HMS Somme (1918)
HMS Somme was an Admiralty S-class destroyer built for the Royal Navy during World War I. commissioned seven days before the end of the war, the ship was sold for scrap in 1932.
![]() Somme at anchor near Hong Kong, August, 1928 | |
History | |
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Name: | Somme |
Ordered: | 9 April 1917 |
Builder: | Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering, Govan |
Laid down: | November 1917 |
Launched: | 10 September 1918 |
Commissioned: | 4 November 1918 |
Fate: | Sold for scrap, August 1932 |
General characteristics (as built) | |
Class and type: | S-class destroyer |
Displacement: | 1,000 long tons (1,016 t) (normal) |
Length: | 276 ft (84.1 m) o/a |
Beam: | 26 ft 8 in (8.1 m) |
Draught: | 9 ft 10 in (3 m) |
Installed power: |
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Propulsion: | 2 Shafts; 1 steam turbine |
Speed: | 34 knots (63 km/h; 39 mph) |
Range: | 2,100 nmi (3,900 km; 2,400 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) |
Complement: | 82 |
Armament: |
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Description
The Admiralty S class were larger and faster versions of the preceding R class.[1] The ships had an overall length of 276 feet (84.1 m), a beam of 26 feet 8 inches (8.1 m) and a deep draught of 9 feet 10 inches (3 m). They displaced 1,000 long tons (1,016 t) at normal load. The ships' complement was 82 officers and ratings.[2]
The ships were powered by a single Brown-Curtis geared steam turbine that drove two propeller shafts using steam provided by three Yarrow boilers. The turbines developed a total of 27,000 shaft horsepower (20,000 kW) and gave a maximum speed of 36 knots (67 km/h; 41 mph). Somme reached a speed of 33.7 knots (62.4 km/h; 38.8 mph) during her sea trials.[3] The ships carried enough fuel oil to give them a range of 3,500 nautical miles (6,500 km; 4,000 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph).[2]
The Admiralty S-class ships were armed with three single QF 4-inch (102 mm) Mark IV guns. One gun was positioned on the forecastle, the second was on a platform between the funnels and the third at the stern. They were equipped with a single QF 2-pounder (40 mm (1.6 in)) "pom-pom" anti-aircraft gun on a platform forward of the mainmast. They were also fitted with two rotating twin mounts for 21-inch (533 mm) torpedoes amidships and two 18-inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes, one on each broadside abaft the forecastle.[4]
Construction and career
Somme, the first ship of her name to serve in the Royal Navy,[5] was ordered on 9 April 1917 as part of the Eleventh War Programme from Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering Company. The ship was laid down at the company's Govan shipyard in November 1917, launched on 10 August 1918 and commissioned on 4 November.[6]
She was recommissioned on 15 December 1920.[7] The ship re-commissioned at Portsmouth with 2/5ths crew on 4 December 1923 for service with the Eighth Destroyer Flotilla of the Atlantic Fleet.[8] Somme served on the China Station during 1927–1929 and conducted anti-piracy patrols.[9] The ship was sold for breaking in August 1932.[6]
References
- Gardiner & Gray, p. 85
- Friedman, p. 297
- March, p. 215
- Gardiner & Gray, p. 86; March, p. 219
- Colledge, p. 326
- Friedman, p. 311
- The Navy List. (January, 1921). p. 865
- The Navy List. (April, 1925). p. 271.
- https://www.kcl.ac.uk/library/archivespec/documents/archivesdocs/china.pdf
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.