HMS Acasta (1912)
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HMS ''Acasta'' was an of the Royal Navy, and the name ship of that class. She was built between 1911 and 1913, and was initially designated a K-class
torpedo boat destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in 1 ...
, having at various times the
pennant number In the Royal Navy and other navies of Europe and the Commonwealth of Nations, ships are identified by pennant number (an internationalisation of ''pendant number'', which it was called before 1948). Historically, naval ships flew a flag that iden ...
s G40, H59 (1914) or H00 (1918). She saw extensive service during the First World War, including at the
Battle of Jutland The Battle of Jutland (german: Skagerrakschlacht, the Battle of the Skagerrak) was a naval battle fought between Britain's Royal Navy Grand Fleet, under Admiral John Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe, Sir John Jellicoe, and the Imperial German Navy ...
, where she was badly damaged. She was sold for breaking up in 1921.


Construction

''Acasta'', originally intended to be named ''King'', was laid down at John Brown's shipyard at
Clydebank Clydebank ( gd, Bruach Chluaidh) is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland. Situated on the north bank of the River Clyde, it borders the village of Old Kilpatrick (with Bowling, West Dunbartonshire, Bowling and Milton, West Dunbartonshire, Mil ...
on 1 December 1911, launched on 10 September 1912 and completed the following month. Powered by two shaft Brown-Curtis
steam turbine A steam turbine is a machine that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam and uses it to do mechanical work on a rotating output shaft. Its modern manifestation was invented by Charles Parsons in 1884. Fabrication of a modern steam turbin ...
s she had a maximum speed of and had a complement of 75-77 men. After completion she joined the
4th Destroyer Flotilla The British 4th Destroyer Flotilla , or Fourth Destroyer Flotilla, was a naval formation of the Royal Navy from August 1909 to July 1951. History In 1907 the Home Fleet had a large formation of destroyers called the Home Fleet Flotilla of destr ...
.


Service during the First World War

''Acasta'' served with the Grand Fleet from the outbreak of the First World War. Her depot ship was . On 16 December 1914 she was in the
4th Destroyer Flotilla The British 4th Destroyer Flotilla , or Fourth Destroyer Flotilla, was a naval formation of the Royal Navy from August 1909 to July 1951. History In 1907 the Home Fleet had a large formation of destroyers called the Home Fleet Flotilla of destr ...
attached to a battle group sent to challenge several German ships intent on bombarding the North Yorkshire coast.


Battle of Jutland

During the
Battle of Jutland The Battle of Jutland (german: Skagerrakschlacht, the Battle of the Skagerrak) was a naval battle fought between Britain's Royal Navy Grand Fleet, under Admiral John Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe, Sir John Jellicoe, and the Imperial German Navy ...
, the 4th Flotilla was attached to Admiral David Beatty's Battlecruiser Fleet based at Rosyth, and assigned to cover the
3rd Battlecruiser Squadron The 3rd Battlecruiser Squadron was a short-lived Royal Navy squadron of battlecruisers that saw service as part of the Grand Fleet during the First World War. Creation The 3rd Battlecruiser Squadron was created in 1915, with the return to home ...
, screening the cruiser . ''Acasta'' was commanded by Lieutenant Commander J. O. Barron. The squadron left Pentland Firth in the evening of 30 May 1916 and engaged the enemy at 5.40pm on 31 May. During the battle, destroyer was crippled by gunfire and was offered assistance by the already damaged ''Acasta'' but declined. In the same action, against at that time a superior enemy force, ''Acasta'' was hit by two shells from , which left her with six dead and one wounded, and unable to stop or steer. A signal from at 6.40pm reported ''Acasta'' in danger of sinking. Admiral Beatty's report on the battle mentions an unknown, disabled destroyer which, from the time (about 7pm) may refer to ''Acasta''. At 6.47 , the Grand Fleet's flagship, passed the disabled destroyer whose crew lined the sides to cheer the battleship as she passed. According to an eye-witness aboard , ''Acasta'' was "badly holed, with standing by her." ''Acasta'' was able to effect some emergency repairs during the next six hours, but broke down again and was eventually taken in tow by and reached Aberdeen two days after the battle, so badly damaged she practically had to be rebuilt. She claimed a torpedo hit on but this was not officially confirmed. The German Admiralty's report of the battle on 1 June included the claim that ''Acasta'' had been destroyed.


After Jutland

After extensive repairs, completed by 2 August, ''Acasta'' went back into service, joining one of the destroyer flotillas (4th or 6th) in one of the English Channel bases of Portsmouth, Devonport or Dover. She sustained damage, with three casualties, following a collision in the English Channel on 22 December 1917.


Post-war service

On 6 and 8 August 1919 ''Acasta'' attended the newly commissioned heavy cruiser on torpedo trials in
Freshwater Bay Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the term specifically excludes seawater and brackish water, it does include ...
. (Note: ref describes ''Hawkins'' as a light cruiser, probably incorrectly)


Fate

''Acasta'' was sold on 9 May 1921 to Ward, Hayle for breaking up.


References


Further reading


Map and timelines of Battle of Jutland
* Corbett, Sir Julian, ''History of the Great War - Naval Operations'', Vol. 3, Longmans, 1921. Full text online a


External links

*
Imperial War Museum: Lives of the First World War: HMS ''Acasta'' at the Battle of Jutland
* Battle of Jutland Crew Lists Project
HMS Acasta Crew List
{{DEFAULTSORT:Acasta Acasta-class destroyers World War I destroyers of the United Kingdom 1912 ships Ships built on the River Clyde