View source for HMS Milbrook (1915)

{{Short description|British M-Class destroyer}}
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{{EngvarB|date=July 2023}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2023}}
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{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image= HMS Minion (1915) IWM SP 1399.jpg
|Ship caption= [[Sister ship]] {{HMS|Minion|1915|2}}
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country= United Kingdom
|Ship flag= {{Shipboxflag|United Kingdom|naval}}
|Ship name= ''Milbrook''
|Ship namesake=
|Ship ordered= September 1914
|Ship builder= [[John I. Thornycroft & Company|Thornycroft]], [[Woolston, Southampton]]
|Ship yard number=
|Ship laid down= November 1914
|Ship launched= 12 July 1915
|Ship acquired=
|Ship completed= October 1915
|Ship decommissioned= 
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service= 22 September 1921
|Ship struck= 
|Ship reinstated=
|Ship homeport=
|Ship motto= 
|Ship nickname=
|Ship honours
|Ship fate= Sold to be [[Ship breaking|broken up]]
|Ship notes=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship class= {{Sclass2|Admiralty M|destroyer}}
|Ship displacement= {{convert|976|LT|t|lk=in}} ([[Normal displacement|normal]])
|Ship length= *{{convert|273|ft|4|in|m|abbr=on|1}} ([[length overall|o/a]])
* {{convert|265|ft|m|1}} ([[length between perpendiculars|p.p.]])
|Ship beam= {{convert|26|ft|8|in|m|abbr=on|1}}
|Ship height= 
|Ship draught= {{convert|8|ft|11|in|m|abbr=on|1}}
|Ship power= 3 [[Yarrow boiler]]s, {{convert|25000|shp|lk=on|abbr=on}}
|Ship propulsion= [[John Brown & Company|Brown]]-Curtiss [[steam turbine]]s, 3 [[Propeller|shafts]]
|Ship speed= {{convert|34|kn|lk=in|0}}
|Ship range= {{convert|2530|nmi|abbr=on|lk=in}} at {{convert|15|kn|abbr=on|0}}
|Ship complement= 80
|Ship sensors=
|Ship EW=
|Ship armament= *3 × single [[QF 4 inch naval gun Mk IV, XII, XXII|QF {{convert|4|in|mm|adj=on|0}} guns]]
*2 × single [[QF 1-pounder pom-pom|1-pdr {{convert|37|mm|in|1|abbr=on}}]] [[Anti-aircraft warfare|AA]] guns
*2 × twin [[British 21 inch torpedo|{{convert|21|in|mm|0|abbr=on}}]] [[torpedo tube]]s
|Ship armour=
|Ship notes=}}
|}
'''HMS ''Milbrook''''' was an {{sclass2|Admiralty M|destroyer}} which served in the [[Royal Navy during the First World War]]. The M class was an improvement on those of the preceding {{sclass2|L|destroyer|4||1913}}, capable of higher speed. The destroyer was launched in 1915 and joined the [[11th Destroyer Flotilla|Eleventh Destroyer Flotilla]] of the [[Grand Fleet]]. In 1916, ''Milbrook'' responded with the Grand Fleet to the  [[bombardment of Yarmouth and Lowestoft]] and fought in the [[Battle of Jutland]]. During the following year, the warship was transferred to [[Buncrana]] to operate under the [[Commander-in-Chief, Coast of Ireland]] and, for the remainder of the war, the destroyer escorted [[Convoys in World War I|convoys]] that were arriving and departing ports on the [[River Clyde|Clyde]] and [[River Mersey|Mersey]] to cross the Atlantic. In 1918, the ship was jointly responsible for the destruction of the German [[U-boat|submarine]] {{SMU|UB-124||2}}. After the [[Armistice of 11 November 1918|Armistice]], ''Milbrook'' was placed in [[Reserve Fleet (United Kingdom)|reserve]] before being sold to be [[Ship breaking|broken up]] in 1921.

