View source for HMS Pheasant (1916)

{{short description|Destroyer of the Royal Navy}}

{{other ships|HMS Pheasant}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2017}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=United Kingdom
|Ship flag= {{shipboxflag|United Kingdom|naval}}
|Ship name=''Pheasant''
|Ship ordered=May 1915
|Ship builder=[[Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company]], [[Govan]], [[Glasgow]]
|Ship laid down=
|Ship launched=23 October 1916
|Ship commissioned=December 1916
|Ship honours=
|Ship fate=Sunk by [[naval mine]], 1 March 1917
|Ship notes=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship class=[[Admiralty M-class destroyer]]
|Ship displacement={{convert|972|LT|t|0|lk=on}} (normal)
|Ship length={{convert|273|ft|4|in|m|abbr=on|1}} ([[o/a]])
|Ship beam={{convert|26|ft|8|in|m|abbr=on|1}}
|Ship draught=*{{convert|8|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on|1}}
|Ship power=*3 [[Yarrow boiler]]s
*{{cvt|25000|shp|0|lk=on}}
|Ship propulsion=3 shafts; 1 [[steam turbine]] set
|Ship speed={{convert|34|kn|lk=in}}
|Ship range={{cvt|2100|nmi|lk=in}} at {{convert|15|kn}}
|Ship complement=76
|Ship armament=*3 × [[QF 4 inch naval gun Mk IV, XII, XXII|{{convert|4|in|mm|abbr=on|0}} guns]]
* 1 × single [[QF 2 pounder naval gun|2-pdr ({{cvt|40|mm|in|1}}) guns]]
* 2 × twin [[British 21 inch torpedo|{{convert|21|in|mm|abbr=on|0}}]] [[torpedo tube]]s
|Ship notes=
}}
|}
'''HMS ''Pheasant''''' was one of 85 [[Admiralty M-class destroyer]]s built during the [[First World War]] for the [[Royal Navy]]. She hit and was sunk by a [[Naval mine|mine]] in 1917.

==Description==
The Admiralty M class were improved and faster versions of the preceding {{sclass|Laforey|destroyer|||1913}}.<ref name=g5>Gardiner & Gray, p. 76</ref> They [[Displacement (ship)|displaced]] {{convert|972|LT|t|0}}. The ships had an [[length overall|overall length]] of {{convert|273|ft|4|in|m|1}}, a [[beam (nautical)|beam]] of {{convert|26|ft|8|in|m|1}} and a [[draft (hull)|draught]] of {{convert|8|ft|6|in|m|1}}. ''Pheasant'' was powered by a single Brown-Curtis direct-drive [[steam turbine]] turning three [[propeller shaft]]s, using steam provided by three [[Yarrow boiler]]s. The turbines developed a total of {{convert|25000|shp|lk=in}} and gave a maximum speed of {{convert|34|kn|lk=in}}. The ships carried a maximum of {{convert|228|LT|t}} of [[fuel oil]] that gave them a range of {{convert|2100|nmi|lk=in}} at {{convert|15|kn}}. The ships' complement was 76 officers and [[naval rating|ratings]].<ref name=f8>Friedman, p. 296</ref>

The ships were armed with three single [[QF 4 inch naval gun Mk IV, XII, XXII|QF {{convert|4|in|mm|adj=on|0}} Mark IV guns]] and a [[QF 2 pounder naval gun|QF 2-pounder ({{cvt|40|mm|1}})]] "pom-pom" [[anti-aircraft gun]]. They were also fitted with two above-water twin mounts for [[British 21-inch torpedo|{{convert|21|in|adj=on|0}} torpedoes]].<ref>Gardiner & Gray, p. 79; March, p. 174</ref>

