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HMS Llewellyn (1913)

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HMS Llewellyn was a Template:Sclass- destroyer which served with the Royal Navy. Launched on 15 September 1913 as HMS Picton, the ship was renamed on 30 September under an Admiralty order to become one of the first alphabetical class destroyers. On commissioning, the vessel joined the Third Destroyer Flotilla and operated as part of the Harwich Force during the First World War. During Battle of Heligoland Bight, Llewellyn engaged with the German torpedo boats G194 and G196, and scored two hits on the cruiser Mainz. On 8 February 1917, the destroyer rammed and sank the German submarine.UC-46 The vessel also played a minor role in the Battles of Dogger Bank, Dover Strait and Jutland, as well as acting as a convoy escort and patrolling the Dover Barrage.

Design and development

Main article: L-class destroyer

Llewellyn was one of twenty two L- or Template:Sclass- destroyers built for the Royal Navy.[1] The design followed the preceding Template:Sclass- but with improved seakeeping properties and armament, including twice the number of torpedo tubes.[2] The vessel was one of the last pre-war destroyers constructed by William Beardmore and Company for the British Admiralty.[3]

The destroyer had a length overall of 268 feet 8 inches (81.89 m), a beam of 27 feet 8 inches (8.43 m) and a draught of 10 feet 6 inches (3.20 m).Displacement was 965 long tons (980 t) normal and 1,150 long tons (1,170 t) deep load. Power was provided by three White-Forster boilers feeding two Parsons steam turbines rated at 24,500 shaft horsepower (18,300 kW) and driving two shafts, to give a design speed of 29 knots (54 km/h; 33 mph). Two funnels were fitted.[4] 268 long tons (272 t) of oil were carried, giving a design range of 3,450 nautical miles (6,390 km; 3,970 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph).[5] Fuel consumption was 51.33 long tons (52.15 t) of oil in 24 hours during test.[6] Complement was 73 officers and ratings.[4]

Armament consisted of three 4 in (100 mm) Mk IV QF guns on the ship's centreline, with one on the forecastle, one aft and one between the funnels. A single 2-pounder (40 mm) pom-pom anti-aircraft gun was carried.[1] Torpedo armament consisted of two twin mounts for 21 in (533 mm) torpedoes mounted aft. Capacity to lay four Vickers Elia Mk.4 mines was included, but the facility was never used.[7]

Construction and career

Built under the 1912–1913 Programme as part of a class named after characters in Shakespeare’s plays and the Waverley novels by Sir Walter Scott,[4] Picton was laid down by William Beardmore and Company at Dalmuir on the River Clyde on 31 August 1912 with the yard number 511. The ship was launched on 15 September 1913.[3] Originally launched as Picton, Llewellyn was renamed by Admiralty order on 30 September 1913, joining what was to be the first alphabetical class of the Navy.[8] The new name commemorated either Llywelyn the Great or Llywelyn ap Gruffudd.[9] The destroyer was constructed at the yard alongside sister ship Lennox.[10]

On commissioning, Llewellyn joined the Third Destroyer Flotilla as part of the Harwich Force.[11] At the start of the First World War, the flotilla was tasked with harassing the Imperial German Navy and on 26 August 1914 was ordered to attack German torpedo boats on their patrol as part of a large Royal Navy fleet in what was to be the Battle of Heligoland Bight.[12] On the following day, the flotilla joined the battle, led by the scout cruiser Fearless, attacking the torpedo boats until the light cruiser SMS Stettin appeared on the scene.[13] Subsequently, the flotillas drove off the cruisers SMS Cöln (1909) and SMS Strassburg for no loss.[14] In the melee, Llewellyn fired 86 shells.[15]

After returning to service, the destroyer remained stationed at Harwich defending the Strait of Dover and spent 1915 actively involved in the myriad of tasks that were typical of destroyer service at the time. For example, the destroyer returned to [[Heligoland Bight[[ to provide escort to British minelayers on 8 January, undertook sweeps for German submarines in the Irish Sea on 29 and 30 January, escorting troop convoys to France on 1 and 2 April and protected minesweepers on Dogger Bank on 1 and 2 June. [16][17][18][19]

On 20 February 1916, the destroyer collided with sister ship HMS Lark (1913) but suffered minor damage.[20] Llewellyn was soon back in service and, on 31 May 1916, as part of the 9th Destroyer Flotilla, was one of a small contingent from the Harwich Force that took part in the Battle of Jutland.[21] The destroyer, along with sister ships Landrail, Laurel and Lydiard, were to provide cover to the British battlecruisers of the 1st Battlecruiser Squadron.[22] In this case, the flotilla was in the centre of the action but again failed to engage the German battle fleet in the confusion of the battle.[23] The ship spent much of the rest of the year on anti-submarine patrols and on 4 December the ship unsuccessfully attacked the German submarine UB-18 with depth charges.[24]

On 28 February 1917, the destroyer was transferred to Dover.[25] On 17 March, the ship formed part of a flotilla including Laertes, Laforey and Paragon patrolling the Dover Barrage. German torpedo boats attacked and sank Paragon. Llewellyn, seeing gun flashes, went to attend and switched on a searchlight to assist in picking up survivors, Attracted by the light, the torpedo boats S49 and G87 attacked and launched two torpedoes, one of which struck the destroyer. By steaming backwards, the ship was able to return to port without additional casualties.[26] The destroyer was subsequently redeployed to the Methil Convoy Flotilla based on the Firth of Forth.[27]

