Two ''Spiteful''-class destroyers served with 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 Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...

. These ships were both built by

Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Company Limited Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Company Limited, often referred to simply as "Palmers", was a British shipbuilding company. The Company was based in Jarrow, County Durham, in north-eastern England, and also had operations in Hebburn and Willing ...

Jarrow Jarrow ( or ) is a town in South Tyneside in the county of Tyne and Wear, England. It is east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is situated on the south bank of the River Tyne, about from the east coast. It is home to the southern portal of the ...

, and were part of the group of boats known as the 'thirty knotters'. Concern about the higher speeds of foreign boats had prompted the Admiralty to order new destroyers capable of , rather than the requirement which had been standard. The boats were not able to make this speed in bad weather, where they were usually wet and uncomfortable with cramped crew quarters. However, they proved their toughness while serving through the

Great War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, despite being twenty years old. Thanks to their watertight bulkheads, their thin plating and light structure was able to take a great deal of damage and remain afloat; although their plates were easily damaged by rough handling or heavy weather. The ships were fitted with

Reed water tube boiler The Reed water tube boiler was a type of water tube boiler developed by J. W. Reed, manager of the engine works at Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Company of Jarrow, England, where it was manufactured from 1893 to 1905. At this time, Palmers ...

s that generated around . Both were originally fired using coal, but in 1904 ''Spiteful'' was converted to burn

fuel oil Fuel oil is any of various fractions obtained from the distillation of petroleum (crude oil). Such oils include distillates (the lighter fractions) and residues (the heavier fractions). Fuel oils include heavy fuel oil, marine fuel oil (MFO), bu ...

. They were armed with the standard 12-pounder gun and two

torpedo tube A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed abo ...

s and carried a complement of 63 officers and men. The two ships of this type bore four funnels and were designated s in 1913. They were sold off after the end of hostilities.

Ships

* , launched 11 January 1899, sold for breaking up 14 September 1920. * , launched 30 March 1899, sold for breaking up 30 August 1919.

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * {{B class destroyer (1913) Destroyer classes Ship classes of the Royal Navy