HMS Hope (1910)
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 Scale model of Hope at the Art Gallery of Ontario | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | Hope |
| Builder | Swan Hunter, Wallsend |
| Laid down | 5 December 1909 |
| Launched | 6 September 1910 |
| Commissioned | March 1911 |
| Out of service | February 1920 |
| Fate | Sold to be broken up |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Acorn-class destroyer |
| Displacement | 745 long tons (757 t) (normal) |
| Length | 246 ft (75 m) o.a. |
| Beam | 25 ft 5 in (7.7 m) |
| Draught | 8 ft 6 in (2.6 m) |
| Installed power | 4 Yarrow boilers 13,500 shp (10,100 kW) |
| Propulsion | Parsons steam turbines, 3 shafts |
| Speed | 27 kn (50 km/h; 31 mph) |
| Range | 1,540 nmi (2,850 km; 1,770 mi) at 15 kn (28 km/h; 17 mph) |
| Complement | 72 |
| Armament |
|
HMS Hope was the first warship constructed by Swan Hunter and one of 20 Acorn class (later H-class) destroyers built for the Royal Navy that served in the First World War. The Acorn class were smaller than the preceding Beagle class but oil-fired and better armed. Launched in 1910, Hope served with the Second Destroyer Flotilla of the Grand Fleet as an escort based at Devonport for most of the war, protecting ships like RMS Aquitania, until being transferred to Malta to serve with the Fifth Destroyer Flotilla as part of the Mediterranean Fleet in 1917. Hope collided with and sank the destroyer HMS Arno in 1918. After the Armistice, the destroyer continued to serve in Malta under being sold in 1920.
After the coal-burning Beagle class, the Acorn-class destroyer saw a return to oil-firing. Pioneered by the Tribal class of 1905 and HMS Swift of 1907, using oil enabled a more efficient design, leading to a smaller vessel which also had increased deck space available for weaponry.[1] Unlike previous designs, where the individual yards had been given discretion within the parameters set by the Admiralty, the Acorn class were a set, with the machinery the only major variation between the different ships.[2] This enabled costs to be reduced.[3] The class was later renamed H class.[4]
Hope was 240-foot (73 m) long between perpendiculars and 246 ft (75 m) overall, with a beam of 25 ft 5 in (7.7 m) and a deep draught of 8 ft 6 in (2.6 m). Displacement was 745 long tons (834 short tons; 757 tonnes) normal and 855 long tons (869 t) full load.[5] Power was provided by Parsons steam turbines, fed by four Yarrow boilers constructed by the Wallsend Slipway and Engineering Company. Parsons supplied a complex of seven turbines, a high-pressure and two low pressure for high speed, two turbines for cruising and two for running astern, driving three shafts. The high-pressure turbine drove the centre shaft, the remainder being distributed to the wing-shafts.[2] Three funnels were fitted, the foremost tall and thin, the central short and thick and the aft narrow.[6] The engines were rated at 13,500 shaft horsepower (10,100 kW) and design speed was 27 knots (50 km/h; 31 mph). On trial, Hope achieved 27.1 knots (50.2 km/h; 31.2 mph), a speed exceeded by the rest of the class.[4] The vessel carried 170 long tons (170 t) of fuel oil which gave a range was 1,540 nautical miles (2,850 km; 1,770 mi) at a cruising speed of 15 kn (28 km/h; 17 mph).[7][5]
The more efficient use of deck space enabled a larger armament to be mounted. A single BL 4 in (102 mm) Mk VIII gun was carried on the forecastle and another aft. Two single QF 12-pounder (3 in (76 mm)) guns were mounted between the first two funnels.[8] Two rotating 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes were mounted aft of the funnels, with two reloads carried, and a searchlight fitted between the tubes.[9] The destroyer was later modified to carry a single Vickers QF 3-pounder (47 mm (2 in)) anti-aircraft gun and depth charges for anti-submarine warfare.[10] The ship's complement was 72 officers and ratings.[7]
