HMS Sparrowhawk (1895) explained

HMS Sparrowhawk was a B-class torpedo boat destroyer of the Royal Navy. She was completed by Laird, Son & Company, Birkenhead, and was launched on 8 October 1895.[1] She served on the China Station and was wrecked in the mouth of the Yangtze River in 1904.[2] She was one of four Quail-class destroyers.

Design and construction

HMS Sparrowhawk was the second of four 30-knot destroyers ordered from Laird's as part of the 1894–1895 Royal Navy shipbuilding programme.[3] As with other early Royal Navy destroyers, the detailed design was left to the builder, with the Admiralty laying down only broad requirements.[4] [5] In order to meet the contract speed of 30kn, Laird's design was powered by two four-cylinder triple expansion steam engines, fed by four Normand boilers, rated at 6300abbr=onNaNabbr=on, and was fitted with four funnels.[3] [6]

The ship had an overall length of 218feet, a beam of 21inchesft6inchesin (ftin) and a draught of 9inchesft6inchesin (ftin). Displacement was 355LT light and 415LT full load,[7] [6] while crew was 63.[8] Armament consisted of a QF 12 pounder 12 cwt (3inches calibre) gun on a platform on the ship's conning tower (in practice the platform was also used as the ship's bridge), with a secondary armament of five 6-pounder guns, and two 18-inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes.[9] [10]

Sparrowhawk was laid down as Yard No 607 on 30 May 1895, and was launched on 8 October 1895.[11] She reached a speed of 30.207kn over a measured mile and an average speed of over three hours during trials on 11 December 1896.[12] Sparrowhawk commissioned in June 1897.[11]

Service

Newly commissioned, Sparrowhawk took part in the naval review off Spithead on 26 June 1897 to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria.[13] Laird's thirty-knotters were considered strongly built ships and good seaboats, suitable for deployment on overseas stations,[14] [6] and so Sparrowhawk and sister ship were deployed to the Pacific Station in 1897, being based at Esquimault, British Columbia, Canada.[15]

Sparrowhawk was later deployed to the China Station. On 17 June 1904, Sparrowhawk struck an uncharted rock off the mouth of the Yangtze river during fleet exercises. While all the crew survived, attempts by the battleship to recover the stricken destroyer failed, and Sparrowhawk sank.[16] [17] [18]

Bibliography

Notes and References

  1. The Times (London), Wednesday, 9 October 1895, p.7
  2. Web site: HMS Sparrowhawk . pbenyon.plus.com . 12 July 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110614082748/http://www.pbenyon.plus.com/18-1900/S/04327.html . 14 June 2011 . dead .
  3. Lyon 2001, pp. 61–62.
  4. Chesneau and Kolesnik 1979, p. 87.
  5. Manning 1961, p. 39.
  6. Chesneau and Kolesnik 1979, p. 94.
  7. Lyon 2001, pp. 61–62.
  8. Manning 1961, p. 40.
  9. Lyon 2001, pp. 98–99.
  10. Friedman 2009, p. 40.
  11. Lyon 2001, p. 61.
  12. Eight Torpedo Boat Destroyers, Built by Laird Brothers, Birkenhead. — Trials between 30th September and the 18th December 1896. The Engineer. 1 January 1897. 83. 16. .
  13. Web site: HMS Sparrowhawk. pbenyon.plus.com. 18 October 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20150924070004/http://www.pbenyon.plus.com/18-1900/S/04327.html. 24 September 2015. dead.
  14. Lyon 2001, p. 116.
  15. Lyon 2001, pp. 62, 100.
  16. Lyon 2001, p. 62.
  17. News: British Navy: Destroyers in Trouble. Two Sunk. Kalgoorlie Miner. 21 June 1904. 5. 19 October 2014.
  18. News: Loss of H.M.S. Sparrowhawk. The Mercury. Hobart, Australia. 8 August 1904. 4. 19 October 2014.

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