HMS Paladin (1916)

HMS Paladin was a Admiralty M-class destroyer which served with the Royal Navy during the First World War. The M class were an improvement on the previous L-class destroyer, capable of higher speed. Launched on 27 March 1916. Paladin took part in the Royal Navy sorties against German minesweepers in 1917, which culminated in the Second Battle of Heligoland Bight on 17 November, although the destroyer did not engage with any enemy warships during the battle. After the end of the war, the ship was placed in reserve before being decommissioned and sold to be broken up on 9 May 1921.

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

Paladin in 1916
History
United Kingdom
NameHMS Paladin
NamesakePaladin
OrderedFebruary 1915
BuilderScotts, Greenock
Yard number471
Laid downMay 1915
Launched27 March 1916
Completed1 May 1916
FateSold to be broken up on 9 May 1921
General characteristics
Class and typeAdmiralty M-class destroyer
Displacement
Length265 ft (80.8 m)
Beam26 ft 8 in (8.1 m)
Draught9 ft 3 in (2.82 m)
Propulsion
Speed34 kn (39 mph; 63 km/h)
Range3,450 nmi (6,390 km) at 15 kn (28 km/h)
Complement76
Armament

Design and development

Paladin was one of sixteen Admiralty M-class 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, designed to reach a higher speed in order to counter rumoured German fast destroyers.[2]

The destroyer was 265 feet (80.8 m) long overall, with a beam of 26 ft 8 in (8.1 m) and a draught of 9 ft 3 in (2.8 m). displacement was 994 long tons (1,010 t) normal and 1,025 long tons (1,041 t) full load. Power was provided by three Yarrow boilers feeding two Brown-Curtis steam turbines rated at 25,000 shaft horsepower (19,000 kW) and driving two shafts, to give a design speed of 34 kn (63 km/h; 39 mph).[3] Three funnels were fitted. 296 long tons (301 t) of oil were carried, giving a design range of 3,450 nautical miles (6,390 km; 3,970 mi) at 15 kn (28 km/h; 17 mph).[4]

Armament consisted of three 4 in (102 mm) Mk IV QF 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 2-pounder (40 mm) pom-pom anti-aircraft gun was carried, while torpedo armament consisted of two twin mounts for 21 in (533 mm) torpedoes.[5] The ship had a complement of 76 officers and ratings.[4]

Construction and career

Paladin was laid down by Scotts Shipbuilding and Engineering Company of Greenock with the yard number 471 in May 1915, launched on 27 March the following year and completed on 1 May.[6] The ship was the first to be named by the Navy after the paladin, the knights of Charlemagne.[lower-alpha 1][8] The vessel was deployed as part of the Grand Fleet, joining the Thirteenth Destroyer Flotilla.[9]

During 1917, the Admiralty became concerned about German minesweeper activity off the Heligoland Bight. On 16 October, the destroyer sortied with the leader Valentine, but found no enemy ships.[10] The ship subsequently formed part of the screen for the First Battle Squadron led by the dreadnought Revenge during the Second Battle of Heligoland Bight on 17 November. The British fleet attempted to engage the light cruisers supporting the minesweepers, but were unsuccessful in sinking any of them.[11] The destroyer remained with the destroyer screen for capital ships throughout the war, although by 1918, this was the faster battlecruisers.[12]

After the Armistice of 11 November 1918, the Royal Navy returned to a peacetime level of mobilisation, and surplus vessels were placed in reserve. Paladin was initially transferred to Nore on 14 January 1919 until being decommissioned and sold to Thos. W. Ward in Rainham on 9 May 1921 and broken up.[13][14]

Pennant numbers
Pennant Number Date
G40September 1916[15]
F18January 1917[16]
F14January 1918[16]
G73March 1918[15]
D1ANovember 1918[15]
G30January 1919[17]
F11September 1919[16]

Notes
  1. A hired rescue tug Paladin was commissioned in 1914, keeping her civilian name, and renamed Paladin II in 1916.[7]

References

Citations
  1. McBride 1991, p. 34.
  2. Friedman 2009, p. 132.
  3. Parkes & Prendergast 1969, p. 109.
  4. Friedman 2009, p. 296.
  5. Gardiner & Gray 1985, p. 79.
  6. Kemble 1961, p. 103.
  7. "Paladin". Scottish Built Ships. Caledonian Maritime Research Trust. Archived from the original on 10 January 2022. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  8. Manning & Walker 1959, p. 331.
  9. Naval Staff Monograph No. 13 1921, p. 56.
  10. Newbolt 1931, p. 150.
  11. Newbolt 1931, pp. 169–172.
  12. "Destroyer Flotillas of the Grand Fleet". Supplement to the Monthly Navy List: 12. April 1918. Retrieved 25 June 2021 – via National Library of Scotland.
  13. "661 Paladin", The Navy List, p. 823, October 1919, retrieved 25 June 2021 – via National Library of Scotland
  14. Colledge & Warlow 2006, p. 258.
  15. Dittmar & Colledge 1972, p. 67.
  16. Bush & Warlow 2021, p. 46.
  17. Bush & Warlow 2021, p. 63.

Bibliography
  • Brookes, Ewart Stanley (1962). Destroyer. London: Jarrolds. OCLC 558021445.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Manning, Thomas Davys; Walker, Charles Frederick (1959). British Warship Names. London: Putnam. OCLC 780274698.
  • 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.
  • 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.
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