HMS ''Sparrowhawk'' was an built in 1912 and sunk in 1916 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 Sir John Jellicoe, and the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet, under Vice ...

after a collision with the

destroyer leader Destroyer leader (DL) was the United States Navy designation for large destroyers from 9 February 1951 through the early years of the Cold War. United States ships with hull classification symbol DL were officially frigates from 1 January 1955Blac ...

Construction and career

''Sparrowhawk'' was one of three s built at the

Wallsend Wallsend is a town in North Tyneside, England, at the eastern end of Hadrian's Wall. It has a population of 43,842 and lies east of Newcastle upon Tyne. History Roman Wallsend In Roman times, this was the site of the fort of Segedunum. This ...

yard of Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson and launched on 12 October 1912. She joined the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...

as part of 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 ...

upon completion in mid-1913.

Service in World War I

From the outbreak of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

''Sparrowhawk'' served with the 4th Destroyer Flotilla as part of the

Grand Fleet The Grand Fleet was the main battlefleet of the Royal Navy during the First World War. It was established in August 1914 and disbanded in April 1919. Its main base was Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands. History Formed in August 1914 from the F ...

Loss at the Battle of Jutland

She was sunk on 1 June 1916 after a collision with at the

. Six of her crew were killed. At around 23.40 some of the ships of the 4th Destroyer Flotilla formed up under Commander Walter Allen of ''Broke'', who was the half-flotilla leader, with the aim of continuing the attack against German ships nearby. ''Broke'' was caught in searchlights coming from the German

battleship A battleship is a large armour, armored warship with a main artillery battery, battery consisting of large caliber guns. It dominated naval warfare in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The term ''battleship'' came into use in the late 1 ...

. She attempted to fire torpedoes, but the range was very short, in the region of , and the German ship opened fire first. The effect was devastating so that within a couple of minutes 50 crew were killed and another 30 injured, disabling the guns and preventing any effective activity on deck. The helmsman was killed at the wheel, and as he died his body turned the wheel causing the ship to turn to port and ram ''Sparrowhawk''. Ww1pddBroke

Sub-Lieutenant Percy Wood saw ''Broke'' coming towards them at , heading directly for ''Sparrowhawk''s bridge. He shouted warnings to crew on the

fo'c'sle The forecastle ( ; contracted as fo'c'sle or fo'c's'le) is the upper deck of a sailing ship forward of the foremast, or, historically, the forward part of a ship with the sailors' living quarters. Related to the latter meaning is the phrase " be ...

to get clear, and then was knocked over by the impact. He awoke to find himself lying on the deck of ''Broke''. Wood reported to Commander Allen, who told him to return to his own ship and make preparations there to take on board the crew of ''Broke''. Two other men from ''Sparrowhawk'' were also thrown onto ''Broke'' by the collision. Returning to ''Sparrowhawk'', Wood was told by his own captain, Lieutenant-Commander Sydney Hopkins, that he had just sent exactly the same message across to ''Broke''. Approximately 20 men from ''Sparrowhawk'' evacuated to ''Broke'', while fifteen of ''Broke''s crew crossed to ''Sparrowhawk''. At this point a third destroyer, steamed into ''Sparrowhawk'', striking from her stern. ''Contest'' was relatively unharmed and able to continue after the collision. ''Broke'' and ''Sparrowhawk'' remained wedged together for about half an hour before they could be separated and ''Broke'' got underway, taking 30 of ''Sparrowhawk''s crew with her. ''Sparrowhawk'' still had engine power but the rudder was jammed to one side so she could do nothing except steam in circles, near the burning destroyer . At around 0200 a German torpedo boat approached, coming within , but then turned away. Only one gun was still functional, which the captain and his officers manned personally as the gun crews had been killed or injured, but they held fire in the hope the German would not initiate an attack ''Sparrowhawk'' could not hope to survive. Shortly after, ''Tipperary'' sank, putting out the fire which was attracting attention to the area. At around 0330 ''Sparrowhawk'' sighted a German

cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several roles. The term "cruiser", which has been in use for several ...

, again causing considerable alarm, but shortly afterwards the ship was seen to list and then sink bow first. This was , which had been torpedoed and then abandoned. At 0610 a raft approached, carrying 23 men from ''Tipperary'': three were found to be already dead, while five more died after being taken on board. Marksman-1917

An hour later three British destroyers arrived and attempted to get two hawsers attached to ''Sparrowhawk'' to tow her to safety. The high seas meant the ropes parted and there were reports of German submarines nearby. It was decided that ''Sparrowhawk'' must be abandoned, and ''Marksman'' fired 18 shells into her to ensure that she sank. The wreck of HMS ''Sparrowhawk'' was located in August 2016 by Dr Innes McCartney of

Bournemouth University Bournemouth University is a public university in Bournemouth, England, with its main campus situated in neighbouring Poole. The university was founded in 1992; however, the origins of its predecessor date back to the early 1900s. The univer ...

and a team from the

Sea War Museum Jutland The Sea War Museum Jutland is a war museum in Thyborøn, Jutland, Denmark. It was founded by Gert Normann Andersen and was opened on am 15 September 2015. It is about the Battle of Jutland, which took place during World War I, on 31 May 1916. At ...

. The wreck has been commercially salvaged at some time in the past. The wrecksite is designated as a ''protected place'' under the

Protection of Military Remains Act 1986 Protection is any measure taken to guard a thing against damage caused by outside forces. Protection can be provided to physical objects, including organisms, to systems, and to intangible things like civil and political rights. Although th ...

Pennant numbers

Notes

References

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External links

*
Battle of Jutland Crew Lists Project - HMS Sparrowhawk Crew List
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sparrowhawk (1912) Acasta-class destroyers World War I destroyers of the United Kingdom Maritime incidents in 1916 Ships sunk at the Battle of Jutland Ships sunk in collisions Protected Wrecks of the United Kingdom Ships built on the River Tyne 1912 ships