==Design and development==
''Milbrook'' was one of the sixteen {{sclass2|Admiralty M|destroyer|1}}s ordered by the [[British Admiralty]] in September 1914 as part of the First War Programme.{{sfn|McBride|1991|page=45}} The M class was an improved version of the earlier {{sclass2|L|destroyer (1913)|4}}, required to reach a higher speed in order to counter rumoured new German fast destroyers. The remit was to have a maximum speed of {{convert|36|kn|lk=on}} and, although ultimately the destroyers fell short of that ambition in service, the extra performance that was achieved was valued by the navy. It transpired that the rumoured German warships did not exist{{sfn|Friedman|2009|page=132}}

The destroyer had a length of {{convert|265|ft|m|1|abbr=on}} [[length between perpendiculars|between perpendiculars]] and {{convert|273|ft|4|in|m|1|abbr=on}} [[length overall|overall]], with a [[beam (nautical)|beam]] of {{convert|26|ft|8|in|m|1|abbr=on}} and [[Draft (hull)|draught]] of {{convert|8|ft|11|in|m|1|abbr=on}}.{{sfn|Friedman|2009|page=296}}  [[Normal displacement|Normal]] [[Displacement (ship)|displacement]] was {{convert|976|LT|t|lk=on}}.{{sfn|McBride|1991|page=44}} Power was provided by three [[Yarrow boiler]]s feeding [[John Brown & Company|Brown]]-Curtiss [[steam turbine]]s rated at {{convert|23000|shp|kW|lk=on}}, driving three [[Propeller|shafts]] and exhausting through three [[Funnel (ship)|funnels]].{{sfn|Parkes|Prendergast|1969|page=109}} Design speed was {{convert|34|kn}}, but ''Milbrook'' only managed {{convert|32.75|kn}} on {{convert|22750|shp|kW|abbr=on}} during trials.{{sfn|McBride|1991|page=44}} A total of {{convert|228|LT}} of [[Fuel oil|oil]] was carried, which gave a design range of {{convert|2530|nmi|lk=in}} at {{convert|15|kn}}.{{sfn|Friedman|2009|page=296}}

''Milbrook'' had a main armament consisting of three single [[QF 4 inch naval gun Mk IV, XII, XXII|QF {{convert|4|in|mm|0|adj=on}} Mk IV]] guns on the [[Centerline (nautical)|centreline]], with one on the [[forecastle]], one [[aft]] on a raised platform and one between the middle and aft funnels. [[Torpedo]] armament consisted of two twin [[torpedo tube]]s for [[British 21 inch torpedo|{{convert|21|in|mm|0|abbr=on|adj=on}}  torpedoes]] located aft of the funnels.{{sfn|Preston|1985|pages=76, 80}}{{sfn|March|1966|page=174}} Two single [[QF 1-pounder pom-pom|1-pounder {{convert|37|mm|in|1|abbr=on}} "pom-pom"]] [[Anti-aircraft warfare|anti-aircraft]] guns were carried.{{sfn|Preston|1985|page=76}} The anti-aircraft guns were later replaced by single [[QF 2 pounder naval gun|2-pdr {{convert|40|mm|in|1|abbr=on}} "pom-pom"]] guns.{{sfn|Friedman|2009|page=296}} The ship had a [[Ship's company|complement]] of 80 officers and [[Naval rating|ratings]].{{sfn|Preston|1985|page=76}}

==Construction and career==
''Milbrook'' was [[keel laying|laid down]] by [[John I. Thornycroft & Company]] at their yard in [[Woolston, Southampton]] in November 1914, was [[Ceremonial ship launching|launched]] on 12 July the following year and was completed three months later in October 1915.{{sfn|Friedman|2009|page=308}} Unlike others built by the shipyard, the destroyer was built to an Admiralty specification.{{sfn|Preston|1985|page=76}} The vessel was the second to enter [[Royal Navy]] service to be given the name.{{sfn|Manning|Walker|1959|page=298}}{{sfn|Colledge|Warlow|2006|page=226}}

