HMS Plucky (1916)

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For other ships with the same name, see HMS Plucky.

History
United Kingdom
NameHMS Plucky
BuilderScotts of Greenock
Yard number474
Laid downMay 1915
Launched21 April 1916
Completed4 July 1916
Out of service9 May 1921
FateSold to be broken up at Briton Ferry
General characteristics
Class and typeAdmiralty M-class destroyer
Displacement
Length265 ft (80.8 m)
Beam26 ft 8 in (8.1 m)
Draught9 ft 3 in (2.82 m)
Propulsion
Speed34 knots (39.1 mph; 63.0 km/h)
Range3,450 nmi (6,390 km) at 15 kn (28 km/h)
Complement76
Armament

HMS Plucky was an Admiralty M-class destroyer which served with the Royal Navy during the First World War. The M class were an improvement on the previous L-class, capable of higher speed. Launched on 21 April 1916 by Scotts of Greenock, the vessel served as part of the Grand Fleet, spending most of the war based out of Plymouth, apart from a brief sojourn working from the Irish port of Buncrana. Plucky was mainly involved in anti-submarine warfare and escorting the merchant ships that made up the convoys travelling to and from England, colliding with one, the collier Mervin in February 1917. The merchant vessel was unharmed, but the subsequent explosion but the destroyer temporarily out of action. After armistice, the destroyer was redeployed to Portsmouth until being decommissioned and sold to be broken up on 9 May 1921.

Design and development[edit]

Plucky was one of sixteen Admiralty M-class destroyers ordered by the British Admiralty in May 1915 as part of the Fifth War Construction Programme.[1] The M-class was an improved version of the earlier L-class destroyers, required to reach a higher speed in order to counter rumoured German fast destroyers. It transpired that the German ships did not exist but the greater performance was appreciated by the navy.[2] The vessels ordered as part of the fifth programme differed from earlier members of the class in having a raking stem and are sometimes known as the Repeat M class.[3]

The destroyer was 265 feet (80.8 m) long overall, with a beam of 26 ft 8 in (8.1 m) and a draught of 9 ft 3 in (2.8 m). Displacement was 994 long tons (1,010 t) normal and 1,025 long tons (1,041 t) full load.[4] Power was provided by three Yarrow boilers feeding two Brown-Curtis steam turbines rated at 25,000 shaft horsepower (19,000 kW) and driving two shafts, to give a design speed of 34 kn (63 km/h; 39 mph).[5] Three funnels were fitted. The ship carried 296 long tons (301 t) of fuel oil, giving a design range of 3,450 nautical miles (6,390 km; 3,970 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph), and had a complement of 76 officers and ratings.[6]

Armament consisted of three 4 in (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 mounts for 21 in (533 mm) torpedoes.[7]

Construction and career[edit]

Plucky was laid down by Scotts Shipbuilding and Engineering Company of Greenock with the yard number 474 in May 1915, launched on 21 April the following year and completed on 4 July.[8] The ship was the third of the name to serve with the navy. The previous holder of the name was renamed Banterer before the destroyer was launched.[9] The vessel was deployed as part of the Grand Fleet, joining the Fourteenth Destroyer Flotilla.[10]

The vessel was initially based at Plymouth and, in January 1917, Plucky was allocated to anti-submarine warfare. following reports of increased submarine activity off the coast of Cornwall. The destroyer, along with sister ship Orestes, was sent to hunt for the German intruders. Although no submarines were sunk, neither were any merchant ships.[11] However, while on duty on 20 February, Plucky collided with the collier Mervin off Lizard Point. Although the merchant ship was unharmed, the impact cut off the destroyer's stern and detonated depth charges, which put the ship out of action for a short time.[12] Plucky was subsequently transferred to the Northern Division of the operations out of Ireland, based at Buncrana.[13] The destroyer was deployed to escort convoys travelling from the United States.[14] The service was later extended to cover inward and outward convoys from other locations, including Halifax and Sydney.[15] The ship returned to Plymouth for 1918.[16]

After the armistice, Plucky was allocated to Portsmouth to join the local defence flotilla, operating as part of the First Destroyer Flotilla .[17] However, within a few years, the Royal Navy was required to return to a peacetime level of mobilisation and the destroyer fleet was reduced dramatically. On 9 May 1921, the vessel was sold to Thos. W. Ward of Briton Ferry and broken up.[18]

Pennant numbers[edit]

Pennant Number Date
G67 1915[19]
G68 1917[19]
GA6 1918[19]
D2A 1918[19]

References[edit]

Citations[edit]

  1. ^ McBride 1991, p. 34.
  2. ^ Friedman 2009, p. 132.
  3. ^ Friedman 2009, p. 155.
  4. ^ McBride 1991, p. 44.
  5. ^ Parkes & Prendergast 1969, p. 109.
  6. ^ Friedman 2009, p. 296.
  7. ^ Gardiner & Gray 1985, p. 79.
  8. ^ Kemble 1961, p. 103.
  9. ^ Manning & Walker 1959, p. 342.
  10. ^ "Destroyer Flotillas of the Grand Fleet". Supplement to the Monthly Navy List: 12. October 1916. Retrieved 22 August 2021 – via National Library of Scotland.
  11. ^ Naval Staff Monograph No. 34 1933, p. 242.
  12. ^ Naval Staff Monograph No. 34 1933, p. 247.
  13. ^ "Coast of Ireland Station". Supplement to the Monthly Navy List: 17. July 1917. Retrieved 22 August 2021 – via National Library of Scotland.
  14. ^ Newbolt 1931, p. 53.
  15. ^ Newbolt 1931, p. 103.
  16. ^ "Local Defence and Escort Flotillas". Supplement to the Monthly Navy List: 16. October 1918. Retrieved 22 August 2021 – via National Library of Scotland.
  17. ^ "Local Defence and Training Establishments", The Navy List, p. 704, October 1919, retrieved 22 August 2021 – via National Library of Scotland
  18. ^ Colledge & Warlow 2010, p. 271.
  19. ^ a b c d Dittmar & Colledge 1972, p. 67.

Bibliography[edit]

  • Colledge, J.J.; Warlow, Ben (2010). Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of All Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy. Haverhill: Casemate. ISBN 978-1-93514-907-1.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Kemble, John Haskell (1961). Two Hundred & Fifty Years of Shipbuilding by the Scotts at Greenock. Glasgow: James Jack Advertising. OCLC 776430979.
  • 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 978-0-85177-582-1.
  • 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.
  • Newbolt, Henry (1931). Naval Operations: Volume V. History of the Great War. London: Longmans, Green and Co. OCLC 220475309.
  • Parkes, Oscar; Prendergast, Maurice (1969). Jane's Fighting Ships 1919. Newton Abbott: David & Charles. OCLC 907574860.
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