HMS Shamrock (1918)

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

Shamrock
History
United Kingdom
NameShamrock
OrderedJune 1917
BuilderDoxford, Sunderland
Laid downNovember 1917
Launched26 August 1918
Completed28 March 1919
Out of service23 November 1936
FateSold to be broken up
General characteristics
Class and typeS-class destroyer
Displacement
  • 1,075 long tons (1,092 t) normal
  • 1,221 long tons (1,241 t) deep load
Length265 ft (80.8 m) p.p.
Beam26 ft 8 in (8.13 m)
Draught9 ft 10 in (3.00 m) mean
Propulsion
Speed36 knots (41.4 mph; 66.7 km/h)
Range2,750 nmi (5,090 km) at 15 kn (28 km/h)
Complement90
Armament

HMS Shamrock was an S-class destroyer, which served with the Royal Navy in the twentieth century. Launched on 26 August 1918 just before the end of the First World War, the ship was commissioned into the Home Fleet. A year later, the destroyer was sent to the Baltic Sea during the Russian Civil War to support Latvia, arriving just at the cessation of that country's war of independence. The vessel was later sent to join the Local Defence Flotilla at Gibraltar. It was while serving there that the destroyer escorted the first Prime Minister of Republican Spain, Niceto Alcalá-Zamora, on an official visit to Spanish Morocco and helped evacuate civilians from Malaga at the start of the Spanish Civil War. Shamrock was retired soon after and sold to be broken up on 23 November 1936.

Design and development[edit]

Main article: S-class destroyer

Shamrock was one of thirty-three Admiralty S class destroyers ordered by the British Admiralty in June 1917 as part of the Twelfth War Construction Programme. The design was a development of the R class introduced at the same time as, and as a cheaper and faster complement to, the V and W class.[1]

Shamrock had a overall length of 276 ft (84 m) and a length of 265 ft (81 m) between perpendiculars. Beam was 26 ft 8 in (8.13 m) and draught 9 ft 10 in (3.00 m). Displacement was 1,075 long tons (1,092 t) normal and 1,221 long tons (1,241 t) deep load. Three Yarrow boilers fed steam to two sets of Brown-Curtis geared steam turbines rated at 27,000 shaft horsepower (20,000 kW) and driving two shafts, giving a design speed of 36 knots (67 km/h; 41 mph) at normal loading and 32.5 knots (60.2 km/h; 37.4 mph) at deep load.[2] wo funnels were fitted. A full load of 301 long tons (306 t) of fuel oil was carried, which gave a design range of 2,750 nautical miles (5,090 km; 3,160 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph).[2]

Armament consisted of three QF 4-inch (102 mm) Mk IV guns on the ship's centreline.[3] One was mounted raised on the forecastle, one on a platform between the funnels and one aft.[4] The ship also mounted a single 40-millimetre (1.6 in) 2-pounder pom-pom anti-aircraft gun for air defence. Four 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes were fitted in two twin rotating mounts aft.[3] The ship was designed to mount two additional 18-inch (457 mm) torpedo tubes either side of the superstructure but this required the forecastle plating to be cut away, making the vessel very wet, so they were removed.[5] The weight saved enabled the heavier Mark V 21-inch torpedo to be carried.[1] The ship had a complement of 90 officers and ratings.[6]

Construction and career[edit]

Laid down in November 1917 by William Doxford & Sons at their dockyard in Sunderland, Shamrock was launched on 26 August the following year, shortly before the Armistice which ended the First World War. and was completed on 28 March 1919.[6][7] The vessel was the fourth that served in the Royal Navy to bear the name.[8] Shamrock was commissioned into the Fourth Destroyer Flotilla of the Home Fleet.[9]

Although the war on the western front had finished, the escalating civil war in Russia continued. The United Kingdom decided to send units of the Royal Navy into the Baltic Sea to monitor the situation and to protect British interests. Soon into the campaign, it became clear that the Russians were planning to liberate the Baltic State of Latvia by integrating it into the new Soviet Union.[10] The fleet was therefore tasked with not simply helping to help organise the evacuation of German forces from the country but also support their war of independence. This was achieved on 14 November 1919.[11] Five days later, the destroyer arrived in Liepāja along with sister ships Serene, Sesame, Strenuous and Torbay in time to see peace restored.[12]

On 2 May 1924, Shamrock was guard ship for the Racer while the diving support vessel recovered over 100 gold bars from the wreck of the Laurentic.[13] The destroyer was subsequently deployed to Gibraltar. From there, the destroyer visited Seville during the declaration of the Second Spanish Republic. The crew witnessed rioting on the streets but were uninjured, returning to Gibraltar on 17 April.[14] Between 5 and 30 April 1933, the destroyer, along with sister ship Searcher, visited Morocco and Spain, calling in at Casablanca, Cadiz, Bonanza and Tangier, as well as revisiting Seville.[15] On 31 October, the ship escorted the first Prime Minister of Republican Spain, Niceto Alcalá-Zamora, on an official visit to the Spanish protectorate in Morocco.[16]

