HMS ''Skate'' was a which served with 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 ...

. Built by

Vickers Vickers was a British engineering company that existed from 1828 until 1999. It was formed in Sheffield as a steel foundry by Edward Vickers and his father-in-law, and soon became famous for casting church bells. The company went public in 18 ...

, she was launched on 13 March 1895 and sold on 9 April 1907.

Construction and design

On 8 November 1893, the

British Admiralty The Admiralty was a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, department of the Government of the United Kingdom that was responsible for the command of the Royal Navy. Historically, its titular head was the Lord High Admiral of the ...

placed an order with the Naval Construction and Armament Company of

Barrow-in-Furness Barrow-in-Furness is a port town and civil parish (as just "Barrow") in the Westmorland and Furness district of Cumbria, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in the county of Lancashire, it was incorporated as a municipal borou ...

(later to become part of

) for three "Twenty-Seven Knotter" destroyers as part of the 1893–1894 construction programme for the

,Lyon 2001, p. 69 with in total, 36 destroyers being ordered from various shipbuilders for this programme.Lyon 2001, p. 19 The Admiralty only laid down a series of broad requirements for the destroyers, leaving detailed design to the ships' builders. The requirements included a trial speed of , a "turtleback"

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 ...

and a standard armament of a QF 12 pounder 12 cwt ( calibre) gun on a platform on the ship's

conning tower A conning tower is a raised platform on a ship or submarine, often armoured, from which an officer in charge can conn (nautical), conn (conduct or control) the vessel, controlling movements of the ship by giving orders to those responsible for t ...

(in practice the platform was also used as the ship's bridge), with a secondary armament of five 6-pounder guns, and two 18 inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes.Lyon 2001, p. 20Lyon 2001, pp. 98–99Friedman 2009, p. 40 The Naval Construction and Armament Company produced a design with a length of

overall Overalls or bib-and-brace overalls, also called dungarees in British English, are a type of garment usually used as protective clothing when working. The garments are commonly referred to as a "pair of overalls" by analogy with "pair of trousers ...

and

between perpendiculars Length between perpendiculars (often abbreviated as p/p, p.p., pp, LPP, LBP or Length BPP) is the length of a ship along the summer load line from the forward surface of the stem, or main bow perpendicular member, to the after surface of the ster ...

, with a beam of and a draught of .

Displacement Displacement may refer to: Physical sciences Mathematics and physics *Displacement (geometry), is the difference between the final and initial position of a point trajectory (for instance, the center of mass of a moving object). The actual path ...

was 300 long tons light and 340 long tons deep load. Three funnels were fitted, with the foremast between the ship's bridge and the first funnel.Friedman 2009, p. 50Manning 1961, p. 38 Four Blechyndnen

water-tube boiler A high pressure watertube boiler (also spelled water-tube and water tube) is a type of boiler in which water circulates in tubes heated externally by fire. Fuel is burned inside the furnace, creating hot gas which boils water in the steam-generat ...

s fed steam at to two three-cylinder triple expansion steam engines rated at .''The Engineer'' 11 October 1895, p. 365 60 tons of coal were carried,Brassey 1902, p. 274 giving a range of at a speed of .Friedman 2009, p. 291 The ship's crew was 53 officers and men. ''Skate'' 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 20 March 1894 as

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 ...

235, was launched on 13 March 1895 and completed in January 1896.

Service history

''Skate'' was in reserve at Devonport in 1897. She was commissioned to serve 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 ...

in April 1900, and was ordered to return home in early 1902. She left

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

on 9 May, convoyed by the

cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several operational roles from search-and-destroy to ocean escort to sea ...

, and arrived in

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 ...

on 14 May. She paid off at Devonport on 20 May, and was placed in the A Division of the Fleet Reserve. She 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 28 August she was attached to the Devonport instructional flotilla. During a cruise with the flotilla the following November, a heavy sea swept the upper deck and partially carried away the fore-bridge and twisted other fittings, leading ''skate'' to abort the cruise and return to dock for repairs. In 1906 ''Skate'' was used as a target in firing trials of the effectiveness of various guns against destroyers. 3-pounder (47 mm) guns proved ineffective, having difficulty penetrating the ship's plating in end-on engagements, and while 12-pounder (3-in (76 mm)) guns caused more damage, it was concluded that a single hit could not be guaranteed to disable a destroyer. 4-inch (102 mm) guns proved much more effective, particularly when

Lyddite Picric acid is an organic compound with the formula (O2N)3C6H2OH. Its IUPAC name is 2,4,6-trinitrophenol (TNP). The name "picric" comes from (''pikros''), meaning "bitter", due to its bitter taste. It is one of the most acidic phenols. Like oth ...

-filled shells were used, and this led to a change in destroyer armament to 4-inch guns.Brown 2003, pp. 178, 187.Friedman 2009, p. 108. Sold in 1907 to Cox & Co. of

Falmouth, Cornwall Falmouth ( ; ) is a town, civil parish and port on the River Fal on the south coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. Falmouth was founded in 1613 by the Killigrew family on a site near the existing Pendennis Castle. It developed as a po ...

for £305,''Journal of the American Society of Naval Engineers'' May 1907, p. 562. she was the first destroyer of this type to go to the breakers.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Skate (1895) Sturgeon-class destroyers Ships built in Barrow-in-Furness 1895 ships Victorian-era destroyers of the United Kingdom