==Construction and career==
''Pheasant'' was ordered as part of the 5th War Emergency Programme in May 1915. She was built by [[Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company]] at its shipyard in [[Govan]] on the [[River Clyde|Clyde]] and  [[Ceremonial ship launching|launched]] on 23 October 1916. Completed in December she was assigned to the Grand Fleet,<ref>Friedman, p. 309; March, pp. 179–180</ref> joining the [[15th Destroyer Flotilla]].<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Supplement to the Monthly Navy List Showing Organisation of the Fleet, Flag Officers' Commands &c.: I.—The Grand Fleet: Destroyer Flotillas of the Grand Fleet|magazine=The Navy List|date=January 1917|page=12|url=https://digital.nls.uk/british-military-lists/archive/92122874
 |accessdate=25 March 2020 |via=National Library of Scotland}}</ref> On the morning of 1 March 1917 the destroyer, together with a number of armed trawlers, was taking part in a routine patrol of the Western entrance to [[Scapa Flow]], the Grand Fleet's anchorage in [[Orkney]]. ''Pheasant'' was off [[Hoy, Orkney|Hoy]] when the trawlers observed a large explosion, due to ''Partridge'' striking a mine.<ref name="nsm34p262-3">Naval Staff Monograph No 34, pp. 262–263.</ref> The destroyer sank with the loss of 89 lives.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.naval-history.net/xDKCas1917-03Mar.htm |title=Casualty Lists of the Royal Navy and Dominion Navies 1st - 31st MARCH 1917 |publisher=naval-history.net |access-date=23 November 2019}}</ref> The sinking has variously attributed to a drifting mine from a field laid by the German [[armed merchant cruiser]] {{SMS|Möwe|1914|2}} in 1915–1916,<ref name="nsm34p262-3"/><ref name="canmore"/> a mine laid by the submarine {{Ship|SM|U-80||2}} in January 1917,<ref name="nsm34p262-3"/><ref>{{cite web |last=Helgason |first=Guðmundur |title=Ships hit in WWI: HMS Partridge |publisher=Uboat.net |url=https://uboat.net/wwi/ships_hit/4783.html|accessdate=26 March 2020}}</ref> or one laid by {{ship|SM|UC-43||2}}.<ref name="canmore"/> the Only one body and a small amount of debris was recovered by the trawlers.<ref name="nsm34p262-3"/> The wreck lies roughly E-W, in {{convert|82|m}} of water at {{coord|58|52.07|N|3|27.41|W|display=title}} and was found by divers from the Army Sub-Aqua Club on 13 May 1996.<ref name="canmore">{{cite web |url=https://canmore.org.uk/site/238204/hms-pheasant-hoy-atlantic |title=HMS Pheasant |publisher=[[Canmore (database)|Canmore]] |access-date=10 October 2016}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* {{Cite Colledge2006}}
* {{cite book|last=Friedman|first=Norman|title=British Destroyers: From Earliest Days to the Second World War|year=2009|publisher=Seaforth Publishing|location=Barnsley, UK|isbn=978-1-84832-049-9}}
* {{cite book|editor1-last=Gardiner|editor1-first=Robert|editor2-last=Gray|editor2-first=Randal|title=Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921|year=1985|publisher=Conway Maritime Press|location=London|isbn=0-85177-245-5|name-list-style=amp}}
* {{cite book|last=March|first=Edgar J.|title=British Destroyers: A History of Development, 1892–1953; Drawn by Admiralty Permission From Official Records & Returns, Ships' Covers & Building Plans|year=1966|publisher=Seeley Service|location=London |OCLC=164893555}}
* {{cite book|title= Monograph No. 34:  Home Waters Part VIII: December 1916 to April 1917 |series=Naval Staff  Monographs (Historical)|volume= XVIII|year=1933|publisher=Naval Staff, Training and Staff Duties Division|url=http://www.navy.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/Naval-Staff-Monographs-Vol.XVIII_opt.pdf |ref={{harvid|Naval Staff Monograph No. 34|1933}} }}

{{M class destroyers}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pheasant (1916)}}
[[Category:World War I destroyers of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Admiralty M-class destroyers]]
[[Category:1916 ships]]
[[Category:Protected wrecks of the United Kingdom]]