HMS Parthian (1916)

HMS Parthian 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 3 July 1916, the ship was transferred to the Southwest Approaches during February 1917 to undertake anti-submarine and escort duties initially based from Cobh in Ireland. The vessel attacked a number of German U-boats that were sinking shipping in the area, and was part of the welcome for the first destroyers from the US Navy to serve in Europe during the war. After the Armistice of 11 November 1918, the ship was placed in reserve before being decommissioned and sold to be broken up on 8 November 1921.

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

History
United Kingdom
NameHMS Parthian
NamesakeParthian
OrderedFebruary 1915
BuilderScotts, Greenock
Yard number472
Launched3 July 1916
Completed7 September 1916
Decommissioned8 November 1921
FateSold to be broken up in Germany
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

Parthian 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 the higher speed of 36 knots (67 km/h; 41 mph) 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 vessel had a complement of 76 officers and ratings.[4]

Construction and career

Parthian was laid down by Scotts Shipbuilding and Engineering Company of Greenock with the yard number 472, launched on 3 July 1916 and completed on 7 September.[6] The ship was named after Parthia, a belligerent nation found on the southeast of the Caspian Sea.[7] The vessel was deployed as part of the Grand Fleet, joining the Fifteenth Destroyer Flotilla.[8]

During February 1917, in response to increasing submarine activity in the Southwest Approaches, Parthian was one of four destroyers from the Grand Fleet allocated to Cobh, Ireland.[9] On 10 March, the destroyer assisted SS Arataca in its defence from the submarine SM U-44, driving the submarine away.[10] On 29 April, the vessel pressed home an attack on an unidentified submarine, using gunfire and depth charges as well as attempting the ram the boat as it dived.[11] On 2 May the destroyer was sent out to meet a division of US Navy destroyers led by Commander Joseph Taussig in USS Wainwright.[12] They were the first vessels sent by the US to Europe.[13] On 30 May, the destroyer unsuccessfully attacked SM U-55, although a prisoner from the merchant ship SS Clan Murray onboard the submarine claimed that the boat had been hit.[14] However, the hard toll of working under these conditions took their toll and by 18 June, the ship had been transferred to Newport, Wales for rest and refitting.[15] One of the destroyer's attacks was used by Admiral Sir Lewis Bayly in an address to American seamen:

This destroyer [Parthian] proceeded to sea. The night came on and just before nightfall a submarine rose to the surface of the sea 150 yards ahead The watchful eyes of the crew saw her instantly: the watchful commander drove his vessel at her, and the watchful and ready-gun's crew opened fire instantly. The submarine was struck eight or ten times in the space of a minute. Her tower was shot up, and she rolled over and sank at once. I cite this to show that in a space of perhaps two or three minutes a submarine was destroyed. If vigilance was lacking, the opportunity would have been lost.[16]

After the Armistice of 11 November 1918 the Royal Navy returned to a peacetime level of mobilisation, and surplus vessels were placed in reserve. Parthian was initially transferred to Devonport on 15 October 1919, joining what would become more than twenty M class destroyers being made ready for retirement.[17] The destroyer was decommissioned and sold to Slough Trading Co on 8 November 1921, being subsequently broken up in Germany.[18]

Pennant numbers
Pennant Number Date
G52September 1915[19]
G77January 1917[19]
H91January 1918[20]

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. Manning & Walker 1959, p. 332.
  8. "Destroyer Flotillas of the Grand Fleet". Supplement to the Monthly Navy List: 12. October 1916. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  9. Naval Staff Monograph No. 34 1933, p. 182.
  10. Naval Staff Monograph No. 34 1933, p. 284.
  11. Naval Staff Monograph No. 34 1933, p. 478.
  12. Taussig 1996, p. 18.
  13. Brookes 1962, p. 74.
  14. Naval Staff Monograph No. 35 1939, p. 38.
  15. Newbolt 1931, pp. 55–56.
  16. Taussig 1996, p. 186.
  17. "Parthian", The Navy List, p. 823, October 1919, retrieved 12 April 2021 – via National Library of Scotland
  18. Colledge & Warlow 2006, p. 260.
  19. Dittmar & Colledge 1972, p. 67.
  20. Bush & Warlow 2021, p. 76.

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 0-85177-582-9.
  • Monograph No. 34: Home Waters Part VIII: December 1916 to April 1917. 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 31 July 1917. Naval Staff Monographs (Historical). Vol. XIX. Naval Staff, Training and Staff Duties Division. 1939.
  • 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.
  • Taussig, Joseph Knefler (1996). The Queenstown Patrol, 1917: The Diary of Commander Joseph Knefler Taussig, U.S. Navy. Newport: Naval War College Press. ISBN 978-1-88473-307-9.
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