Nugent was one of the 22 s ordered by the British Admiralty in November 1914 as part of the First War Programme. The M class was an improved version of the earlier, required to reach a higher speed in order to counter rumoured new German fast destroyers. The remit was to have a maximum speed of 36kn and, although ultimately the destroyers fell short of that ambition in service, the extra performance that was achieved was valued by the navy and 85 M-class destroyers were eventually built. It transpired that the German warships did not exist.
The destroyer had a length of 2651NaN1 between perpendiculars and 273feet overall, with a beam of 26feet and draught of 8feet. Displacement was 971LT normal. Power was provided by three Yarrow boilers feeding Brown-Curtiss rated at 23000shp, driving three shafts and exhausting through three funnels. Design speed was . A total of of oil was carried. Design range was 2530nmi at, but actual endurance in service was less; sister ship had a range of at .
Nugent had a main armament consisting of three single QF 40NaN0 Mk IV guns on the centreline, with one on the forecastle, one aft on a raised platform and one between the middle and aft funnels. Torpedo armament consisted of two twin torpedo tubes for 21inches torpedoes located aft of the funnels. Two single 1-pounder 371NaN1 "pom-pom" anti-aircraft guns were carried. The anti-aircraft guns were later replaced by 2-pdr 401NaN1 "pom-pom" guns. The ship had a complement of 80 officers and ratings.
Laid down by Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Company of Hebburn in April 1915, Nugent was launched on 23 January 1917 and completed during April that same year. The vessel was the only vessel in the Royal Navy to be named after Admiral of the Fleet Sir Charles Nugent. The destroyer joined the Dover Patrol as part of the Sixth Destroyer Flotilla.[1]
Almost immediately, Nugent was in action. British naval traffic in the Strait of Dover had increased dramatically, particularly with the increasing numbers of convoys ferrying troops across to France that needed protecting. On 20 April, the vessel was on a patrol of the strait leading a division of destroyers including, and . Towards the end of the day, they approached the Dover Barrage, a line of defences, including naval mines and nets set up by the Royal Navy across the strait to deter German ships and submarines. However, in the middle of night, the destroyer observed flashes of what might have been gunfire to the west of the barrage. It proved to be a flotilla of German destroyers that subsequently attacked Dover. As they fled, they were attacked by the flotilla leader and, which sank two of their number. Nugent was not involved in the sinking. On 22 September, the destroyer saw a German force of four destroyers and seven seaplanes, but they did not attack. Instead, the ship pulled the crew of one seaplanes that ditched in the sea out of the water. Three days later, while on another patrol, the destroyer was damaged by mines in the barrage.
On 14 February 1918, Nugent was again in service on patrol alongside the scout cruiser and destroyers and off the coast of Kent. Two German destroyers attacked the minesweeper and three other vessels, but fled before Nugent and the rest of the division arrived. On 22 May, the destroyer escorted the blockship in the Second Ostend Raid, which led to the partial blocking of the channel. At the end of the war, Nugent was part of the 21st Destroyer Flotilla.[2]
After the Armistice that ended the war, the Royal Navy returned to a peacetime level of strength and both the number of ships and the amount of personnel needed to be reduced to save money. The destroyer was transferred to reserve at Portsmouth.[3] However, the harsh conditions of wartime operations, particularly the combination of high speed and the poor weather that is typical of the North Sea, exacerbated by the fact that the hull was not galvanised, meant that the ship was soon worn out. Nugent was declared superfluous to operational requirements, retired, and, on 9 May 1921, sold to Ward and broken up at Hayle.
| Pennant number | Date |
|---|---|
| G17 | September 1915 |
| F46 | January 1917 |
| F54 | January 1918 |
| D58 | September 1918 |
| G47 | January 1919 |