and both the number of ships and the amount of personnel needed to be reduced to save money.[18] Searcher joined the Seventh Destroyer Flotilla based at Rosyth and was placed in reserve.[19] The vessel was subsequently moved to Devonport.[20]

In May 1931, Searcher was taken from reserve to replace fellow S-class destroyer Tourmaline with the local defence flotilla at Gibraltar.[21] Between 5 and 30 April 1933, the destroyer, along with sister ship Shamrock visited Morocco and Spain, calling in at Casablanca, Cadiz, Bonanza, Seville and Tangier.[22] Soon after, on 19 May, the destroyer was ordered to support the aircraft carrier Glorious, the first time that a member of the Gibraltar flotilla had been used for such a purpose.[23] Searcher accompanied the aircraft carrier on cruises around the Mediterranean Sea, visiting Kotor and Malta, before returning to Gibraltar on 16 March the following year.[24][25] The warship then accompanied the dreadnought Queen Elizabeth on a cruise to Villefranche-sur-Mer during the next month.[26]

On 22 June 1935, Searcher arrived at Portsmouth ready to participate in a fleet review to celebrate the Silver Jubilee of George V. The event involved over 100 ships of the Royal Navy.[27] After a short refit, the destroyer was recommissioned on 12 August and returned to the Mediterranean Fleet.[28] Although based at Malta, the vessel accompanied Queen Elizabeth on visits to various Greek ports, including Crete on 22 October 1936.[29] Soon after, the destroyer returned to the UK and retired. On 25 March 1938, Searcher was sold to Thos. W. Ward to be broken up at Barrow-in-Furness.[30]

Pennant numbers

Penant numbers
Pennant number Date
G72November 1918[31]
F43January 1919[32]
H20January 1922[33]

References

Citations

  1. 1 2 Preston 1985, p. 85.
  2. ↑ Johnston 2014, p. 187.
  3. 1 2 March 1966, p. 221.
  4. ↑ Friedman 2009, p. 297.
  5. 1 2 Johnston 2014, p. 190.
  6. 1 2 Preston 1985, p. 84.
  7. ↑ Friedman 2009, p. 163.
  8. ↑ Friedman 2009, p. 236.
  9. ↑ Friedman 2009, p. 146.
  10. 1 2 Parkes & Prendergast 1969, p. 107.
  11. ↑ Manning & Walker 1959, p. 395.
  12. ↑ "Destroyer Flotillas of the Grand Fleet". Supplement to the Monthly Navy List: 12. January 1919. Retrieved 18 June 2023 – via National Library of Scotland.
  13. ↑ Head 2009, p. 136.
  14. ↑ Head 2009, p. 147.
  15. ↑ Cunningham 1951, p. 99.
  16. ↑ Dunn 2020, p. 96.
  17. ↑ Dunn 2020, p. 101.
  18. ↑ Moretz 2002, p. 79.
  19. ↑ "V Vessels in Reserve at Home Ports and Other Bases". The Navy List: 709. October 1919. Retrieved 18 June 2023 – via National Library of Scotland.
  20. ↑ "I Atlantic Fleet". The Navy List: 702. January 1920. Retrieved 21 May 2023 – via National Library of Scotland.
  21. ↑ "Naval, Military, And Air Force: Destroyers for Scrapping". The Times. No. 45831. 25 May 1931. p. 16.
  22. ↑ "Royal Navy: Gibraltar Flotilla Cruise". The Times. No. 46410. 4 April 1933. p. 21.
  23. ↑ "Royal Navy: H.M.S. Searcher". The Times. No. 46448. 19 May 1933. p. 9.
  24. ↑ "Royal Navy: Movement of Ships". The Times. No. 46525. 17 August 1933. p. 19.
  25. ↑ "Royal Navy: Movement of Ships". The Times. No. 46707. 20 March 1934. p. 8.
  26. ↑ "Royal Navy: Mediterranean Cruise". The Times. No. 46723. 9 April 1934. p. 7.
  27. ↑ "Jubilee Naval Review: Arrival of Ships from the Mediterranean". The Times. No. 47097. 22 June 1935. p. 16.
  28. ↑ "Royal Navy: Changes in Command". The Times. No. 47132. 2 August 1935. p. 7.
  29. ↑ "Royal Navy: Visit to Crete". The Times. No. 47512. 22 October 1936. p. 27.
  30. ↑ Colledge & Warlow 2006, p. 315.
  31. ↑ Bush & Warlow 2021, p. 66.
  32. ↑ Bush & Warlow 2021, p. 48.
  33. ↑ Bush & Warlow 2021, p. 71.

Bibliography

  • 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.
  • Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006). Ships of the Royal Navy: a complete record of all fighting ships of the Royal Navy from the 15th century to the present. London: Chatham. ISBN 978-1-85367-566-9.
  • Cunningham, Andrew Browne (1951). A Sailor's Odyssey: The Autobiography of Admiral of the Fleet, Viscount Cunningham of Hyndhope. London: Hutchinson. OCLC 2307923.
  • Dunn, Steve (2020). Battle in the Baltic: The Royal Navy and the Fight to save Estonia & Latvia 1918-20. Barnsley: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-52674-273-5.
  • Friedman, Norman (2009). British Destroyers: From Earliest Days to the First World War. Barnsley: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-049-9.
  • Head, Michael (2009). "The Baltic Campaign, 1918-1920: Part I". Warship International. 46 (2): 134–150.
  • Johnston, Ian (2014). A Shipyard at War: Unseen Photographs of John Brown & Co. Ltd, Clydebank, 1914-18. Barnsley: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-216-5.
  • 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. London: Seeley Service. OCLC 164893555.
  • Moretz, Joseph (2002). The Royal Navy and the Capital Ship in the Interwar Period. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-71465-196-5.
  • 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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