HMAS Swordsman

Swordsman was built to the Admiralty design of the S class destroyer, which was designed and built as part of the British emergency war programme.[2] The destroyer had a displacement of 1,075 tons, a length of 276 feet (84 m) overall and 265 feet (81 m) between perpendiculars, and a beam of 26 feet 10 inches (8.18 m).[3] The propulsion machinery consisted of three Yarrow boilers feeding Brown-Curtis turbines, which supplied 27,000 shaft horsepower (20,000 kW) to the ship's two propeller shafts.[4] Swordsman had a maximum speed of 33 knots (61 km/h; 38 mph), and a range of 2,990 nautical miles (5,540 km; 3,440 mi) at 11.5 knots (21.3 km/h; 13.2 mph).[2] The ship's company was made up of 6 officers and 93 sailors.[4]

The destroyer's primary armament consisted of three QF 4-inch Mark IV guns.[4] These were supplemented by a 2-pounder pom-pom, two 9.5-inch howitzer bomb throwers, five .303 inch machine guns (a mix of Lewis and Maxim guns), two twin 21-inch torpedo tube sets, two depth charge throwers, and two depth charge chutes.[4]

Swordsman was laid down by Scott's Shipbuilding and Engineering Company at their Greenock shipyard in 1917.[3] The destroyer was launched on 28 December 1918, and completed during March 1919.[3] In June 1919, the destroyer was marked for transfer to the RAN, along with four sister ships.[2][5] Swordsman was commissioned into the RAN on 27 January 1920.[4]

After arriving in Australian waters, the majority of Swordsman's career was spent moored in Sydney.[4]

Swordsman was paid off into reserve on 21 December 1929.[4] She was sold to Penguins Limited of Balmain, New South Wales for ship breaking on 4 June 1937.[4] Her hull (with engines removed) was scuttled off Sydney on 8 February 1939 in location 34°11′S 151°31′E.[1]

• Cassells, Vic (2000). The Destroyers: Their Battles and Their Badges. East Roseville, NSW: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-7318-0893-2. OCLC 46829686.
• Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.
• 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.
• 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.

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