''Milbrook'' was deployed as part of the [[Grand Fleet]], joining the [[11th Destroyer Flotilla|Eleventh Destroyer Flotilla]].<ref>{{cite journal | title=Destroyer Flotillas of the Grand Fleet|journal=Supplement to the Monthly Navy List | date=January 1916 | page=12 | url= https://digital.nls.uk/british-military-lists/archive/92029858 | via=National Library of Scotland | access-date=9 July 2023}}</ref> On 26 and 27 February 1916, the [[flotilla]] took part in a large naval exercise east of [[Shetland]], involving four flotillas of destroyers, as well as all the operational [[battlecruiser]]s, [[Dreadnought battleship|battleship]]s and [[cruiser]]s of the Grand Fleet. The exercise was deemed a success.{{sfn|Naval Staff Monograph No. 31|1926|page=83}} On 24 April, the destroyer was based at [[Cromarty]] on the east coast of Scotland.{{sfn|Naval Staff Monograph No. 32|1927|page=44}} The flotilla formed part of the support for the Grand Fleet in their response to the German [[bombardment of Yarmouth and Lowestoft]] which took place on that day. However, the slower speed of the destroyers in the choppy seas meant that they were left behind and they did not encounter the German fleet.{{sfn|Naval Staff Monograph No. 32|1927|page=33}}

During the following month, the destroyer sailed back to Cromarty along with eight other destroyers from the flotilla and the [[flotilla leader]] {{HMS|Kempenfelt|1915|2}} to meet with the [[2nd Battle Squadron|Second Battle Squadron]]. The ships sortied to rendezvous with the remainder of the Eleventh Destroyer Flotilla under the [[light cruiser]] {{HMS|Castor|1915|2}} on 31 May.{{sfn|Brooks|2016|pages=154–155}} They then sailed along with the rest of the Grand Fleet to confront the German [[High Seas Fleet]] in the [[Battle of Jutland]]. As the two fleets converged, the flotilla formed close to the [[dreadnought battleship]] {{HMS|King George V|1911|2}}, leading at the head of the [[2nd Battle Squadron|Second Battle Squadron]].{{sfn|Brooks|2016|page=270}}{{sfn|Corbett|1920|page=428}} In the skirmish, ''Milbrook'' took no hits. As the German fleet withdrew during the night, the destroyers, led by ''Castor'', attacked the German light cruisers of the Fourth Scouting Group, although ''Milbrook'' again was not able to achieve any hits.{{sfn|Brooks|2016|page=386}} After the battle ended, the vessel returned to [[Scapa Flow]] with the remainder of the flotilla, arriving on 2 June.{{sfn|Newbolt|1928|page=1}}

The destroyer remained part of the Eleventh Destroyer Flotilla on 19 August, based at Scapa Flow.{{sfn|Naval Staff Monograph No. 33|1927|page=259}} During the following year, ''Milbrook'' was transferred to the Northern Division of the [[Coast of Ireland Station]] based at [[Buncrana]].<ref>{{cite journal | title=VII. Coast of Ireland Station | journal=Supplement to the Monthly Navy List | date=July 1917 | page=17 | url=https://digital.nls.uk/british-military-lists/archive/94242302 | via=National Library of Scotland | access-date=9 July 2023}}</ref> The destroyer was part of the escort service provided to [[Convoys in World War I|convoys]] travelling across the Atlantic. The destroyers at Buncrana assisted convoys travelling across the [[Atlantic Ocean]] to and from the American industrial complex at [[Hampton Roads]] and via [[Sydney, Nova Scotia]], arriving and departing ports on the [[River Clyde|Clyde]] and [[River Mersey|Mersey]].{{sfn|Newbolt|1931|page=103}} The division also provided three escorts every eight days to protect fast convoys travelling to and from [[Halifax, Nova Scotia]].{{sfn|Newbolt|1928|page=106}} The convoy escort role continued into 1918.{{sfn|Newbolt|1931|page=335}}<ref>{{cite journal | title=IX Coast of Ireland Station | journal=Supplement to the Monthly Navy List | date=July 1918 | page=18 | url=https://digital.nls.uk/british-military-lists/archive/92290338 | via=National Library of Scotland | access-date=9 July 2023}}</ref> On 20 July, the destroyer, along with [[sister ship]]s {{HMS|Marne|1915|2}} and {{HMS|Pigeon|1916|2}}, successfully drove the German [[submarine]] {{SMU|UB-124||2}} to the surface with depth charges. The ships then sank the submarine with gunfire.{{sfn|Eaton|Haas|1989|page=195}}