On 1 February 1934, Shamrock was recommissioned and rejoined the Local Defence Flotilla at Gibraltar.[17] The destroyer undertook another cruise between 6 and 30 April that year, visiting Huelva and Ceuta, as well as returning to Seville and Tangier.[18] In 1936, with tensions escalating in Spain, Shamrock, was joined by five other destroyers and three cruisers, just before the start of the Spanish Civil War. The destroyer was involved in evacuating British, French and American citizens from Malaga, and then other smaller settlements.[19][20] On 22 July, while undertaking these duties, the ship was bombed by Nationalist aircraft, but remained unharmed.[21] Soon after, Shamrock was taken out of service. The destroyer was chosen as one of twenty-two destroyers given to Thos. W. Ward of Sheffield in exchange for the liner RMS Majestic.[22] In consequence, on 23 November 1936, the ship was handed over to be broken up at Milford Haven.[23]

Pennant numbers[edit]

Pennant numbers
Pennant number Date
F50 August 1919[24]
D94 November 1919[25]
H06 January 1922[26]

References[edit]

Citations[edit]

  1. ^ a b Gardiner & Gray 1985, p. 85.
  2. ^ a b Friedman 2009, p. 297.
  3. ^ a b Gardiner & Gray 1985, p. 84.
  4. ^ Friedman 2009, p. 163.
  5. ^ March 1966, p. 221.
  6. ^ a b Parkes & Prendergast 1969, p. 107.
  7. ^ "Shamrock". The Navy List: 868. January 1921. Retrieved 9 May 2022 – via National Library of Scotland.
  8. ^ Manning & Walker 1959, p. 403.
  9. ^ "II – Home Fleet". The Navy List: 703. October 1919. Retrieved 9 May 2022 – via National Library of Scotland.
  10. ^ Head 2009, p. 136.
  11. ^ Head 2009, p. 147.
  12. ^ Dunn 2020, p. 234.
  13. ^ "Gold from the Laurentic". The Times. No. 43642. 3 May 1924. p. 14.
  14. ^ "The Rioting in Seville: British Seamen's Adventures". The Times. No. 45800. 18 April 1931. p. 9.
  15. ^ "Royal Navy: Gibraltar Flotilla Cruise". The Times. No. 46410. 4 April 1933. p. 21.
  16. ^ "Spanish President in Morocco". The Times. No. 46590. 1 November 1933. p. 11.
  17. ^ "Shamrock". The Navy List: 274. October 1935.
  18. ^ "Royal Navy: Cruise from Gibraltar". The Times. No. 46720. 5 April 1934. p. 5.
  19. ^ Alpert 2021, p. 53.
  20. ^ Frank 1969, p. 254.
  21. ^ Alpert 2021, p. 55.
  22. ^ "49/73) HMS CALEDONIA of 1936-1939". Warship International. 11 (1): 93. 1974.
  23. ^ Colledge & Warlow 2006, p. 318.
  24. ^ Dittmar & Colledge 1972, p. 74.
  25. ^ Bush & Warlow 2021, p. 42.
  26. ^ Bush & Warlow 2021, p. 70.

Bibliography[edit]

  • Alpert, Michael (2021). The Spanish Civil War at Sea. Barnsley: Pen & Sword Maritime. ISBN 978-1-52676-439-3.
  • Bush, Steve; Warlow, Ben (2021). Pendant Numbers of the Royal Navy: A Complete History of the Allocation of Pendant Numbers to Royal Navy Warships & Auxiliaries. Barnsley: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-526793-78-2.
  • Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006). Ships of the Royal Navy: a complete record of all fighting ships of the Royal Navy from the 15th century to the present. London: Chatham. ISBN 978-1-85367-566-9.
  • Dittmar, F.J.; Colledge, J.J. (1972). British Warships 1914–1919. Shepperton: Ian Allan. ISBN 978-0-71100-380-4.
  • Dunn, Steve (2020). Battle in the Baltic: The Royal Navy and the Fight to Save Estonia & Latvia 1918-20. Barnsley: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-52674-273-5.
  • Frank, Willard Chabot (1969). Sea Power, Politics, and the Onset of the Spanish War, 1936. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh.
  • 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.
  • Head, Michael (2009). "The Baltic Campaign, 1918-1920: Part I". Warship International. 46 (2): 134–150.
  • Manning, Thomas Davys; Walker, Charles Frederick (1959). British Warship Names. London: Putnam. OCLC 780274698.
  • March, Edgar J. (1966). British Destroyers: A History of Development, 1892–1953. London: Seeley Service. OCLC 164893555.
  • Parkes, Oscar; Prendergast, Maurice (1969). Jane's Fighting Ships 1919. Newton Abbott: David & Charles. OCLC 907574860.
  • Snook, David (1989). "British Naval Operations in the Black Sea 1918-1920: Part II". Warship International. 26 (4): 331–356.
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