Design and description
The ''Acasta'' class was based on an enlarged , a very fast Yarrow Shipbuilders, Yarrow Special of the .March, p. 125 ''Ardent'' was ordered to evaluate William Denny & Brothers' recently developed longitudinal framing method of building which offered greater hull (watercraft), hull strength for a given weight than conventional transverse construction. The ''Acasta''s had an length overall, overall length of , a Beam (nautical), beam of , and a normal Draft (hull), draught of .Gardiner & Gray, p. 75 The ships Displacement (ship), displaced at deep load and their crew numbered 73 officers and naval rating, ratings.Friedman, p. 295 The destroyers were powered by a single Parsons Marine Steam Turbine Company, Parsons steam turbine that drove two propeller shafts using steam provided by Yarrow boilers. ''Ardent'' differed from her sister ships in that she had only three rather than four boilers and only two funnel (ship), funnels. The engines developed a total of and were designed for a speed of . The ship reached a speed of during her sea trials. The ''Acasta''s had a range of at a cruising speed of . The primary armament of the ships consisted of three BL 4 inch naval gun Mk VIII, BL Mk VIII guns in single, unprotected pivot mounts. ''Ardent'' had one gun on the forecastle, one on a platform between her funnels and the third aft of the superstructure. The destroyers were equipped with a pair of single rotating mounts for British 21 inch torpedo, 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes amidships and carried two reload torpedoes.Construction and career
HMS ''Ardent'', the seventh Royal Navy ship to bear the name, was ordered under the 1911–1912 Naval Programme from William Denny & Brothers. The ship was laid down at the company's Dumbarton shipyard on 9 October 1911, Ship naming and launching, launched on 8 September 1912 and Ship commissioning, commissioned in February 1914. She joined the 4th Destroyer Flotilla on completion, and served with the Grand Fleet on the outbreak of the First World War. She was sunk on 1 June 1916 during the Battle of Jutland by secondary fire from the German dreadnought . Seventy-eight men went down with the ship; there were only two survivors. The wrecksite is designated as a ''protected place'' under the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986.Pennant numbers
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