HMS Tempest (H71)

HMS Tempest was an R-class destroyer of the Royal Navy, built by Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company at Govan on Clydeside and launched on 26 January 1917 during the First World War.

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

Distant view of HMS Tempest dropping depth charges off Harwich in April 1918.
History
United Kingdom
Name: HMS Tempest
Builder: Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company
Yard number: 524
Launched: 26 January 1917
Commissioned: April 1917
Recommissioned: October 1919
Fate: Sold for scrapping January 1937
General characteristics
Class and type: R-class destroyer
Displacement: 975 long tons (991 t) standard
Length: 276 ft (84.1 m)
Beam: 26 ft 9 in (8.15 m)
Draught: 9 ft 10 in (3.00 m)
Propulsion:
Speed: 36 knots (41.4 mph; 66.7 km/h)
Range: 3,440 nmi (6,370 km) at 15 kn (28 km/h)
Complement: 82 (wartime)
Armament:

Design

Tempest was one of twelve R-class destroyers ordered by the British Admiralty in March 1916 as part of the Eighth War Construction Programme. The ship was launched on 26 January December 1917 and completed in 20 March 1917.[1]

Tempest was 276 feet (84.1 m) long overall, with a beam of 26 feet 9 inches (8.15 m) and a draught of 9 feet 10 inches (3.00 m).[2] Displacement was 975 long tons (991 t) normal and 1,075 long tons (1,092 t) deep load. Power was provided by three Yarrow boilers feeding two Brown-Curtis geared steam turbines rated at 27,000 shaft horsepower (20,000 kW) and driving two shafts, to give a design speed of 36 knots (67 km/h; 41 mph).[2] Three funnels were fitted. 296 long tons (301 t) of oil were carried, giving a design range of 3,440 nautical miles (6,370 km; 3,960 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph).[1]

Service

After commissioning, Tempest joined the Tenth Destroyer Flotilla as part of the Harwich Force in April 1917.[3] On 23 April 1918, Tempest participated in the First Ostend Raid, for which she formed part of "Unit X" which sailed from Dover and escorted the blockships from the Goodwin Sands until they reached a smoke screen which had been laid by Motor Launches off Ostend. After that they joined the Dunkirk-based destroyer flotilla in supporting the small craft inshore, "within close range of the enemy's heavy batteries".[4] Tempest remained with the Tenth Flotilla at Harwich until its dispersal in February 1919.[3] In October 1919, she was recommissioned with a reduced complement.[5]

In October 1930, Tempest was used to repatriate the bodies of 48 men who had been killed in the crash of the R101 airship near Beauvais in France. The bodies were carried by Tempest from Boulogne-Sur-Mer to Dover, from where they were taken by rail to lie in state at Westminster Hall.[6]

She was finally sold for scrapping on 28 January 1937 and broken up at Briton Ferry.[7]

References
  1. Friedman, Norman (2009). British Destroyers: From Earliest Days to the First World War. Barnsley: Seaforth Publishing. p. 310. ISBN 978-1-84832-049-9.
  2. Gardiner, Robert; Gray, Randal, eds. (1985). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. London: Conway Maritime Press. p. 81. ISBN 0-85177-245-5.
  3. "Tenth Destroyer Flotilla (Royal Navy)". www.dreadnoughtproject.org. The Dreadnought Project. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
  4. Keys, Roger, Vice Admiral Sir, and Terry, C Sanford (editor) 1919, Ostend and Zeebrugge, April 23: May 10, 1918, Oxford University Press (pp. 166-167)
  5. "H.M.S. Tempest (1917)". www.dreadnoughtproject.org. The Dreadnought Project. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
  6. "R101 - the final trials and loss of the ship". www.airshipsonline.com. The Airship Heritage Trust. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
  7. "Tempest (6491)". Clydebuilt Ships Database. Clyde-built Ship Database. Retrieved 8 November 2019.

Bibliography
  • Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.
  • Friedman, Norman (2009). British Destroyers: From Earliest Days to the Second World War. Barnsley, UK: 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 0-85177-245-5.
  • March, Edgar J. (1966). British Destroyers: A History of Development, 1892–1953; Drawn by Admiralty Permission From Official Records & Returns, Ships' Covers & Building Plans. London: Seeley Service. OCLC 164893555.


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