References

Citations

  1. ^ a b Parkes & Prendergast 1969, p. 111.
  2. ^ Friedman 2009, p. 129.
  3. ^ a b Johnson 1993, p. 153.
  4. ^ a b c Gardiner & Gray 1985, p. 76.
  5. ^ Friedman 2009, p. 296.
  6. ^ March 1966, p. 140.
  7. ^ March 1966, p. 149.
  8. ^ Colledge & Warlow 2010, p. 224.
  9. ^ Manning & Walker 1959, p. 272.
  10. ^ Johnson 1993, p. 74.
  11. ^ "Flotillas of the First Fleet", The Navy List, p. 269a, April 1914, retrieved 21 January 2021 – via National Library of Scotland
  12. ^ Naval Staff Monograph No. 11 1921, p. 111.
  13. ^ Naval Staff Monograph No. 11 1921, p. 120.
  14. ^ Naval Staff Monograph No. 11 1921, p. 130.
  15. ^ Naval Staff Monograph No. 11 1921, p. 165.
  16. ^ Naval Staff Monograph No. 28 1925, pp. 160–161.
  17. ^ Naval Staff Monograph No. 29 1925, pp. 15.
  18. ^ Naval Staff Monograph No. 29 1925, pp. 153.
  19. ^ Naval Staff Monograph No. 29 1925, pp. 234.
  20. ^ Naval Staff Monograph No. 31 1926, pp. 82.
  21. ^ Campbell 1998, p. 23.
  22. ^ Jutland: Official Despatches 1920, p. 6.
  23. ^ Corbett 1923, pp. 404–405.
  24. ^ Naval Staff Monograph No. 34 1933, pp. 40.
  25. ^ Naval Staff Monograph No. 34 1933, pp. 270.
  26. ^ Naval Staff Monograph No. 34 1933, pp. 274–276.
  27. ^ "VI The East Coast Forces", The Navy List, p. 15, July 1918, retrieved 21 January 2021 – via National Library of Scotland

Bibliography

  • Battle of Jutland, 30 May to 1 June 1916: Official Despatches with Appendices. London: His Majesty's Stationery Office. 1920.
  • Campbell, John (1998). Jutland: An Analysis of the Fighting. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 978-0-85177-750-4.
  • Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2010). Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy. Havertown: Casemate. ISBN 978-1-93514-907-1.
  • Corbett, Julian S. (1921). Naval Operations: Volume II. History of the Great War. London: Longmans, Green and Co. OCLC 464485412.
  • Corbett, Julian S. (1923). Naval Operations: Volume III. History of the Great War. London: Longmans, Green and Co. OCLC 924170124.
  • Dittmar, F.J.; Colledge, J.J. (1972). British Warships 1914–1919. Shepperton: Ian Allan. ISBN 978-0-71100-380-4.
  • Friedman, Norman (2009). British Destroyers: From Earliest Days to the Second World War. Barnsley: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-049-9.
  • Gardiner, Robert; Gray, Randal, eds. (1985). Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 978-0-85177-245-5.
  • Johnson, Ian (1993). Beardmore Built: The Rise and Fall of a Clydeside Shipyard. Clydebank: -Clydebank District Libraries & Museums Dept. ISBN 978-0-90693-808-9.
  • Manning, Thomas Davys; Walker, Charles Frederick (1959). British Warship Names. London: Putnam. OCLC 780274698.
  • March, Edgar J. (1966). British Destroyers. London: Seeley. OCLC 898841922.
  • Monograph No. 11: The Battle of Heligoland Bight: August 28th 1914. Naval Staff Monographs (Historical). Vol. III. Naval Staff, Training and Staff Duties Division. 1921.
  • Monograph No. 28: Home Waters Part III: From November 1914 to the end of January 1915. Naval Staff Monographs (Historical). Vol. XII. Naval Staff, Training and Staff Duties Division. 1925.
  • Monograph No. 29: Home Waters Part III: From February to July 1915. Naval Staff Monographs (Historical). Vol. XIII. Naval Staff, Training and Staff Duties Division. 1925.
  • Monograph No. 31: Home Waters Part VI: October 1915 to May 1916. Naval Staff Monographs (Historical). Vol. XV. Naval Staff, Training and Staff Duties Division. 1926.
  • Monograph No. 34: Home Waters Part VIII: December 1916 to April 1917. Naval Staff Monographs (Historical). Vol. VIII. Naval Staff, Training and Staff Duties Division. 1933.
  • Monograph No. 35: Home Waters Part IX: 1st May 1917 to 31st July 1917. Naval Staff Monographs (Historical). Vol. IX. Naval Staff, Training and Staff Duties Division. 1939.
  • Parkes, Oscar; Prendergast, Maurice (1969). Jane’s Fighting Ships 1919. Newton Abbott: David & Charles. OCLC 907574860.
  • Stoker, Donald J. (2012). Britain, France, and the Naval Arms Trade in the Baltic 1919-1939: Grand Strategy and Failure. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-071465-319-8.
  • Williams, David L.; Sprake, Raymond F. (1993). White's of Cowes : "White's-built, well-built!". Peterborough: Silver Link. ISBN 978-1-85794-011-4.
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