HMS ''Itchen'' was a Laird-type River-class

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 1901–1902 Naval Estimates. Named after the River Itchen in southern England near

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

, she was the first ship to carry this name in the Royal Navy.

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 ...

on 18 August 1902 at the

Cammell Laird Cammell Laird is a British shipbuilding company. It was formed from the merger of Laird Brothers of Birkenhead and Johnson Cammell & Co of Sheffield at the turn of the twentieth century. The company also built railway rolling stock until 1929, ...

shipyard at Birkenhead and launched on 13 March 1903. She was completed in January 1904. Her original armament was to be the same as the turtleback

torpedo boat 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 in ...

s that preceded her. In 1906 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 ...

decided to upgrade the armament by landing the five 6-pounder naval guns and shipping three 12-pounder 8 hundredweight (cwt) guns. Two would be mounted abeam at the

forecastle The forecastle ( ; contracted as fo'c'sle or fo'c's'le) is the upper deck (ship), 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 t ...

break and the third gun would be mounted on the

quarterdeck The quarterdeck is a raised deck behind the main mast of a sailing ship. Traditionally it was where the captain commanded his vessel and where the ship's colours were kept. This led to its use as the main ceremonial and reception area on bo ...

Service history

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 ...

''Itchen'' was assigned to the East Coast Destroyer Flotilla of the 1st Fleet and based at Harwich. On 27 April 1908 the Eastern Flotilla departed Harwich for live fire and night manoeuvres. During these exercises rammed and sank and then damaged . In April 1909 she was assigned to the

3rd Destroyer Flotilla The British 3rd Destroyer Flotilla, also styled as Third Destroyer Flotilla, was a naval formation of the Royal Navy from 1909 to 1939 and again from 1945 to 1951. History In 1907 the Channel Fleet had a large Channel Flotilla of destroyers in Fe ...

of the 1st Fleet on its formation at Harwich. ''Itchen'' ran aground North-west of

Kirkwall Kirkwall (, , or ; ) is the largest town in Orkney, an archipelago to the north of mainland Scotland. First mentioned in the ''Orkneyinga saga'', it is today the location of the headquarters of the Orkney Islands Council and a transport hub wi ...

on 20 September 1909. She was refloated two days later, and after temporary repairs at Kirkwall before undergoing more permanent repairs at

Chatham Dockyard Chatham Dockyard was a Royal Navy Dockyard located on the River Medway in Kent. Established in Chatham, Kent, Chatham in the mid-16th century, the dockyard subsequently expanded into neighbouring Gillingham, Kent, Gillingham; at its most extens ...

. She remained until displaced by a ''Basilisk''-class destroyer by May 1912. She went into reserve assigned to the

5th Destroyer Flotilla The British 5th Destroyer Flotilla, or Fifth Destroyer Flotilla, was a naval formation of the Royal Navy from 1910 to 1942 and again from 1947 to 1951. History The flotilla was formed in February 1910 and disbanded in 1942. Its first commander ...

of the 2nd Fleet with a nucleus crew. On 30 August 1912 the Admiralty directed all destroyer classes were to be designated by alpha characters starting with the letter "A". The ships of the River class were assigned to the E class. After 30 September 1913, she was known as an E-class destroyer and had the letter "E" 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 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 ...

World War I

In early 1914 when displaced by G-class destroyers she joined the

9th Destroyer Flotilla The 9th Destroyer Flotilla, or Ninth Destroyer Flotilla, was a military formation of the British Royal Navy from January 1913 to December 1925 and again in January to July 1940. History Established in January 1913 when it was assigned to the Pa ...

based at Chatham tendered to . The 9th Flotilla was a Patrol Flotilla tasked with anti-submarine and counter

mining Mining is the Resource extraction, extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agriculture, agricultural processes, or feasib ...

patrols in the

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area. By September 1914, she was deployed to the

Scapa Flow Scapa Flow (; ) is a body of water in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, sheltered by the islands of Mainland, Graemsay, Burray,S. C. George, ''Jutland to Junkyard'', 1973. South Ronaldsay and Hoy. Its sheltered waters have played an impor ...

Local Flotilla. Here she provided anti-submarine and counter mining patrols in defence of the main fleet anchorage.

Loss

On 6 July 1917 ''Itchen'' was

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, such ...

ed in the

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by the German submarine north northeast of

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, Scotland, with the loss of eight officers and ratings. She sank at position .

Pennant numbers

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Itchen (1903) River-class destroyers 1903 ships Ships built on the River Mersey Maritime incidents in 1917 Ships sunk by German submarines in World War I World War I shipwrecks in the North Sea