HMS Orestes (1916)

HMS Orestes 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 21 March 1916 and joined the Grand Fleet. Orestes was involved in seeking submarines in the North Sea, patrolling both independently and as part of large operations. The destroyer did not report any submarines destroyed, but did rescue the survivors from Q-ship Privet after that vessel had successfully sunk the submarine U-85 in a duel in March 1917. Later in the war, the focus was turned to escorting merchant ships and the destroyer helped secure convoys that crossed the Atlantic Ocean. After the Armistice that marked the end of the First World War, the destroyer was placed into reserve until being, on 30 January 1921, decommissioned and sold to be broken up.

For other ships with the same name, see HMS Orestes.

History
United Kingdom
NameHMS Orestes
NamesakeOrestes
OrderedNovember 1914
BuilderDoxford, Sunderland
Launched21 March 1916
CompletedOctober 1916
Out of service31 January 1921
FateSold to be broken up
General characteristics
Class and typeAdmiralty M-class destroyer
Displacement
Length
  • 273 ft 4 in (83 m) (o.a.)
  • 265 ft (81 m) (p.p.)
Beam26 ft 9 in (8 m)
Draught8 ft 6 in (3 m)
Installed power3 Yarrow boilers, 25,000 shp (19,000 kW)
PropulsionBrown-Curtis steam turbines, 3 shafts
Speed34 knots (63.0 km/h; 39.1 mph)
Range3,450 nmi (6,390 km; 3,970 mi) at 15 kn (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Complement80
Armament

Design and development

Orestes was one of twenty-two Repeat Admiralty M-class destroyer destroyers ordered by the British Admiralty in November 1914 as part of the Third 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 design was to achieve a speed of 36 knots (67 km/h; 41 mph), although the destroyers did not achieve this in service. It transpired that the German ships did not exist but the greater performance was appreciated by the navy.[2] The Repeat M class differed from the prewar vessels in having a raked stem and design improvements based on wartime experience.[3]

The destroyer had a length of 265 feet (81 m) between perpendiculars and 273 feet 4 inches (83 m) overall, with a beam of 26 feet 9 inches (8 m) and a draught of 8 feet 6 inches (3 m) at deep load. Displacement was 1,025 long tons (1,041 t) normal and 1,250 long tons (1,270 t) deep load.[4][5] 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, to give a design speed of 34 knots (63 km/h; 39 mph).[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).[4]

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 on a bandstand. A single QF 2-pounder 40 mm (1.6 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 80 officers and ratings.[5]

Construction and career

Laid down by William Doxford & Sons of Sunderland in the River Wear, Orestes was launched on 21 March 1916 and completed during October that year.[3] The destroyer was the sixth Royal Navy ship to be named after Orestes, the son of Clytemnestra, husband of Hermione, and king of Argos in Greek mythology.[7][8][9] The vessel was deployed as part of the Grand Fleet, joining the Fourteenth Destroyer Flotilla based at Scapa Flow[10] Orestes was soon in action and, on 10 November 1916, joined sister ship Partridge and light cruiser Caroline in a search for the German merchant ship SS Brandenburg.[11]

The destroyer was subsequently deployed in anti-submarine warfare based at the naval base in Portsmouth. On 1 February 1917, Orestes started to patrol off the coast of Cornwall in response to a sighting of the submarine SM U-55, which was deemed a threat to shipping. Fifteen days later, the destroyer attacked the submarine UC-65, but the enemy boat escaped unscathed.[12] Patrols continued in the English Channel into the next month, but no further contact with submarines was made.[13] On 12 March, the destroyer rescued survivors from Privet after the Q-ship had duelled with U-85 and both had been fatally damaged. The destroyer attempted to tow the stricken ship but was unsuccessful and Privet sank off Plymouth Sound.[14]

Increasingly, patrols had not provided the security needed to shipping and the Admiralty redeployed the destroyers of the Grand Fleet to focus on the more effective convoy model.[15] By 29 March, Orestes was one of only three left patrolling the North Sea seeking submarines.[16] On 15 June, the vessel, along with the rest of the flotilla, was involved in a large sweep of the area west of the Shetland Islands searching for submarines, although Orestes was attached to the Eleventh Destroyer Flotilla. The destroyer did not sight any submarines.[17] Shortly afterwards, the destroyer was transferred to the Northern Division of the Coast of Ireland Station at Buncrana.[18] This allowed the destroyer to support the convoys travelling across the Atlantic Ocean from the American industrial complex at Hampton Roads.[19] 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 destroyer soon worn out from such service.[20]

After the armistice, the Royal Navy returned to a peacetime level of service and Orestes was declared superfluous to operational requirements. The destroyer was initially transferred back to Portsmouth on 17 October 1919 and placed in reserve.[21] However, this did not last long as the navy needed to reduce both the number of ships and the amount of staff to save money.[22] Orestes was decommissioned and, on 30 January 1921, sold to W. & A.T. Burdon to be broken up.[8]

Pennant numbers
Pennant Number Date
G33September 1915[23]
G61January 1917[24]
G60January 1918[24]
D56November 1918[25]
H74January 1919[26]

References

Citations
  1. McBride 1991, p. 45.
  2. Friedman 2009, p. 132.
  3. Parkes & Prendergast 1969, p. 109.
  4. Friedman 2009, p. 298.
  5. Preston 1985, p. 79.
  6. March 1966, p. 174.
  7. Manning & Walker 1959, p. 325.
  8. Colledge & Warlow 2006, p. 251.
  9. Grant & Hazel 2004, p. 244.
  10. "Destroyer Flotillas of the Grand Fleet". The Navy List: 12. October 1916. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  11. Naval Staff Monograph No. 13 1921, p. 45.
  12. Naval Staff Monograph No. 34 1933, pp. 223, 242.
  13. Naval Staff Monograph No. 34 1933, p. 338.
  14. Chatterton 1922, p. 171.
  15. Newbolt 1928, p. 383.
  16. Naval Staff Monograph No. 34 1933, pp. 345, 348.
  17. Naval Staff Monograph No. 35 1939, pp. 163.
  18. "VII Coast of Ireland Station", The Navy List, p. 17, July 1920, retrieved 19 March 2022 – via National Library of Scotland
  19. Naval Staff Monograph No. 35 1939, pp. 245.
  20. Preston 1985, p. 80.
  21. "641 Orestes", The Navy List, p. 818, July 1920, retrieved 19 March 2022 – via National Library of Scotland
  22. Moretz 2002, p. 79.
  23. Dittmar & Colledge 1972, p. 66.
  24. Bush & Warlow 2021, p. 64.
  25. Bush & Warlow 2021, p. 38.
  26. Bush & Warlow 2021, p. 75.

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: The Complete Record of All Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy. London: Chatham Press. ISBN 978-1-93514-907-1.
  • Chatterton, Edward Keble (1922). Q-Ships and Their Story. London: Sidgwick & Jackson. OCLC 250308612.
  • 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.
  • Grant, Michael; Hazel, John (2004). Who's Who in Classical Mythology. London: Taylor and Francis. ISBN 978-1-13450-943-0.
  • 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. 13: Summary of the Operations of the Grand Fleet: August 1914 to November 1916. Naval Staff Monographs (Historical). Naval Staff, Training and Staff Duties Division. 1921.
  • Monograph No. 34: Home Waters Part VIII: December 1916 to April 1917 (PDF). Naval Staff Monographs (Historical). Vol. XVIII. 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. 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.
  • 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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