HMS Nicator (1916)

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HMS Marmion (1915) IWM SP 809.jpg
History
United Kingdom
NameHMS Nicator
NamesakeNicator
OrderedFebruary 1915
BuilderWilliam Denny and Brothers, Dumbarton
Yard number1047
Laid down21 April 1915
Launched3 February 1916
Completed15 April 1916
Decommissioned9 May 1921
FateSold to be broken up
General characteristics
Class and typeAdmiralty M-class destroyer
Displacement
  • 994 long tons (1,010 t) normal
  • 1,025 long tons (1,041 t) full load
Length265 ft (80.8 m)
Beam26 ft 8 in (8.1 m)
Draught9 ft 3 in (2.82 m)
Propulsion
Speed34 knots (63.0 km/h; 39.1 mph)
Range3,450 nmi (6,390 km; 3,970 mi) at 15 kn (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Complement76
Armament
  • 3 × QF 4 in (102 mm) Mark IV guns (3×1)
  • 1 × single 2-pounder (40 mm) "pom-pom" Mk. II anti-aircraft gun (1×1)
  • 4 × 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes (2×2)

HMS Nicator was a Admiralty M-class destroyer which served with the Royal Navy during the First World War. The M class were an improvement on the preceding L class, capable of higher speed. Launched on 3 February 1916, the destroyer fought in the Battle of Jutland between 31 May and 1 June 1916, operating in support of the British battlecruisers in their action against the German High Seas Fleet. Nicator attacked the German battlecruisers and battleships with both shell and torpedo and, although no hits were recorded, the action of the destroyer was crucial to limiting losses to the British battlecruiser fleet. The vessel was subsequently fitted with paravanes for anti-submarine warfare. After the war, the destroyer was placed in reserve and subsequently sold to be broken up on 9 May 1921.

Design and development[]

Nicator was one of sixteen Admiralty M-class destroyers ordered by the British Admiralty in February 1915 as part of the Fourth War Construction Programme.[1] The M class was an improved version of the earlier L-class destroyers, designed to reach the higher speed of 36 knots (67 km/h; 41 mph) in order to counter rumoured German fast destroyers, although the class had the requirement subsequently reduced by 2 knots (4 km/h; 2 mph).[2]

The destroyer was 265 feet (80.77 m) long overall, with a beam of 26 feet 8 inches (8.13 m) and a draught of 9 feet 3 inches (2.82 m). Displacement was 994 long tons (1,010 t) normal and 1,025 long tons (1,041 t) full load.[3] Power was provided by three Yarrow boilers feeding two Parsons steam turbines rated at 25,000 shaft horsepower (19,000 kW) and driving two shafts, to give a design speed of 34 knots (63 km/h; 39 mph).[4] Three funnels were fitted. A fuel load of 296 long tons (301 t) of oil was 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]

Armament consisted of three 4-inch (102 mm) Mk IV QF guns on the ship's centreline, with one on the forecastle, one aft on a raised platform and one between the middle and aft funnels. A single 2-pounder (40 mm) pom-pom anti-aircraft gun was carried, while torpedo armament consisted of two twin rotating mounts for 21 in (533 mm) torpedoes.[6] Initially, the vessel carried no fire-control system but during 1916 was equipped with a single Dumaresq and a Vickers range clock.[7] The ship had a complement of 76 officers and ratings.[5]

Construction and career[]

Nicator was laid down by William Denny and Brothers of Dumbarton on 21 April 1915 with the yard number 1047 at a cost of £149,730.[3] Launched on 3 February 1916 and completed on 15 April, the ship was named after Seleucus I Nicato.[4][8] The vessel was deployed as part of the Grand Fleet, joining the Thirteenth Destroyer Flotilla.[9] Soon after entering service, the destroyer formed part of the escort to troops sent to Dublin on 25 April to put down the Easter Rising.[10]

Between 31 May and 1 June 1916, Nicator sailed as part of the Flotilla, led by the flotilla leader HMS Champion, to confront the German High Seas Fleet in the Battle of Jutland.[11] The flotilla was part of the destroyer screen for the British battlecruisers as they confronted their German equivalents. In the melee that followed the destruction of Queen Mary, Nicator was one of only two from the flotilla, along with sister ship Nestor, that managed to reach the German line.[12] The destroyer launched a torpedo at the German battlecruiser SMS Derfflinger, which missed.[13] As the two ships turned, the battleships of the High Seas Fleet appeared on the horizon. Nicator fired one more shell at the retreating German ships and retired.[14] Although the attack did not record any hits, it did force the German battlecruisers to manoeuvre away and so saved the British battlecruiser fleet, which had already lost two of their number, to escape without further harm.[15] The ship then joined with a larger flotilla of twelve destroyers which stationed to the east of the Grand Fleet.[16] As the battlefleets manoeuvred around each other, the destroyer also attempted to attack the German battleships but without success.[17]

