HMS Ranger (1895)

HMS Ranger was a "twenty-seven knotter" torpedo boat destroyer of the British Royal Navy. Built by the Tyneside shipbuilder Hawthorn Leslie, Opossum was one of three destroyers built by Hawthorns that were ordered in 1894. She was launched in 1895 and completed in 1896. She remained in service during the First World War, where she was used for local patrol duties. She was sold for scrap in 1920.

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

Ranger in 1895–1897
History
United Kingdom
NameHMS 'Ranger
Ordered7 February 1894
BuilderHawthorn Leslie, Hebburn
Laid down17 September 1894
Launched4 October 1895
CommissionedJune 1896
FateSold for scrap on 20 May 1920
General characteristics
Class and typeHawthorn Leslie "Twenty-seven knotter"
Displacement
  • 310 long tons (310 t) light
  • 340 long tons (350 t) full load
Length204 ft 0 in (62.18 m) oa
Beam19 ft 0 in (5.79 m)
Draught8 ft 7 in (2.62 m)
Installed power4,000 ihp (3,000 kW)
Propulsion
Speed27 kn (50 km/h; 31 mph) (contract speed)
Range1,175 nmi (2,176 km; 1,352 mi) at 11 kn (20 km/h; 13 mph)
Complement53
Armament
  • 1 × 12pdr gun
  • 3 × 6 pdr guns
  • 2 × 18 inch torpedo tubes

Design and construction

HMS Ranger, along with sister ships Sunfish and Opossum, was one of three destroyers ordered for the Royal Navy from Hawthorn Leslie on 7 February 1894 as part of the 1893–1894 Naval Estimates. A total of 36 destroyers were ordered from 14 shipbuilders as part of the 1893–1894 Naval Estimates, all of which were required to reach a contract speed of 27 knots (50 km/h; 31 mph).[1][2] The Admiralty laid down broad requirements for the destroyers, including speed, the use of an arched turtleback[lower-alpha 1] forecastle and armament, with the detailed design left to the builders, resulting in each of the builders producing different designs.[4][5]

Ranger was 204 feet 0 inches (62.18 m) long overall and 200 feet 0 inches (60.96 m) between perpendiculars, with a beam of 19 feet 0 inches (5.79 m) and a draught of 8 feet 7 inches (2.62 m). Displacement was 310 long tons (310 t) light and 340 long tons (350 t) full load.[1] Eight Yarrow boilers, with their uptakes trunked together to three funnels, fed steam at 185 pounds per square inch (1,280 kPa) to two triple-expansion steam engines, rated at 4,000 indicated horsepower (3,000 kW).[1][6][7] Armament consisted of a single QF 12 pounder 12 cwt[lower-alpha 2] gun and three 6-pounder guns, with two 18 inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes.[7] One of the torpedo tubes could be removed to accommodate a further two six-pounders.[8] The ship's crew was 53 officers and men.[7][9]

On 17 September 1895,[10] Ranger was laid down as Yard Number 327 at Hawthorn Leslie's Hebburn, Tyneside shipyard,[1] and was launched on 4 October 1895.[10][11] The ship reached a speed of 27.13 kn (31.22 mph; 50.24 km/h) during sea trials,[12] and was completed in June 1896.[10][lower-alpha 3]

Service

In July 1896 Ranger was in reserve at Chatham.[13] On 26 June 1897, Ranger took part in the naval review at Spithead to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria.[14] In 1901, Ranger was based at Portsmouth.[15] Lieutenant Spencer Reginald Strettell Richards was appointed in command on 29 November 1902.[16] In 1905, Ranger was one of a number of old destroyers which the Rear Admiral (Destroyers) condemned as being "..all worn out", with "every shilling spent on these old 27-knotters is a waste of money". He recommended that they be withdrawn from flotilla use and used either as tenders to training schools, or as local defence torpedo boats, or disposed of.[17]

On 2 July 1908, during the annual Naval Manoeuvres, Ranger was steaming in company with the cruiser Topaze in thick fog near the Outer Dowsing lightvessel, when the destroyer Haughty collided with her. While Haughty's bow was only slightly twisted, the damage to Ranger was more severe, with her hull holed close to the waterline. The hole was patched with canvas, and Ranger made it to Chatham Dockyard under her own steam. She returned to her flotilla after repair on 14 July.[18] In August 1910, Ranger, now part of the Nore Destroyer Flotilla, was repaired at Sheerness dockyard after being damaged by colliding with a pier head at Yarmouth.[19] On 5 November that year, Ranger, now part of the 6th Destroyer Flotilla, ran aground off Selsey Bill, damaging her propellers, so she had to be towed into Portsmouth harbour.[20] In June 1911, Ranger collided with the pleasure steamer King Edward at the entrance to Torquay harbour. Ranger was holed below the waterline and was brought into Devonport Dockyard for repair by the battleship Victorious.[21]

On 30 August 1912 the Admiralty directed all destroyers were to be grouped into classes designated by letters based on contract speed and appearance. After 30 September 1913, as a 27-knotter, Ranger was assigned to the A class.[22][23][11]

By March 1913, Ranger was not part of an active flotilla, but was attached as a tender to the shore establishment Vivid at Devonport, with a nucleus crew,[24] but by May that year was listed as for sale at Devonport.[25]

