HMS Ardent (1913)

Coordinates: 56°42′N 5°52′E / 56.700°N 5.867°E

HMS Ardent
History
United Kingdom
Name:	HMS Ardent
Builder:	William Denny & Brothers Limited, Dumbarton
Launched:	8 September 1913
Fate:	Sunk at Battle of Jutland on 1 June 1916
General characteristics
Class and type:	Acasta-class destroyer
Displacement:	935 tons
Length:	267 ft 6 in (81.53 m)
Beam:	27 ft (8.2 m)
Draught:	10 ft 6 in (3.20 m)
Installed power:	24,500 ihp (18,300 kW)
Propulsion:	Yarrow-type water-tube boilers Parsons steam turbines
Speed:	29 kn (54 km/h; 33 mph)
Complement:	75
Armament:	3 × QF 4-inch (101.6 mm) L/40 Mark IV guns, mounting P Mk. IX 1 × QF 2-pounder pom-pom Mk. II 2 × single tubes for 21 in (533 mm) torpedoes

HMS Ardent was an Acasta-class destroyer and the seventh Royal Navy ship to bear the name. She was launched in 1913 and was sunk at the Battle of Jutland in 1916.

Construction and career

HMS Ardent was built using longitudinal framing rather than conventional transverse framing. She was laid down under the 1911–1912 construction programme by William Denny & Brothers Limited and launched on 8 September 1913.^[1] She was temporarily renamed HMS Kenric in October 1913, but this was reverted shortly afterwards.^[1]

She joined the 4th Destroyer Flotilla on completion and served with the Grand Fleet on the outbreak of the First World War.

Loss

She was sunk on 1 June 1916 during the Battle of Jutland by secondary fire from the German dreadnought SMS Westfalen.^[2] Seventy-eight men went down with the ship, there were only 2 survivors.^[3]

The wrecksite is designated as a protected place^[4] under the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986.

Pennant numbers

Pennant Number[1]	From	To
H78	6 December 1914	1 June 1916

References

1. ""Arrowsmith" List: Royal Navy WWI Destroyer Pendant Numbers". Retrieved 2009-02-27.
2. "Battleships-Cruisers.co.uk website - Destroyers before 1918". Retrieved 2009-02-27.
3. "Officers and Men Killed in Action or Died of Wounds, H.M.S. Ardent, Battle of Jutland 31st May -1st June 1916.".
4. "Statutory Instrument 2008/0950". Office of Public Sector Information, 1 April 2008. Retrieved 2008-07-19.