During 1917, Nicator was equipped with anti-submarine paravanes and on 16 and 17 April 1917, the ship was one of six used for high speed sweeps of Dogger Bank, although no submarines were found during the operation.[18] The vessel was transferred to Buncrana with the Second Destroyer Flotilla during the last year of the war.[19]

After the armistice, Nicator was transferred to Portsmouth.[20] However, this was a temporary post and during the following year, the destroyer was moved to the local defence flotilla at Portland, operating with a reserve complement.[21] As the Royal Navy returned to a peacetime level of mobilisation, surplus vessels were culled, and so, on 9 May 1921, the destroyer was decommissioned and sold to Thos. W. Ward of Milford Haven to be broken up.[22]

Pennant numbers[]

Pennant number Date
G55 1915[23]
F05 1917[23]
HA4 1918[23]

References[]

Citations[]

  1. ^ McBride 1991, p. 34.
  2. ^ Friedman 2009, p. 132.
  3. ^ a b Lyon 1975, p. 702.
  4. ^ a b Parkes & Prendergast 1969, p. 109.
  5. ^ a b Friedman 2009, p. 296.
  6. ^ Preston 1985, p. 79.
  7. ^ "Fire Control in H.M. Ships". The Technical History and Index: Alteration in Armaments of H.M. Ships During the War. 3 (23): 32. 1919.
  8. ^ Manning & Walker 1959, p. 315.
  9. ^ "Destroyer Flotillas of the Grand Fleet". Supplement to The Monthly Navy List. April 1916. p. 12. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  10. ^ Naval Staff Monograph No. 31 1926, p. 128.
  11. ^ Corbett 1920, p. 455.
  12. ^ Corbett 1920, pp. 337–339.
  13. ^ Campbell 1998, p. 56.
  14. ^ Corbett 1920, p. 342.
  15. ^ Green 2007, p. 72.
  16. ^ Corbett 1920, p. 396.
  17. ^ Corbett 1920, pp. 404–405.
  18. ^ Naval Staff Monograph No. 34 1933, p. 91.
  19. ^ "Coast of Ireland Station", Supplement to the Monthly Navy List, p. 17, January 1918, retrieved 2 June 2021 – via National Library of Scotland
  20. ^ "Vessels at Home Ports Temporarily", Supplement to the Monthly Navy List, p. 20, January 1919, retrieved 2 June 2021 – via National Library of Scotland
  21. ^ "Local Defence and Training Establishments", The Navy List, p. 705, October 1919, retrieved 2 June 2021 – via National Library of Scotland
  22. ^ Colledge & Warlow 2006, p. 244.
  23. ^ a b c Dittmar & Colledge 1972, p. 66.

Bibliography[]

  • Campbell, John (1998). Jutland: An Analysis of the Fighting. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 978-0-85177-750-4.
  • Colledge, J.J.; Warlow, Ben (2006). Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of All Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy. London: Chatham Press. ISBN 978-1-93514-907-1.
  • Corbett, Julian S. (1920). Naval Operations: Volume III. History of the Great War. London: Longmans, Green and Co. OCLC 1049894619.
  • 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 First World War. Barnsley: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-049-9.
  • Green, Geoffrey (2007). "England Expects...: British Jews Under the White Ensign from HMS Victory to the Loss of HMS Hood in 1941". Jewish Historical Studies. 41: 63–97.
  • Lyon, David John (1975). The Denny List: Ship Numbers 769-1273. London: National Maritime Museum. OCLC 256517657.
  • Manning, Thomas Davys; Walker, Charles Frederick (1959). British Warship Names. London: Putnam. OCLC 780274698.
  • McBride, Keith (1991). "British 'M' Class Destroyers of 1913–14". In Gardiner, Robert (ed.). Warship 1991. London: Conway Maritime Press. pp. 34–49. ISBN 0-85177-582-9.
  • Monograph No. 31: Home Waters Part VI: October 1915 to April 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. XVIII. Naval Staff, Training and Staff Duties Division. 1933.
  • Parkes, Oscar; Prendergast, Maurice (1969). Jane's Fighting Ships 1919. Newton Abbott: David & Charles. OCLC 907574860.
  • Preston, Antony (1985). "Great Britain and Empire Forces". In Gray, Randal (ed.). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. pp. 1–104. ISBN 0-85177-245-5.
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