HMS ''Ribble'' was a Yarrow-type River-class destroyer ordered by the Royal Navy under the 1901 – 1902 Naval Estimates. Named after the

River Ribble The River Ribble runs through North Yorkshire and Lancashire in Northern England. It starts close to the Ribblehead Viaduct in North Yorkshire, and is one of the few that start in the Yorkshire Dales and flow westwards towards the Irish Sea (t ...

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

Construction

She was laid down on 4 July 1902 at the Yarrow shipyard at Poplar and launched on 19 March 1904. Her build was completed in June 1904. Her original armament was to be the same as the turtleback torpedo boat destroyers that preceded her. In 1906 the Admiralty decided to upgrade the armament by fitting three 12-pounder 8 hundredweight (cwt) guns instead of the five 6-pounder guns. Two were mounted abeam at the foc'x'le break and the third gun was mounted on the quarterdeck.

Service history

After commissioning she was assigned to the East Coast Destroyer Flotilla of the 1st Fleet and based at

Harwich Harwich is a town in Essex, England, and one of the Haven ports on the North Sea coast. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the north-east, Ipswich to the north-west, Colchester to the south-west and Clacton- ...

. On 27 April 1908 the Eastern Flotilla departed Harwich for live fire and night manoeuvres. During these exercises rammed and sank then collided with ''Ribble'' and holed her below the waterline. She had to put into

Sheerness Sheerness () is a 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 11,938, it is the second largest town on the island after the nearby tow ...

for repairs. In 1909/1910 she was assigned to the

China Station The Commander-in-Chief, China was the admiral in command of what was usually known as the China Station, at once both a British Royal Navy naval formation and its admiral in command. It was created in 1865 and deactivated in 1941. From 1831 to 18 ...

. On 30 August 1912 the Admiralty directed that all destroyer classes were to be designated by letters. The ships of the River class were assigned to the E class and after 30 September 1913, she was known as an E-class destroyer and had the letter ‘E’ painted on the hull below the bridge area and on either the fore or aft funnel. In July 1914 she was on China Station based at

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

tendered to . ''Ribble'' was assigned to patrol duties under the command of the commodore at Hong Kong. With the fall of Qingdao and the sinking of , she was redeployed to the

5th Destroyer Flotilla The British 5th Destroyer Flotilla, or Fifth Destroyer Flotilla, was a naval formation of the Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingd ...

in the

British Mediterranean Fleet The British Mediterranean Fleet, also known as the Mediterranean Station, was a 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 vital sea link between t ...

in November 1914 accompanying ''Triumph'' in support of the Dardanelles Campaign. On 17 March 1915, she closed on the French battleship ''Bouvet'' after she struck a mine in the Dardanelles. On 25 April 1915, under the command of Lieutenant Commander R W Wilkinson, she supported the landings at ANZAC Cove. By 10 February 1916 ''Ribble'' was on the

Smyrna Smyrna ( ; grc, Σμύρνη, Smýrnē, or , ) was a Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean coast of Anatolia. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna rose to promi ...

Patrol enforcing the blockade of the Turkish coast from Cape Kaba to latitude 38°30’E, a distance of 200 nautical miles, and including the port of

. At this time she was based at Port Iero on the island of

Lesbos Lesbos or Lesvos ( el, Λέσβος, Lésvos ) is a Greek island located in the northeastern Aegean Sea. It has an area of with approximately of coastline, making it the third largest island in Greece. It is separated from Asia Minor by the n ...

. She remained in the Mediterranean until the end of the war. In 1919 she returned to home waters, was paid off and laid up in reserve awaiting disposal. On 29 July 1920 she was sold to

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

of Sheffield for breaking, appropriately given her name, on the River Ribble at Preston, Lancashire. She was awarded the battle honour "Dardanelles 1915 - 1916" for her service

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ribble, 1904 River-class destroyers 1904 ships Ships built on the River Thames Maritime incidents in 1908