After the [[Armistice of 11 November 1918|Armistice]] that ended the war, the Royal Navy returned to a peacetime level of strength and both the number of ships and personnel needed to be reduced to save money.{{sfn|Moretz|2002|page=79}} The destroyer was transferred to [[Reserve Fleet (United Kingdom)|reserve]] at [[HMNB Portsmouth|Portsmouth]].<ref>{{cite journal | title=V Vessels in Reserve at Home Ports and Other Bases | journal=The Supplement to the Monthly Navy List | date=July 1919 | page=16 | url= https://digital.nls.uk/british-military-lists/archive/92499842 | via=National Library of Scotland | access-date=9 July 2023}}</ref> However, the harsh conditions of wartime operations, particularly the combination of high speed and the poor weather that is typical of the North Sea, exacerbated by the fact that the hull was not [[Galvanization|galvanised]], meant that the ship was soon worn out.{{sfn|Preston|1985|page=80}} ''Milbrook'' was declared superfluous to operational requirements, retired, and, on 22 September 1921, was sold to [[George Cohen, Sons and Company|Cohen]], and [[Ship breaking|broken up]] in Germany.{{sfn|Colledge|Warlow|2006|page=226}}

==Pennant numbers==
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:left"
![[Pennant number]]
!Date
|-
|HC6||August 1915{{sfn|Bush|Warlow|2021|page=79}}
|- 
|G08||January 1917{{sfn|Bush|Warlow|2021|page=61}}
|-
|HA2||January 1918{{sfn|Bush|Warlow|2021|page=78}}
|-
|G24||January 1919{{sfn|Bush|Warlow|2021|page=63}}
|-
|}

