HMS Gipsy (1897)
| History | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Name | HMS Gypsy |
| Ordered | 1896 – 1897 Naval Estimates |
| Builder | Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company , Govan, Glasgow |
| Laid down | 1 October 1896 |
| Launched | 9 March 1897 |
| Commissioned | July 1898 |
| Out of service | December 1918 paid off and laid up in reserve awaiting disposal |
| Fate | 17 March 1921 sold to C.A. Board of Teignmouth for breaking |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Fairfield three funnel - 30 knot destroyer[1][2] |
| Displacement | list error: <br /> list (help) 355 t (349 long tons) standard |
| Propulsion | list error: <br /> list (help) 4 × Thornycroft water tube boiler |
| Speed | 30 kn (56 km/h) |
| Range | list error: <br /> list (help) 80 tons coal 1,615 nmi (2,991 km) at 11 kn (20 km/h) |
| Complement | 63 officers and men |
| Armament | list error: mixed text and list (help)
|
| Service record | |
| Operations: | World War I 1914 - 1918 |
HMS Gypsy was a Fairfield three funnel - 30 knot destroyer ordered by the Royal Navy under the 1896 – 1897 Naval EstimatesEstimates. She was the fourth ship to carry this name since it was introduced in 1799 for a 19-gun schooner in service until 1804.[3][4]
Construction
She was laid down as Yard No 395 on 1 October 1896 at the Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company shipyard at Govan, Glasgow and launched on 9 March 1897. During her builder’s trials she made her contracted speed requirement. She was completed and accepted by the Royal Navy in July 1898.[3][4]
Pre-War
In April 1901 she was commissioned at Devonport by Lieutenant Commander H. L. Wells to take the place of HMS Seal in the dockyard´s instructional flotilla.[5]
On 30 August 1912 the Admiralty directed all destroyer classes were to be designated by alpha 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 an C Class destroyer and had the letter ‘C’ painted on the hull below the bridge area and on either the fore or aft funnel.[6]
World War I
From August 1914 to November 1918 she was deployed in the 6th Destroyer Flotilla based at Dover. While employed with the 6th Flotilla she conducted counter mining patrols escorted merchant ships and patroled in defence of the Dover Barage.
On 24 November 1917, the German submarine U-48 waiting for the moon to set, drifted and eventually went aground at high tide on the Goodwin Sands. She was discovered at dawn by British patrol craft including HMS Gypsy. After a brief exchange of gunfire, scuttling charges were set and the crew abandoned the boat. The U-boat suffered 19 dead with 17 survivors rescued by the British. The shifting sands of the Goodwin Sands occasionally expose the wreck of U 48.
Disposition
In 1919 HMS Gypsy was paid off and laid-up in reserve awaiting disposal. She was sold on 17 March 1921 to C.A. Board of Teignmouth for breaking. Her hull was used as a pontoon for a jetty and was still in use as late as 1972. [7]
She was awarded the Battle Honour Belgian Coast 1914 – 17 for her service.
Pennant Numbers
| Pennant Number[7] | From | To |
|---|---|---|
| P23 | 6 Dec 1914 | 1 Sep 1915 |
| D58 | 1 Sep 1915 | 1 Jan 1918 |
| D43 | 1 Jan 1918 | 17 Mar 1921 |
References
NOTE: All tabular data under General Characteristics only from the listed Jane's Fighting Ships volume unless otherwise specified
- ^ Jane, Fred T. (1905, Reprinted 1969). Jane’s Fighting Ships 1905. New York: first published by Sampson Low Marston, London 1905, Reprinted ARCO Publishing Company. p. 77.
{{cite book}}: Check date values in:|year=(help)CS1 maint: year (link) - ^ Jane, Fred T. (reprinted © 1990). Jane’s Fighting Ships of World War I. Jane’s Publishing © 1919. p. 77. ISBN 1 85170 378 0.
{{cite book}}: Check date values in:|year=(help)CS1 maint: year (link) - ^ a b Jane, Fred T. (1898, Reprinted 1969). Jane’s All The Worlds Fighting Ships 1898. New York: first published by Sampson Low Marston, London 1898, Reprinted ARCO Publishing Company. p. 84 to 85.
{{cite book}}: Check date values in:|year=(help)CS1 maint: year (link) - ^ a b Jane, Fred T. (reprinted © 1990). Jane’s Fighting Ships of World War I. Jane’s Publishing © 1919. p. 76. ISBN 1 85170 378 0.
{{cite book}}: Check date values in:|year=(help)CS1 maint: year (link) - ^ "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36434. London. 20 April 1901. p. 9. template uses deprecated parameter(s) (help)
- ^ Conway’s All the World’s Fighting Ships 1906 to 1922. Conway Maritime Press. 1985, Reprinted 1986, 1997, 2002, 2006. p. Page 17 to 19. ISBN 0 85177 245 5.
{{cite book}}: Check date values in:|year=(help)CS1 maint: year (link) - ^ a b ""Arrowsmith" List – Part 1 Destroyer Prototypes through "River" Class". Retrieved 1 Jun 2013.
- Manning, Captain T.D. The British Destroyer. Godfrey Cave Associates. ISBN 0-906223-13-X.
{{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|month=(help)
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