HMS Wolf (1897)

HMS Wolf was a B-class torpedo boat destroyer of the British Royal Navy. She was completed by Laird, Son & Company, Birkenhead, in 1897.

For other ships with the same name, see HMS Wolf.

History
United Kingdom
Name: HMS Wolf
Ordered: 9 January 1896
Builder: Laird, Son & Co., Birkenhead
Laid down: 12 November 1896
Launched: 2 June 1897
Completed: July 1898
Decommissioned: 1921
Fate: Scrapped, 1921
General characteristics
Class and type: Earnest-class destroyer
Displacement: 395 long tons (401 t)
Length: 210 ft (64 m)
Beam: 21.5 ft (6.6 m)
Draught: 9.75 ft (3.0 m)
Propulsion:
Speed: 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph)
Complement: 63
Armament:

Construction

Wolf[lower-alpha 1] was ordered on 9 January 1896 as the last of six 30-knotter destroyers programmed to be built by Lairds under the 1895–1896 programme.[1] These followed on from four very similar destroyers ordered from Lairds as part of the 1894–1895 programme.[2] Like the other Laird-built 30-knotters, Wolf was propelled by two triple expansion steam engines, fed by four Normand boilers, rated at 6,300 ihp (4,700 kW), and was fitted with four funnels.[2][3] Armament was the standard for the 30-knotters, i.e. a QF 12 pounder 12 cwt (3 in (76 mm) 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.[4][5]

Wolf was laid down on 12 November 1896 and launched on 2 June 1897.[1] On 9 March 1898, she carried out final trials, reaching an average speed of 31.2 kn (35.9 mph; 57.8 km/h) over the measured mile.[6] Wolf commissioned in July 1898.[1]

Service

HMS Wolf served, under the command of Lieutenant and Commander B. Long, as part of the Devonport Destroyer Instructional Flotilla until she was paid off at Devonport on 2 September 1901,[7][8] taking part in the 1901 Naval Manoeuvres.[9]

Following the loss of the turbine-powered destroyer HMS Cobra, which broke in two and sank while on its delivery voyage on 19 September 1901,[10][11] the Admiralty set up a committee to investigate the strength and seaworthiness of its destroyers. As part of these investigations, a number of full-scale tests were carried out on Wolf to determine the stresses to which destroyers could be exposed to at sea. Wolf was fitted with strain gauges and subject to hogging and sagging tests in dry dock at Portsmouth. Following this, Wolf, still fitted with strain gauges, was sent to sea to look for bad weather. The investigation indicated that the destroyers built to Admiralty design requirements had adequate strength.[12]

On 30 August 1912 the Admiralty directed all destroyers were to be grouped into classes designated by letters based on contract speed and appearance. As a four-funneled 30-knotter destroyer, Wolf was assigned to the B Class.[13][14]

Wolf was a member of the Fifth Destroyer Flotilla, based at Devonport, in 1910, and of the Seventh Destroyer Flotilla, also based at Devonport, in 1913.[15] On the outbreak of the First World War in August 1914, Wolf remained part of the Seventh Destroyer Flotilla,[16] which transferred to the Humber on the East coast of England.[17][18]

Wolf remained part of the Seventh Flotilla in June 1917, when she was undergoing refit.[19][20] By September 1917, Wolf had transferred to the Northern Division of the Coast of Ireland Station, headquartered at Buncrana,[21] carrying out patrols in the North Channel between Scotland and the north of Ireland.[22] By April 1918, she had landed her torpedo tubes and the aft gun to accommodate an anti-submarine armament of 18 depth charges and two depth charge throwers.[23] Wolf remained operating on the North Channel Patrol until the end of the war.[24]

Wolf was sold for scrap on 1 July 1921 to S. Castle of Plymouth.[25]

Pennant numbers
Pennant number[25]FromTo
D981914September 1915
D95September 1915January 1918
D97January 1918Retirement
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References
  1. Wolf's original name was Squirrel but she was renamed before acceptance.[1]

Citations
  1. Lyon 2001, p. 62.
  2. Lyon 2001, pp. 61–62.
  3. Chesneau and Kolesnik 1979, p. 94.
  4. Lyon 2001, pp. 98–99.
  5. Friedman 2009, p. 40.
  6. "The Birkenhead Destroyers: Official Trials of the Wolf" (PDF). The Engineer. Vol. 85. 18 April 1898. p. 254.
  7. "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times (36547). London. 30 August 1901. p. 8.
  8. "Earnest Class Destroyers". World Naval Ships.com. Retrieved 29 May 2013.
  9. Brassey 1902, p. 90.
  10. Chesneau and Kolesnik 1979, p. 98.
  11. Friedman 2009, p. 304.
  12. Brown 2003, pp. 184–185.
  13. Gardiner and Gray 1985, p. 18.
  14. Manning 1961, pp. 17–18.
  15. "NMM, vessel ID 378940" (PDF). Warship Histories, vol iv. National Maritime Museum. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 October 2013. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
  16. "HMS Wolf". Late 18th, 19th and early 20th Century Naval and Naval Social History. pbenyon.plus.com. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
  17. Manning 1961, p. 26.
  18. Corbett Vol. I 1920, pp. 15–16.
  19. "Supplement to the Monthly Navy List Showing Organisation of the Fleet, Flag Officers' Commands, &c.: VI. — Vessels Under Rear-Admiral Commanding East Coast of England". The Navy List: 16. June 1917. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  20. "Ships of the Royal Navy - Location/Action Date, 1914–1918: Part 2 - Admiralty "Pink Lists", 30 June 1917". Naval-history.net. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  21. "Supplement to the Monthly Navy List Showing Organisation of the Fleet, Flag Officers' Commands, &c.: VII. — Coast of Ireland Station". The Navy List: 17. September 1917. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  22. "Ships of the Royal Navy - Location/Action Date, 1914–1918: Part 2 - Admiralty "Pink Lists", 2 January 1918". Naval-history.net. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  23. Friedman 2009, p. 53.
  24. "Ships of the Royal Navy - Location/Action Date, 1914–1918: Part 2 - Admiralty "Pink Lists", 11 November 1918". Naval-history.net. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  25. Dittmar and Colledge 1972, p. 57.

Bibliography
  • Brassey, T.A. (1902). The Naval Annual 1902. Portsmouth, UK: J. Griffin and Co.
  • Chesneau, Roger & Kolesnik, Eugene M., eds. (1979). Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-133-5.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • 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.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Friedman, Norman (2009). British Destroyers: From Earliest Days to the Second World War. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-049-9.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • 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.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Lyon, David (2001) [1996]. The First Destroyers. London: Caxton Editions. ISBN 1-84067-3648.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Manning, T. D. (1961). The British Destroyer. London: Putnam & Co. OCLC 6470051.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • 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.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
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