HMS ''Fawn'' was a Palmer three funnel, 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 The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

under the 1896 – 1897 Naval Estimates. She was the fourth ship to carry this name.

Construction

''Fawn'' was laid down on 5 September 1896 at the

Palmer Palmer may refer to: People and fictional characters * Palmer (pilgrim), a medieval European pilgrim to the Holy Land * Palmer (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Palmer (surname), including a list of people and f ...

shipyard at Jarrow-on-Tyne and launched on 13 April 1897. During her builder's trials she made her contracted speed requirement. She was completed and accepted by the Royal Navy in December 1898.

Pre-War

''Fawn'' spent her early operational career in Home Waters operating with the Channel Fleet as part of the Portsmouth Instructional Flotilla. Lieutenant Christopher Powell Metcalfe was in command from 15 January 1901, but was succeeded only two months later in March that year. 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 27 August 1901 by Lieutenant and Commander J. A. Ingles and assigned to the

Channel Fleet The Channel Fleet and originally known as the Channel Squadron was the Royal Navy formation of warships that defended the waters of the English Channel from 1854 to 1909 and 1914 to 1915. History Throughout the course of Royal Navy's history th ...

. On 2 April 1902 she was commissioned to relieve the destroyer at the

Mediterranean station The British Mediterranean Fleet, also known as the Mediterranean Station, was a military formation, formation of the Royal Navy. The Fleet was one of the most prestigious commands in the navy for the majority of its history, defending the vita ...

, under the command of Lieutenant Robert W. Myburgh. She left

in late May, arriving at

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

on 9 June 1902. In September 1902 she visited

Nauplia Nafplio or Nauplio () is a coastal city located in the Peloponnese in Greece. It is the capital of the regional unit of Argolis and an important tourist destination. Founded in antiquity, the city became an important seaport in the Middle Ages du ...

with other ships of the fleet, and in early January 1903 there was a similar three-weeks cruise in the Greek islands around

Corfu Corfu ( , ) or Kerkyra (, ) is a Greece, Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands; including its Greek islands, small satellite islands, it forms the margin of Greece's northwestern frontier. The island is part of the Corfu (regio ...

. She returned to Home Waters in 1906. On 30 August 1912, the Admiralty directed all destroyer classes were to be designated by alpha characters starting with the letter 'A'. Since her design speed was and she had three funnels, she was assigned to the . After 30 September 1913, she was known as a C-class destroyer and had the letter ‘C’ painted on the hull below the bridge area and on either the fore or aft funnel.

World War I

In July 1914 ''Fawn'' was deployed in the

6th Destroyer Flotilla The British 6th Destroyer Flotilla, or Sixth Destroyer Flotilla, was a military formation of the Royal Navy from 1911 to 1939 and again from 1947 to 1951 History The flotilla was formed in 1911 at Portsmouth, with its first commander, Captain Mor ...

based at Dover. In November 1916 she was transferred to the 7th Flotilla on the Humber River. During her deployment there she was involved in anti-submarine and counter-mining patrols.

Disposition

In 1919 ''Fawn'' was paid off and laid-up in reserve awaiting disposal. She was sold on 23 July 1919 to

Thos. W. Ward Thos. W. Ward Ltd was a Sheffield, Yorkshire, business primarily working steel, engineering and cement. It began as coal and coke merchants. It expanded into recycling metal for Sheffield's steel industry, and then the supply and manufacture ...

of Sheffield for breaking at New Holland, Lincolnshire, on the Humber Estuary. She was awarded the Battle Honour Belgian Coast 1914 – 18 for her service.

Pennant numbers

References

Note: All tabular data under General Characteristics only from the listed Jane's Fighting Ships volume unless otherwise specified

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fawn (1897) Ships built on the River Tyne 1897 ships C-class destroyers (1913) World War I destroyers of the United Kingdom