HMS Badger (1911)

HMS Badger was an Acheron-class destroyer of the Royal Navy that served during the First World War and was sold for breaking in 1921. She was the eighth Royal Navy ship to be named Badger, after the mammal of the same name.

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

HMS Badger during First World War
History
United Kingdom
Name: HMS Badger
Builder: William Denny & Brothers, Dumbarton[1][2]
Yard number: 933[2]
Launched: 11 July 1911[3]
Fate: Sold 9 May 1921[3]
General characteristics
Class and type: Acheron-class destroyer
Displacement: 990 tons
Length: 75 m (246 ft)
Beam: 7.8 m (26 ft)
Draught: 2.7 m (8.9 ft)
Installed power: 13,500 shp (10,100 kW)
Propulsion:
  • 3 × Parsons turbines
  • 3 × Yarrow oil-fired boilers
  • 3 × shafts
Speed: 27 kn (50 km/h)
Complement: 70
Armament:

Construction

She was built under the 1910-11 shipbuilding programme by William Denny & Brothers of Dumbarton[1] and was launched on 11 July 1911. She and her sister-ship Beaver were completed with geared steam turbines for evaluation purposes and were known as "Parsons Specials".[4]

Pennant numbers
Pennant number[3]FromTo
H156 December 1914  1 September 1915
H521 September 19151 January 1918
H091 January 1918Early 1919
H91Early 19199 May 1921

Career

Pre-war

Badger served with the First Destroyer Flotilla from 1911 and, with her flotilla, joined the British Grand Fleet in 1914 on the outbreak of the First World War.

The Battle of Heligoland Bight

She was present on 28 August 1914 at the Battle of Heligoland Bight, detached from the First Destroyer Flotilla along with Jackal, Beaver and Sandfly.[5] She shared in the prize money for the engagement.[6]

The Ramming of U-19

On 24 October 1914 she became the first Allied ship to successfully attack a German Navy U-boat when she rammed U-19 off the Dutch coast.[7] U-19 was severely damaged but managed to return to port, was repaired and survived the war.

The Battle of Jutland

The 1st Destroyer Flotilla served at Jutland; it was Badger's distressing duty to rescue the crew of HMS Invincible, which had blown up after a German salvo penetrated the magazines. Of the crew of 1,021, only two officers and four crew were rescued. Badger's commanding officer at the time of the battle was Commander C A Fremantle.[8]

SS Lanfranc

On 17 April 1917 at 1930 hrs, SS Lanfranc was torpedoed four miles northeast of Le Havre by UB-40 while bound for Southampton. At the time she had 387 patients, of which 167 were German prisoners of war, and of these patients, 326 were cot-bound. Approximately 570 survivors were picked up by Badger and HMS Jackal, aided by HMS P47 and the French patrol boat Roitelet, and taken to Portsmouth.[9]

Service off Durazzo

Lieutenant Commander Geoffrey Corlett received the Italian Naval Decoration for service off Durazzo in Albania while serving as the captain of HMS Badger.[10]

SS Tuscania

At 0700 hrs on 4 February 1918, Badger joined convoy HX-20 along with seven other Royal Navy destroyers from Lough Swilly, Northern Ireland. At 1845 the next day, while transiting the North Channel, SS Tuscania of 14,348 GRT was torpedoed by UB-77. The ship was packed with United States soldiers, and 210 lives were lost in the sinking.[11]

Post-war

In common with most of her class, she was laid up after the First World War and in May 1921 she was sold for breaking.

Bibliography
Notes
  1. Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906-1921. London: Conway's Maritime Press. 1985. p. 75. ISBN 0-85177-245-5.
  2. "Badger". clydeships.co.uk. Caledonian Maritime Research Trust. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  3. ""Arrowsmith" List: Royal Navy WWI Destroyer Pendant Numbers". Retrieved 30 June 2008.
  4. "Battleships-Cruisers.co.uk website - Acheron Class". Retrieved 30 June 2008.
  5. "Battle of Heligoland Bight - Order of Battle (World War 1 Naval Combat website)". Retrieved 8 March 2009.
  6. "An Index of Prize Bounties as announced in the London Gazette 1915 - 1925". Retrieved 28 September 2008.
  7. Preston 1977, p. 29
  8. "Battle of Jutland - Royal Navy Ships and Commanding Officers". Retrieved 30 June 2008.
  9. "Blue Star Line website - Lanfranc 2". Retrieved 30 June 2008.
  10. "Bradworthy Book - World War One". Retrieved 30 June 2008.
  11. "SS Tuscania - An American History". Archived from the original on 29 August 2007. Retrieved 30 June 2008.
References
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