HMS Ostrich (1900)

For other ships with the same name, see HMS Ostrich.
History
Name: HMS Ostrich
Ordered: 1898 – 1899 Naval Estimates
Builder: Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, Govan, Glasgow
Laid down: 28 June 1899
Launched: 22 March 1900
Commissioned: December 1901
Out of service: Laid up, December 1918
Fate: Sold for breaking, 29 April 1920
General characteristics
Class and type: Fairfield three-funnel, 30-knot destroyer[1][2]
Displacement:
  • 355 t (349 long tons) standard
  • 400 t (394 long tons) full load
Length: 215 ft 6 in (65.68 m) o/a
Beam: 21 ft (6.4 m)
Draught: 8 ft 2 in (2.49 m)
Installed power: 6,000 shp (4,500 kW)
Propulsion:
Speed: 30 kn (56 km/h)
Range:
  • 80 tons coal
  • 1,615 nmi (2,991 km) at 11 kn (20 km/h)
Complement: 63 officers and men
Armament:
Service record
Operations: World War I 1914 - 1918
Awards: Battle honour "Belgian Coast 1914 – 17"

HMS Ostrich was a Fairfield three-funnel, 30-knot torpedo boat destroyer ordered by the Royal Navy under the 1898 – 1899 Naval Estimates. In 1913 she was grouped as a C-class destroyer. She was the first Royal Navy ship to carry this name.[3][4] She spent most of her operational career in home waters, operating with the Channel Fleet as part of the Portsmouth Instructional Flotilla, and was sold for breaking in 1920.

Construction

On 30 March 1899, the British Admiralty placed an order with the shipbuilder Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company for two "Thirty-Knotter" torpedo-boat destroyers, Falcon and Ostrich.[5][6] As with other early Royal Navy destroyers, the design of Ostrich was left to the builder, with the Admiralty laying down only broad requirements.[7][8]

Ostrich was 214 feet 6 inches (65.38 m) long overall and 209 feet 9 inches (63.93 m) between perpendiculars, with a beam of 12 feet 2 inches (3.71 m) and a draught of 8 ft 9 in (2.67 m). Displacement was 375 long tons (381 t) light and 420 long tons (430 t) full load.[6] Four Thornycroft boilers, with their out-takes routed to three funnels, drove triple-expansion steam engines rated at 6,300 indicated horsepower (4,700 kW).[6] The ship had the standard armament of the Thirty-Knotters—a QF 12 pounder 12 cwt (3 in (76 mm) calibre) gun on a platform on the ship's conning tower (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.[9][10]

She was laid down as Yard No 413 on 28 June 1899, at the Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company shipyard at Govan, Glasgow, and launched on 22 March 1900. During her builder’s trials she made her contracted speed requirement. She was completed and accepted by the Royal Navy in December 1901.[3][4]

Pre-war

Ostrich was commissioned at Devonport on 4 January 1902 by Lieutenant James Rose Price Hawksley,[11] and was assigned to the Channel Fleet to serve in the instructional flotilla.[12] She paid off at Devonport on 12 May 1902, when her crew transferred to HMS Lively, which was the following day commissioned for the instructional flotilla.[13]

On 30 August 1912 the Admiralty directed that all destroyer classes were to be designated by alphabetic characters starting with the letter 'A'. Since her design speed was 30-knots and she had three funnels she was assigned to the C class. After 30 September 1913, she was known as a C-class destroyer and had the letter 'C' painted on the hull below the bridge area and on either the fore or aft funnel.[14]

World War I

For the test mobilization in July 1914 she was assigned to the 8th Destroyer Flotilla based at Chatham. Here she provided local anti-submarine and counter-mining patrols. In September 1914 she had been redeployed to the Scapa Flow local flotilla to provide anti-submarine patrols for the fleet anchorage until the defences of Scapa Flow could be improved. By November 1918 she was assigned to the Nore local flotilla and based at Lowestoft. Here she provided local area defensive patrols and escorting of merchant vessels.

Disposal

In 1919 Ostrich was paid off and laid-up in reserve awaiting disposal. She was sold on 29 April 1920 to the Barking Ship Breaking Company for scrap.[15] She was awarded the battle honour "Belgian Coast 1914 – 17" for her service.

Pennant numbers

Pennant number[15] FromTo
P566 December 19141 September 1915
D651 September 19151 January 1918

References

Notes
  1. ↑ Jane 1905, p. 77.
  2. ↑ Moore 1990, p. 77.
  3. 1 2 Jane 1898, pp. 84–85.
  4. 1 2 Moore 1990, p. 76.
  5. ↑ Lyon 2001, pp. 23–24.
  6. 1 2 3 Lyon 2001, p. 89.
  7. ↑ Chesneau and Kolesnik 1979, p. 87.
  8. ↑ Manning 1961, p. 39.
  9. ↑ Lyon 2001, pp. 98–99.
  10. ↑ Friedman 2009, p. 40.
  11. ↑ "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times (36666). London. 16 January 1902. p. 7.
  12. ↑ "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times (36657). London. 6 January 1902. p. 8.
  13. ↑ "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times (36764). London. 10 May 1902. p. 8.
  14. ↑ Gardiner and Gray 1985, pp. 17–19.
  15. 1 2 ""Arrowsmith" List – Part 1 Destroyer Prototypes through "River" Class". Retrieved 1 Jun 2013.
Bibliography


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