==References==
===Citations===
{{reflist}}

===Bibliography===
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book | last=Brooks | first=John | title=The Battle of Jutland | location=Cambridge | publisher=Cambridge University Press | year=2016 | isbn=978-1-107-15014-0}} 
* {{cite book | last1=Bush | first1=Steve | last2=Warlow | first2=Ben | title=Pendant Numbers of the Royal Navy: A Complete History of the Allocation of Pendant Numbers to Royal Navy Warships & Auxiliaries | location=Barnsley | publisher=Seaforth Publishing | year=2021 | isbn=978-1-526793-78-2}}
* {{cite book | last1=Colledge | first1=James Joseph | first2=Ben | last2=Warlow | title=Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of All Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy | location=London | publisher=Chatham Press | year=2006 | isbn=978-1-93514-907-1 | author-link1=J. J. Colledge}}
* {{cite book | last=Corbett | first=Julian S. | title=Naval Operations: Volume III | series=History of the Great War | location=London | publisher=Longmans, Green and Co | year=1920 | url=https://archive.org/details/navaloperations03corb/ | oclc=1049894619 | author-link=Julian Corbett}}
* {{cite book | last1=Eaton | first1=John | last2=Haas | first2=Charles | title=Falling Star, Misadventures of White Star Line Ships | location=Wellingborough | publisher=Patrick Stephens Ltd | year=1989 | isbn=978-1-85260-084-6}}
* {{cite book | last=Friedman | first=Norman| title=British Destroyers: From Earliest Days to the First World War | year=2009 | publisher=Seaforth Publishing | location=Barnsley | isbn=978-1-84832-049-9 | author-link=Norman Friedman}}
* {{cite book | last1=Manning | first1=Thomas Davys | last2=Walker | first2=Charles Frederick |title=British Warship Names | location=London | publisher=Putnam | year=1959 | oclc=780274698 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s5jfAAAAMAAJ}}
* {{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 | location=London | publisher=Seeley Service | year=1966 | oclc=164893555}}
* {{cite book | last=McBride | first=Keith | chapter=British 'M' Class Destroyers of 1913–14 | pages=34–49 | editor-last=Gardiner | editor-first=Robert | title=Warship 1991 | year=1991 | publisher=Conway Maritime Press | place=London | isbn=978-0-85177-582-1}}
* {{cite book | title= Monograph No. 31: Home Waters Part VI: From October 1915 to May 1916 |series=Naval Staff Monographs (Historical) | volume= XV | year=1926 | publisher=Naval Staff, Training and Staff Duties Division | url=http://www.navy.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/Naval-Staff-Monographs-Vol.XV_opt.pdf | ref={{harvid|Naval Staff Monograph No. 31|1926}}}}
* {{cite book | title=Monograph No. 32: Lowestoft Raid: 24th – 25th April, 1916 | series=Naval Staff Monographs (Historical) | volume=XVI | year=1927 | publisher=The Naval Staff, Training and Staff Duties Division | url=http://www.navy.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/Naval-Staff-Monographs-Vol.XVI_opt.pdf | ref={{Harvid|Naval Staff Monograph No. 32|1927}}}}
* {{cite book | title=Monograph No. 33: Home Waters: Part VII: From June 1916 to November 1916|series=Naval Staff Monographs (Historical) | volume= XVII|year=1927| url=http://www.navy.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/Naval-Staff-Monographs-Vol.XVII_opt.pdf | publisher=Naval Staff, Training and Staff Duties Division | ref={{harvid|Naval Staff Monograph No. 33|1927}}}}
* {{cite book | last=Moretz | first=Joseph | title=The Royal Navy and the Capital Ship in the Interwar Period | location=London | publisher=Routledge| year=2002 | isbn=978-0-71465-196-5}}
* {{cite book | last=Newbolt |first=Henry | title=Naval Operations: Volume IV |series=History of the Great War |location=London |publisher=Longmans, Green and Co |year=1928 |url=https://archive.org/details/navaloperations04corb |oclc=1049894132 | author-link=Henry Newbolt}}
* {{cite book | last=Newbolt | first=Henry | title=Naval Operations: Volume V | series=History of the Great War | location=London | publisher=Longmans, Green and Co | year=1931 | url=https://archive.org/details/navaloperations0000corb | oclc=220475309}}
* {{cite book | last1=Parkes | first1=Oscar | last2=Prendergast | first2=Maurice | title=Jane's Fighting Ships 1919 | publisher=David & Charles | location=Newton Abbott | year=1969 | oclc=907574860}}
* {{cite book | last=Preston | first=Antony | author-link=Antony Preston | chapter=Great Britain and Empire Forces | pages=1–104 | editor1-last=Gardiner | editor1-first=Robert | editor2-last=Gray | editor2-first=Randal | title=Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921 | publisher=Conway Maritime Press | location=London | year=1985 | isbn=978-0-85177-245-5}}
{{refend}}
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{{M class destroyers}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Milbrook (1915}}
[[Category:1915 ships]]
[[Category:Admiralty M-class destroyers]]
[[Category:Ships built by John I. Thornycroft & Company]]
[[Category:Ships built in Southampton]]
[[Category:World War I destroyers of the United Kingdom]]