HMS Taurus (1917)

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

HMS Taurus was an R-class destroyer which served with the Royal Navy during World War I. Ordered from Thornycroft in 1915 and launched in 1917, the vessel operated as part of the Harwich Force until the end of hostilities. Shortly after entering service, Taurus formed part of the destroyer shield for the Royal Navy's bombardment of Ostend that successfully sank the German destroyer S20. After the War, the destroyer was reduced to the Reserve Fleet and sold to be broken up in 1930.

HMS Taurus
History
United Kingdom
Name	HMS Taurus
Namesake	Taurus astrological sign and constellation
Ordered	December 1915
Builder	Thornycroft
Laid down	March 1916
Launched	10 March 1917
Commissioned	May 1917
Out of service	18 February 1930
Fate	Sold to be broken up
General characteristics
Class and type	R-class destroyer
Displacement	1,035 long tons (1,052 t) normal 1,208 long tons (1,227 t) full
Length	274 ft 3 in (83.6 m) (o.a.)
Beam	27 ft (8.2 m)
Draught	11 ft (3.4 m)
Propulsion	3 Yarrow boilers 2 geared Brown Curtis steam turbines, 29,000 shp
Speed	35 knots (40 mph; 65 km/h)
Range	3,450 nautical miles (6,390 km) at 20 knots (37 km/h)
Complement	82
Armament	3 × QF 4 inches (102 mm) Mark IV guns, mounting P Mk. IX 1 × single 2-pounder (40 mm) "pom-pom" Mk. II anti-aircraft gun 4 × 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes (2×2)

Design and development

Main article: R-class destroyer

Taurus was one of two R-class destroyers ordered by the British Admiralty from Thornycroft in December 1915 as part of the Seventh War Construction Programme alongside Teazer. The ships differed from the six preceding Thornycroft M-class built by the yard in having all geared turbines and the aft gun being raised on a bandstand.^[1]

Taurus had an overall length of 274 feet 3 inches (83.59 m) and was 265 feet (81 m) between perpendiculars.^[2] Beam was 27 ft (324.0 in) and draught 11 ft (3.4 m).^[1] Displacement was 1,035 long tons (1,052 t) normal and 1,208 long tons (1,227 t) full load.^[3] Three Yarrow boilers fed steam to two sets of Brown-Curtis geared steam turbines rated at 29,000 shaft horsepower (22,000 kW) and driving two shafts, giving a design speed of 35 knots (65 km/h; 40 mph), although Teazer achieved a class-leading speed of 40.22 knots (74.49 km/h; 46.28 mph) during trials.^[4] Three funnels were fitted, the centre one larger in diameter than the others. A total of 296 long tons (301 t) of fuel oil was carried, giving a design range of 3,450 nautical miles (6,390 km; 3,970 mi) at 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph).^[5]

Armament consisted of three QF 4in Mk IV guns on the ship's centreline. One was mounted on the forecastle, one aft and one between the second and third funnels.^[3] The ship also mounted a single 2-pounder (40 mm) pom-pom anti-aircraft gun for air defence and four 21 in (533 mm) torpedoes in two twin rotating mounts.^[2] The vessel had a complement of 82 officers and ratings.^[3]

Construction and career

Laid down in March 1916, Taurus was launched on 10 March 1917.^[1] The vessel was named after the Taurus astrological sign and constellation.^[6] Taurus was commissioned in May 1917 and served in the Tenth Destroyer Flotilla as part of the Harwich Force.^[7]

On 4 June 1917, Taurus was deployed as part of a large group of seven cruisers and twenty five destroyers to protect the monitors Erebus and Terror in their bombardment of the German held Belgian port of Ostend. Along with sister ships Satyr, Sharpshooter and Torrent, Taurus sank the German destroyer S20.^[8] On 16 October, the ship sailed as part of a force of thirty cruisers and fifty-four destroyers searching for a German fleet that had been misidentified as being of a substantial size, despite being in reality no more than no more than ten vessels. The search did not lead to any contact.^[9]

After the war, the destroyer remained with the Tenth Destroyer Flotilla.^[10] Taurus was reduced to the Reserve Fleet at Devonport on 16 October 1919 as a tender to the depot ship Woolwich and sold to Metal Industries of Charleston to be broken up on 18 February 1930.^[11][12]

Pennant numbers

Pennant Number	Date
F71	January 1917[13]
F70	January 1918[13]
D82	January 1919[14]
F39	November 1919[15]
H30	January 1922[16]

References

Citations

1. Parkes & Prendegast 1919, p. 106.
2. Moore 1990, p. 70.
3. Gardiner & Gray 1985, p. 81.
4. "Thornycroft "R" Class". The Marine Engineer and Naval Architect. 43: 71. 1921.
5. Friedman 2009, p. 310.
6. Manning & Walker 1959, p. 435.
7. "Harwich Force". Supplement to the Navy List Showing Organisation of the Fleet, Flag Officers' Commands &c.: 13. January 1918. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
8. Newbolt 1931, pp. 45–46.
9. Newbolt 1931, pp. 151–152.
10. "Harwich Force". Supplement to the Navy List Showing Organisation of the Fleet, Flag Officers' Commands &c.: 13. January 1919. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
11. "862 Taurus". The Navy List: 871. April 1920. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
12. Colledge & Warlow 2006, p. 398.
13. Dittmar & Colledge 1972, p. 71.
14. Bush & Warlow 2021, p. 40.
15. Bush & Warlow 2021, p. 48.
16. Bush & Warlow 2021, p. 72.

Bibliography

• 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.
• 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.
• Manning, Thomas Davys & Walker, Charles Frederick (1959). British Warship Names. London: Putnam. OCLC 780274698.
• Newbolt, Henry (1931). Naval Operations: Volume V. History of the Great War. London: Longmans, Green and Co. OCLC 220475309.
• Moore, John Evelyn (1990). Jane's Fighting Ships of World War I. London: Random House Group. ISBN 978-1-85170-378-4.
• Parkes, Oscar; Prendegast, Maurice (1919). Jane's Fighting Ships. London: Sampson Low, Marston & Co. Ltd.