HMS Comet (1910)

HMS Comet, c. 1914–1918
History
United Kingdom
Name	HMS Comet
Builder	Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering Company, Govan
Launched	23 June 1910
Fate	Sunk in collision, 6 August 1918
General characteristics
Class and type	Acorn class
Type	Destroyer
Displacement	730 to 780 tons
Length	246 ft 6 in (75.13 m)
Beam	25 ft 6 in (7.77 m)
Draught	7 ft (2.1 m)–10 ft (3.0 m)
Propulsion	Oil-fired boilers 3 shaft steam turbines 13,500 shp
Speed	27 knots (50 km/h)
Range	170 tons oil
Complement	72
Armament	2 × BL 4-inch (101.6 mm) L/40 Mark VIII guns, mounting P Mark V 2 × QF 12 pdr 12 cwt Mark I mounting P Mark I 2 × 21 in (530 mm) torpedo tubes

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

HMS Comet was an Acorn class destroyer of the Royal Navy that saw active service in the First World War. She was built under the 1909–1910 programme by Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering Company in Govan. She was launched on 23 June 1910 and lost after a collision while under tow on 6 August 1918 in the Mediterranean. Initially it was believed that she was torpedoed and sunk by an Austrian U-boat, but this was dismissed since no submarine claimed her sinking.

The Acorn class marked a return to oil-firing as pioneered in the Tribal or F class of 1905 and HMS Swift of 1907. This change allowed a generally smaller vessel than the Beagles even with an increase in armament. The Comet was built to an individual design by Fairfield Shipbuilding although the Acorns had a more-or-less uniform appearance, with three funnels, a tall, thin fore funnel, a short, thick central and a short narrow after stack. Comet had two 4-inch guns on the fo'c'sle and on the quarterdeck. The 12-pounder guns were amidships, one on each side between the first pair of funnels, and the torpedo tubes were abaft the funnels, mounted singly with a searchlight position between them.

References

• Cocker, Maurice (1983). Destroyers of the Royal Navy, 1893–1981. Ian Allan. ISBN 0-7110-1075-7.