HMS ''Thrasher'' was a "thirty-knotter"

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 ...

of the

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. She was completed by Laird, Son & Company,

Birkenhead Birkenhead () is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liverpool. It lies within the Historic counties of England, historic co ...

, in 1897. One of four ''Quail''-class destroyers (later classed as part of the B-class), she served in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, sinking the German submarine in 1917, and was sold off after hostilities ended.

Design and construction

As part of its 1894–1895 shipbuilding programme for the

, 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 orders with

Laird Brothers 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, ...

for four destroyers. The destroyers ordered under the 1894–1895 programme had a contracted speed of rather than the required of previous destroyers. Armament was specified to be a QF 12 pounder 12 cwt ( calibre), with a secondary armament of five 6-pounder guns, and two 18-inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes.Friedman 2009, p. 46–47.Lyon 2001, pp. 21–22. As with other early Royal Navy destroyers, the detailed design was left to the builder, with the Admiralty laying down only broad requirements.Chesneau and Kolesnik 1979, p. 87.Manning 1961, p. 39. Laird's four ships were each powered by two four-cylinder triple expansion steam engines, fed by four

Normand boiler Three-drum boilers are a class of water-tube boiler used to generate steam, typically to power Steamship, ships. They are compact and of high evaporative power, factors that encourage this use. Other boiler designs may be more efficient, although ...

s, rated at , and were fitted with four funnels. They had an

overall length The overall length (OAL) of an ammunition cartridge is a measurement from the base of the brass shell casing to the tip of the bullet, seated into the brass casing. Cartridge overall length, or "COL", is important to safe functioning of reloads i ...

of , a

beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Radio beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially lo ...

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 light and full load,Lyon 2001, pp. 61–62.Chesneau and Kolesnik 1979, p. 94. while crew was 63.Manning 1961, p. 40. ''Thrasher'' was laid down at Laird's

shipyard as Yard Number 608 on 30 May 1895, as the third of the four destroyers ordered from Laird's, and was launched on 5 November 1895. She reached a speed of over a measured mile and an average speed of over three hours during trials on 14 December 1896.. ''Thrasher'' commissioned in June 1897.

Service history

Pre-war service

Newly commissioned, ''Thrasher'' took part in the

naval review A Naval Review is an event where select vessels and assets of the United States Navy are paraded to be reviewed by the President of the United States or the Secretary of the Navy. Due to the geographic distance separating the modern U.S. Na ...

off

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 26 June 1897 to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

. On 20 August 1897, ''Thrasher'' collided with the cruiser in the

English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...

, killing one crewmember. ''Thrasher''s

helmsman A helmsman or helm (sometimes driver or steersman) is a person who steering, steers a ship, sailboat, submarine, other type of maritime vessel, airship, or spacecraft. The rank and seniority of the helmsman may vary: on small vessels such as fis ...

was blamed for the accident by a

court-martial A court-martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the arme ...

and was dismissed from the ship. On 29 September 1897, ''Thrasher'' and the destroyer ran aground in a fog off

Dodman Point Dodman Point (Cornish: Penn Den Varow) near Mevagissey is the highest headland on the south Cornwall coast, measuring . It is also known by its earlier names of the Deadman and Deadman's Point. It hosts the remains of an Iron Age promontory fo ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

. The grounding caused a steam main aboard ''Thrasher'' to rupture, killing four stokers. While both ships were refloated, ''Thrasher'' was badly damaged and after repair was no longer as fast as her sister ships. The ship's

commanding officer The commanding officer (CO) or commander, or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually give ...

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

Travers, was severely reprimanded by the resulting court-martial. On 5 December 1901 ''Thrasher'' was commissioned by Lieutenant and Commander C. D. S. Raikes as tender to the battleship ''Formidable'' on 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 ...

. She left Devonport for

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 ...

in January the following year, returning to home waters in 1906. While at Malta she was in May 1902 again involved a collision, with the destroyer ''Coquette'', and had her stern damaged. In early January 1903 she took part in a three-weeks cruise with other ships of her squadron 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 ...

. In 1910, ''Thrasher'' formed part of the

Fifth 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 ...

. On 30 August 1912 the Admiralty directed all destroyers were to be grouped into classes designated by letters based on contract speed and appearance. As a four-funneled 30-knotter destroyer, ''Thrasher'' was assigned to the B Class.Gardiner and Gray 1985, p. 18.Manning 1961, pp. 17–18. In 1912, older destroyers were transferred to patrol flotillas,Manning 1961, p. 25. with ''Thrasher'' forming part of the Seventh Flotilla, based at Devonport, by March 1913. ''Thrasher'', still based at Devonport as part of the Seventh Flotilla, took part in the search for the missing submarine (which had sunk in

Whitsand Bay Whitsand Bay, situated in south east Cornwall, England, runs from Rame Head in the east to Portwrinkle in the west. It is characterised by sheer, high cliffs, dramatic scenery and long stretches of sandy beaches. The South West Coast Path ru ...

, Cornwall on 16 JanuaryGardiner and Gray 1985, p. 86.), with ''Thrasher''s commanding officer dying of a chill caught during the search.

First World War

On the outbreak of the

, the Seventh Flotilla moved to the East coast of England.Manning 1961, pp. 15–16. ''Thrasher'' remained with the Flotilla through 1915 and 1916. On 8 February 1917, ''Thrasher'' spotted the German submarine while the submarine was in the process of attacking a merchant ship off

Flamborough Head Flamborough Head () is a promontory, long on the Yorkshire coast of England, between the Filey and Bridlington bays of the North Sea. It is a chalk headland, with sheer white cliffs. The cliff top has two standing lighthouse towers, the olde ...

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. When ''UC-39'' dived, ''Thrasher'' responded with a

depth charge A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon designed to destroy submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited ...

which badly damaged the submarine, which was forced to the surface. ''Thrasher'' fired on the surfaced submarine until it was realised that ''UC-39''s crew was surrendering. ''Thrasher'' rescued 17 Germans together with two British sailors who had been held prisoner aboard ''UC-39'', with seven Germans killed. ''UC-39'' sank while attempts were being made to tow the submarine to port.Grant 1964, p. 66. By September 1917, ''Thrasher'' transferred to the local Patrol Flotilla on the Nore, remaining on that station until the end of the war. ''Thrasher'' was sold for scrap on 4 November 1919.Dittmar and Colledge 1972, p. 57.

Pennant numbers

Citations

References

* * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Thrasher (1895) Quail-class destroyers Ships built on the River Mersey 1895 ships Maritime incidents in 1897 B-class destroyers (1913) World War I destroyers of the United Kingdom