HMS Staunch (1910)

The 20 destroyers of the Acorn class were ordered by the Admiralty under the 1909–1910 Naval Programme.^[11] Unlike previous destroyer 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, enabling costs to be reduced.^[6][12] Staunch was laid down at the Dumbarton shipyard of William Denny and Brothers with the yard number 920 on 15 January 1910, launched on 29 October and completed on 17 March.^[4][13] The ship was the fifth in Royal Navy service given the name staunch.^[14][15] The vessel initially joined the Fourth Destroyer Flotilla.^[16] On 5 August 1911, the destroyer escorted the royal yacht Britannia at the Cowes Regatta.^[17] Staunch subsequently joined the Second Destroyer Flotilla.^[18]

After the British Empire declared war on Germany at the beginning of the First World War in August 1914, the flotilla became part of the Grand Fleet.^[19] Between 13 and 15 October, the flotilla supported the battleships of the Grand Fleet in a training exercise.^[20] Soon afterwards, the destroyers were deployed to Devonport to undertake escort and patrol duties, protecting merchant ships against German submarines.^[5][21] January 1915 found the vessel still attached to the Second Destroyer Flotilla of the Grand Fleet.^[22] On 28 August 1915, the flotilla took part in an anti-submarine patrol, accompanied by battleships and cruisers, but this was unsuccessful at destroying any submarines.^[23] However, towards the end of the year, the destroyer was detached from the Grand Fleet.^[24]

Leaving Devonport on 13 November, Staunch sailed to the Mediterranean Sea.^[25] The ship was attached to the Fifth Destroyer Flotilla as part of the Mediterranean Fleet.^[26] Within months, the destroyer was deployed to support the end of the Gallipoli campaign. Royal Navy vessels had successfully removed a large force from the peninsular, but there remained 37,500 troops on 29 December left on the beaches. The Navy organised the evacuation of 22,500 troops, but the combination of weather and geography meant that there were still 15,000 that were left ashore.^[27] It was not until 9 January 1916 that the destroyer was able to approach one of the hulks that lay offshore and was able to save the majority of a battalion of the Worcestershire Regiment.^[28][29]

On 30 October 1917, the destroyer formed part of the support for the monitor Raglan in bombarding troops of the Ottoman Empire stationed north of Gaza.^[30] The monitor was joined by HMS M15 and HMS M29, and three French destroyers and the ships moored off the coast of Deir al-Balah, but, on 10 November, the German U-boat U-38, led by Lieutenant Hans Wendlandt, arrived in the area. Remained at periscope depth, Wendlandt monitored the flotilla until, on the following day, he found a gap between the anti-submarine nets and the coast. Shortly after 17:30, he launched torpedoes at M15 and Staunch, sinking both ships.^[31][32] Eight sailors aboard Staunch were killed but the submarine escaped unscathed.^[33]

• Brassey, Thomas (1912). The Navy Annual 1912. Portsmouth: J. Griffin & Co.
• Brown, David K. (2010). The Grand Fleet: Warship Design and Development 1906–1922. Barnsley: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-085-7.
• 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.
• Corbett, Julian S. (1923). Naval Operations: Volume III. History of the Great War. London: Longmans, Green and Co. OCLC 1049894619.
• Friedman, Norman (2009). British Destroyers: From Earliest Days to the First World War. Barnsley: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-049-9.
• Hepper, David J. (2006). British Warship Losses in the Ironclad Era, 1860-1919. London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-8617-6273-3.
• Kemp, Paul (1999). The Admiralty Regrets: British Warship Losses of the 20th Century. Stroud: Sutton. ISBN 978-0-75091-567-0.
• Lyon, John (1975). The Denny List: Ship Numbers 769-1273. Greenwich: National Maritime Museum. OCLC 614037892.
• 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.
• Monograph No. 21: The Mediterranean: 1914 to 1915 (PDF). Naval Staff Monographs (Historical). Vol. VIII. Naval Staff, Training and Staff Duties Division. 1923.
• Monograph No. 24: Home Waters Part II: September and October 1914 (PDF). Naval Staff Monographs (Historical). Vol. XI. Naval Staff, Training and Staff Duties Division. 1924.
• Monograph No. 30: Home Waters Part V: From July to October 1915 (PDF). Naval Staff Monographs (Historical). Vol. XIV. Naval Staff, Training and Staff Duties Division. 1926.
• Monograph No. 31: Home Waters Part VI: From October 1915 to May 1916 (PDF). Naval Staff Monographs (Historical). Vol. XV. Naval Staff, Training and Staff Duties Division. 1926.
• Newbolt, Henry (1931). Naval Operations: Volume V. History of the Great War. London: Longmans, Green and Co. OCLC 220475309.
• Parkes, Oscar; Prendergast, Maurice (1969). Jane's Fighting Ships 1919. Newton Abbott: David & Charles. OCLC 907574860.
• Preston, Antony (1985). "Great Britain and Empire Forces". In Gardiner, Robert; Gray, Randal (eds.). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. London: Conway Maritime Press. pp. 1–104. ISBN 978-0-85177-245-5.
• Stacke, H. FiztM (1928). The Worcestershire Regiment in the Great War. Kidderminster: Cheshire & Sons. OCLC 79322148.