HMS Strenuous in the interwar period
History
United Kingdom
NameHMS Strenuous
NamesakeStrenuous
OrderedMay 1917
BuilderScotts, Greenock
Yard number493
Laid downMarch 1918
Launched9 November 1918
Completed20 October 1919
Out of service25 August 1932
FateBroken up
General characteristics
Class and typeS-class destroyer
Displacement
  • 1,075 long tons (1,092 t) normal
  • 1,220 long tons (1,240 t) deep load
Length265 ft (80.8 m) p.p.
Beam26 ft 8 in (8.13 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 Strenuous was an S-class destroyer, which served with the Royal Navy. Launched 9 November 1918 two days before the Armistice, the ship was too late to see service in the First World War. Instead, the destroyer served for only a few months as part of the Atlantic Fleet before being transferred to Reserve in May 1920, where the ship remained for the next ten years. The London Naval Treaty, signed in 1930, required the retirement of some destroyers to meet the Royal Navy's tonnage requirement and Strenuous was chosen as one of those to leave the service. The destroyer was therefore decommissioned and sold to be broken up on 25 August 1932.

Design and development

Strenuous was one of thirty-three 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] Differences with the R class were minor, such as having the searchlight moved aft.[2] The vessel was the second of the name in the Royal Navy.[3]

Strenuous had a overall length of 276 ft (84 m) and a length of 265 ft (81 m) between perpendiculars. Beam was 26 ft 8 in (8.13 m) and draught 9 ft 10 in (3.00 m). Displacement was 1,075 long tons (1,092 t) normal and 1,220 long tons (1,240 t) deep load. Three Yarrow boilers fed steam to two sets of Parsons 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. The vessel carried 301 long tons (306 t) of fuel oil, giving a design range of 2,750 nautical miles (5,090 km; 3,160 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph).[4]

Armament consisted of three QF 4-inch (102 mm) Mk IV guns on the ship's centreline.[5] One was mounted raised on the forecastle, one between the funnels and one aft.[6] The ship also mounted a single 2-pounder (40 mm) pom-pom anti-aircraft gun for air defence. Four 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes were fitted in two twin rotating mounts aft.[5] The ship was designed to mount two 18-inch (457 mm) tubes either side of the superstructure but this addition required the forecastle plating to be cut away, making the vessel very wet, so they were removed.[2] The weight saved enabled the heavier Mark V 21-inch torpedo to be carried.[1] The ship's complement was 90 officers and ratings.[7]

Construction and career

Laid down in January 1918 by Scotts in Greenock with the yard number 493, Strenuous was launched on 9 November 1918.[7][8] The Armistice two days later meant that the destroyer never saw active wartime service. Completed on 20 October 1919, the ship joined the Fourth Destroyer Flotilla of the Atlantic Fleet under the C-class light cruiser Castor.[9][10] The destroyer was allocated the pennant number G64.[11] The ship served in active duty for only a few months, being recommissioned to Reserve Fleet at Devonport on 6 May 1920.[12]

On 22 April 1930, the United Kingdom signed the London Naval Treaty, which limited total destroyer tonnage in the Navy.[13] Having remained on reserve for more than a decade, Strenuous was in poor condition and was one of those chosen to be retired. On 25 August 1932, the destroyer was sold to Metal Industries of Charlestown, Fife, and broken up at Grays.[3]

References

Citations

  1. 1 2 Gardiner & Gray 1985, p. 85.
  2. 1 2 March 1966, p. 221.
  3. 1 2 Colledge & Warlow 2006, p. 334.
  4. ↑ Friedman 2009, p. 297.
  5. 1 2 Gardiner & Gray 1985, p. 84.
  6. ↑ Friedman 2009, p. 163.
  7. 1 2 Parkes & Prendergast 1969, p. 103.
  8. ↑ Kemble 1961, p. 104.
  9. ↑ "Strenuous". The Navy List: 867. April 1920. Retrieved 23 September 2021 – via National Library of Scotland.
  10. ↑ "I. Atlantic Fleet". The Navy List: 702. April 1920. Retrieved 23 September 2021 – via National Library of Scotland.
  11. ↑ Dittmar & Colledge 1972, p. 75.
  12. ↑ "Strenuous". The Navy List: 868. October 1920. Retrieved 23 September 2021 – via National Library of Scotland.
  13. ↑ Friedman 2009, p. 211.

Bibliography

  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Kemble, John Haskell (1961). Two Hundred & Fifty Years of Shipbuilding by the Scotts at Greenock. Glasgow: James Jack Advertising. OCLC 776430979.
  • March, Edgar J. (1966). British Destroyers: A History of Development, 1892–1953. London: Seeley Service. OCLC 164893555.
  • Parkes, Oscar; Prendergast, Maurice (1969). Jane's Fighting Ships 1919. Newton Abbott: David & Charles. OCLC 907574860.
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