Medea-class destroyer

The Medea class were a class of destroyers that were being built for the Greek Navy at the outbreak of World War I but were taken over and completed for the Royal Navy for wartime service. All were named after characters from Greek mythology as result of their Greek heritage.

'Medea'-class destroyer
Class overview
Builders
Operators Royal Navy
Built1914–1915
In commission1915–1921
Completed4
Lost1
General characteristics
TypeDestroyer
Displacement1,040 long tons (1,060 t)
Length273 ft 6 in (83.36 m)
Beam26 ft 6 in (8.08 m)
Draught10 ft 6 in (3.20 m)
Propulsion
Speed32 knots (37 mph; 59 km/h)
Endurance270 tons oil
Complement80
Armament

The Medeas were a private design roughly similar to their various Royal Navy M-class contemporaries. They had three funnels, the foremost of which was taller, and unusually, the mainmast was taller than the foremast, giving rise to a distinctive appearance. They shipped three single QF 4 inch guns, one on the forecastle, one between the first two funnels and the third on the quarterdeck.

Ships
NameShip BuilderLaid downLaunchedCompletedFate
Medea (ex-Kriti)John Brown & Company, Clydebank8 April 191430 January 1915May 1915Sold for breaking up 9 May 1921.
Medusa (ex-Lesbos)John Brown, Clydebank191427 March 19151915Rammed and sunk by HMS Laverock off of Schleswig 25 March 1916.
Melampus (ex-Chios)Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, Govan191416 December 191429 June 1915Sold for breaking up 22 September 1921.
Melpomene (ex-Samos)Fairfields, Govan19141 February 191516 August 1915,Sold for breaking up 9 May 1921.

Bibliography
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Destroyers of the Royal Navy, 1893-1981, Maurice Cocker, 1983, Ian Allan ISBN 0-7110-1075-7
  • Jane's Fighting Ships, 1919, Jane's Publishing
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