HMS ''Electra'' was a

Clydebank Clydebank () 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, Milton beyond) to the w ...

-built, three-funnelled, 30-knot

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...

ordered by the Royal Navy under the 1895–1896 Naval Estimates. She was the fourth ship to carry this name since it was introduced in 1806 for a 16-gun

brig-sloop During the 18th and 19th centuries, a sloop-of-war was a warship of the Royal Navy with a single gun deck that carried up to 18 guns. The rating system of the Royal Navy covered all vessels with 20 or more guns; thus, the term encompassed all ...

. In 1913 she was grouped along with similar vessels as a .

Construction

She was

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one ...

yard number The yard (symbol: yd) is an English unit of length in both the British imperial and US customary systems of measurement equalling 3 feet or 36 inches. Since 1959 it has been by international agreement standardized as exactly 0.9 ...

289 on 18 October 1895, at J & G Thompson shipyard in

, and launched on 14 July 1896. During her builder's trials, she had problems attaining her contract speed. Her hull was lengthened by , then she made her contract speed of . She was completed and accepted by the Royal Navy in July 1900.

Service

After

commissioning Commissioning is a process or service provided to validate the completeness and accuracy of a project or venture. It may refer more specifically to: * Project commissioning, a process of assuring that all components of a facility are designed, in ...

''Electra'' was assigned to the Chatham Division of the Harwich Flotilla. She was deployed in home waters for her entire service life. On 1 January 1901 she was commissioned by Lieutenant Bertram Sutton Evans as part of the

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 ...

instructional flotilla, taking the place and crew from , but he was succeeded in command only two weeks later by Lieutenant Cecil Dacre Staveley Raikes. In June 1902 she took the place of in the

instructional flotilla, under the command of Lieutenant

Rowland Henry Bather Rowland may refer to: Places United States *Rowland Heights, California, an unincorporated community in Los Angeles County *Rowland, Kentucky, an unincorporated community * Rowland Township, Michigan *Rowland, Missouri, an unincorporated community ...

, but he transferred to after two months. The destroyer took part in the fleet review held at

Spithead Spithead is an eastern area of the Solent and a roadstead for vessels off Gilkicker Point in Hampshire, England. It is protected from all winds except those from the southeast, with the Isle of Wight lying to the south-west. Spithead and the ch ...

on 16 August 1902 for the

coronation A coronation ceremony marks the formal investiture of a monarch with regal power using a crown. In addition to the crowning, this ceremony may include the presentation of other items of regalia, and other rituals such as the taking of special v ...

of King

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until Death and state funeral of Edward VII, his death in 1910. The second child ...

. On 30 August 1912 the

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong * Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Tra ...

directed all destroyer classes were to be designated by letters. Since her design speed was and she had three

funnels A funnel is a tube or pipe that is wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, used for guiding liquid or powder into a small opening. Funnels are usually made of stainless steel, aluminium, glass, or plastic. The material used in its constructi ...

, she was assigned with vessels built to the same specification as the C class. After 30 September 1913, she was known as a C-class destroyer and had the letter ‘C’ painted on the hull below the

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

area and on either the fore or aft funnel. In 1914 she was in active commission at the

Nore The Nore is a long sandbank, bank of sand and silt running along the south-centre of the final narrowing of the Thames Estuary, England. Its south-west is the very narrow Nore Sand. Just short of the Nore's easternmost point where it fades int ...

based at

Sheerness Sheerness () is a port town and civil parish beside the mouth of the River Medway on the north-west corner of the Isle of Sheppey in north Kent, England. With a population of 13,249, it is the second largest town on the island after the nearby ...

tendered to , a Royal Navy training establishment. With the outbreak of hostilities in August 1914 she was assigned to the Nore Local Flotilla. Her duties included anti-submarine and counter-mining patrols in the

Thames Estuary The Thames Estuary is where the River Thames meets the waters of the North Sea, in the south-east of Great Britain. Limits An estuary can be defined according to different criteria (e.g. tidal, geographical, navigational or in terms of salinit ...

. In 1919 she was

paid off Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to placing a warship i ...

and laid-up in

reserve Reserve or reserves may refer to: Places * Reserve, Kansas, a US city * Reserve, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish * Reserve, Montana, a census-designated place in Sheridan County * Reserve, New Mexico, a US v ...

awaiting disposal. She was sold on 29 April 1920 to Barking Ship Breaking Company for breaking.

Pennant numbers

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * *

External links

* http://www.gwpda.org/naval/s0420000.htm * http://www.dreadnoughtproject.org/tfs/index.php/H.M.S._Electra_(1896) {{DEFAULTSORT:Electra (1896) Ships built on the River Clyde 1896 ships C-class destroyers (1913) World War I destroyers of the United Kingdom