The outbreak of the First World War stopped the sale of the ship, and by March 1915, Ranger was listed as part of the Seventh Destroyer Flotilla, a patrol flotilla based on the East coast of Britain.[26][27] By April, however, she was part of the Local Defence Flotilla at Portsmouth.[28] Ranger was still part of the Portsmouth Local Defence Flotilla in January 1917,[29] but by March that year, was no longer listed as being part of that unit.[30]

Ranger was sold for scrap on 20 May 1920.[1]

Pennant numbers
Pennant number[11]FromTo
D1ASeptember 1915April 1917

References

Notes
  1. A fore deck with exaggerated camber designed to throw off sea water at high speeds.[3]
  2. "Cwt" is the abbreviation for hundredweight, 12cwt referring to the weight of the gun.
  3. Lyon states that Ranger was laid down on 28 August 1894, launched on 28 May 1895 and completed in February 1896,[1] the dates given in Friedman for sister ship Sunfish.[10]

Citations
  1. Lyon 2001, p. 92
  2. Lyon 2001, pp. 19–20
  3. Gardiner & Lambert 1992, p. 188
  4. Chesneau & Kolesnik 1979, p. 87
  5. Manning 1961, p. 39
  6. Friedman 2009, p. 44
  7. Friedman 2009, p. 291
  8. Lyon 2001, pp. 98–99
  9. Manning 1961, p. 38
  10. Friedman 2009, p. 302
  11. Dittmar & Colledge 1972, p. 56
  12. Brassey 1897, p. 321.
  13. "Naval Matters: Past and Prospective: The Reserve of Ships and Men". The Marine Engineer. Vol. 18. July 1896. p. 155.
  14. Brassey 1898, pp. 12–15
  15. "NMM, vessel ID 374215" (PDF). Warship Histories, vol iii. National Maritime Museum. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 August 2011. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  16. "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36930. London. 20 November 1902. p. 10.
  17. Lyon 2001, p. 116
  18. "Naval Matters—Past and Prospective: Chatham Dockyard". The Marine Engineer and Naval Architect. Vol. 31. 1 August 1908. p. 14.
  19. "Naval Matters—Past and Prospective: Sheerness Dockyard". The Marine Engineer and Naval Architect. Vol. 33. September 1910. p. 52.
  20. "Naval Matters—Past and Prospective: Devonport Dockyard". The Marine Engineer and Naval Architect. Vol. 33. December 1910. p. 161.
  21. "Naval Matters—Past and Prospective: Devonport Dockyard". The Marine Engineer and Naval Architect. Vol. 33. July 1911. p. 439.
  22. Gardiner & Gray 1985, p. 18
  23. Manning 1961, pp. 17–18
  24. "Fleets and Squadrons in Commission at Home and Abroad: Torpedo Craft and Submarine Flotillas at Home Ports". The Navy List: 270b. March 1913. Retrieved 25 April 2020 – via National Library of Scotland.
  25. "List of Vessels Available for Subsidiary Services, Hulks and Vessels for Sale". The Navy List: 410-15. May 1913. Retrieved 25 April 2020 – via National Library of Scotland.
  26. "Supplement to the Monthly Navy List Showing Organisation of the Fleet, Flag Officers' Commands &c: I.—Home and Atlantic Waters: Patrol Flotillas". The Navy List. March 1915. p. 15. Retrieved 25 April 2020 – via National Library of Scotland.
  27. Manning 1961, pp. 25–26
  28. "Supplement to the Monthly Navy List Showing Organisation of the Fleet, Flag Officers' Commands &c: Local Defence Flotillas". The Navy List. April 1915. p. 17. Retrieved 25 April 2020 – via National Library of Scotland.
  29. "Supplement to the Monthly Navy List Showing Organisation of the Fleet, Flag Officers' Commands &c: VIII. Local Defence Flotillas". The Navy List. January 1917. p. 17. Retrieved 25 April 2020 – via National Library of Scotland.
  30. "Supplement to the Monthly Navy List Showing Organisation of the Fleet, Flag Officers' Commands &c: VIII. Local Defence Flotillas". The Navy List. March 1917. p. 17. Retrieved 25 April 2020 – via National Library of Scotland.

Bibliography
  • Brassey, T. A., ed. (1897). The Naval Annual 1897. Portsmouth, UK: J. Griffin and Co.
  • Brassey, T. A., ed. (1898). The Naval Annual 1898. Portsmouth, UK: J. Griffin and Co.
  • Chesneau, Roger; Kolesnik, Eugene M., eds. (1979). Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-133-5.
  • Dittmar, F. J.; Colledge, J. J. (1972). British Warships 1914–1919. Shepperton, UK: Ian Allan. ISBN 0-7110-0380-7.
  • Friedman, Norman (2009). British Destroyers: From Earliest Days to the Second World War. Barnsley, UK: 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 0-85177-245-5.
  • Gardiner, Robert; Lambert, Andrew, eds. (1992). Steam, Steel & Shellfire: The Steam Warship 1815–1905. Conway's History of the Ship. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-564-0.
  • Lyon, David (2001). The First Destroyers. London: Caxton Editions. ISBN 1-84067-3648.
  • Manning, T. D. (1961). The British Destroyer. London: Putnam and Co. OCLC 6470051.
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