HMS ''Daring'' and together made up the of torpedo boat destroyers which served with the Royal Navy during the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. On trial she made headlines as the 'Fastest Boat Ever'. The introduction of

steam turbine A steam turbine or steam turbine engine is a machine or heat engine that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam and uses it to do mechanical work utilising a rotating output shaft. Its modern manifestation was invented by Sir Charles Par ...

s after 1897 quickly made her and her sisters obsolete and she was sold off in 1912.

Construction

The ship was laid down as yard number 287 at the Thornycroft yard at Chiswick in July 1892. She was launched on 25 November 1893 following the naming ceremony by Mrs Thornycroft, the wife of the company founder

John Isaac Thornycroft Sir John Isaac Thornycroft (1 February 1843 – 28 June 1928) was an English shipbuilder, the founder of the Thornycroft shipbuilding company and member of the Thornycroft family. Early life He was born in 1843 to Mary Francis and Thom ...

. When ''Daring'' failed the sea trial

cavitation Cavitation in fluid mechanics and engineering normally is the phenomenon in which the static pressure of a liquid reduces to below the liquid's vapor pressure, leading to the formation of small vapor-filled cavities in the liquid. When sub ...

was analyzed more deeply for the first time. Thornycroft records suggest that ''Decoy'' and ''Daring'' together cost £66,948, but a letter to the Austrian Naval Attaché stated that the vessels had cost the Admiralty of £36,840 per vessel. ''Daring'' commenced her trials off

Gravesend Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, situated 21 miles (35 km) east-southeast of Charing Cross (central London) on the Bank (geography), south bank of the River Thames, opposite Tilbury in Essex. Located in the diocese of Roche ...

on 17 January 1894 and soon moved to the measured mile at Maplin Sands near Southend. On 19 July she managed a speed of 28.21 knots over the measured mile, exceeding her design speed and earning her the sobriquet of the 'Fastest Boat Ever'. Her coal consumption trial on 18 September showed that on one ton of coal she could travel nearly 38 nautical miles at 10 knots on one boiler. She was completed in February 1895.

Service history

''Daring'' appears to have served in home waters between 1895 and 1912. She was commissioned at

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

on 23 February 1900 as tender to , gunnery school situated on Whale Island near Portsmouth. In early June 1901 a boiler explosion occurred on board ''Daring'' at anchor off Portsmouth, causing the death of a crew-member and injuring several others. An inquiry showed that some tubes were blown out of the lower drum, thus freeing a flood of scalding water and steam. She was passed into the Fleet reserve at

in early June 1902, and later the same month joined the instructional flotilla at

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

. Lieutenant A. S. Susmann was appointed in command on 8 August 1902, and the following month she became tender to , gunnery school ship off

. Later in September 1902, however, she was reported to be part of a squadron visiting Nauplia and

Souda Bay Souda Bay () is a bay and natural harbour near the town of Souda on the northwest coast of the Greek island of Crete. The bay is about 15 km long and only two to four km wide, and a deep natural harbour. It is formed between the Akroti ...

Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

in the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

. On 26 October 1907 a minor collision took place between ''Daring'' and the destroyer at Devonport, both ships' hulls being dented. ''Daring'' was sold on 10 April 1912.Lyon (1996), p.43.

Notes

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Daring (1893) Daring-class destroyers (1893) 1893 ships Ships built in Chiswick Ships built by John I. Thornycroft & Company