HMS Ure

HMS Ure was a Palmer Type River Class Destroyer ordered by the Royal Navy under the 1903 – 1904 Naval Estimates. Named after the River Ure in Yorkshire, England, she was the first ship to carry this name in the Royal Navy.

History
United Kingdom
Name	Ure
Ordered	1903 – 1904 Naval Estimates
Builder	Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Company, Jarrow
Laid down	1 March 1904
Launched	25 October 1904
Commissioned	June 1905
Out of service	In 1919 she was laid up in reserve awaiting disposal
Fate	27 May 1919 sold to TR Sales for breaking
General characteristics
Class and type	Palmer Type River-class destroyer[1][2]
Displacement	550 long tons (559 t) standard 620 long tons (630 t) full load 223 ft 6 in (68.12 m) o/a 23 ft 6 in (7.16 m) Beam 7 ft 4.5 in (2.248 m) Draught
Propulsion	4 × Reed water tube boilers 2 × Vertical Triple Expansion (VTE) steam engines driving 2 shafts producing 7,000 shp (5,200 kW) (average)
Speed	25.5 kn (47.2 km/h)
Range	140 tons coal 1,620 nmi (3,000 km) at 11 kn (20 km/h)
Complement	70 officers and men
Armament	1 × QF 12-pounder 12 cwt Mark I, mounting P Mark I 3 × QF 12-pounder 8 cwt, mounting G Mark I (Added in 1906) 5 × QF 6-pounder 8 cwt (removed in 1906) 2 × single tubes for 18-inch (450mm) torpedoes
Service record
Part of:	East Coast Destroyer Flotilla – 1905 3rd Destroyer Flotilla – Apr 1909 5th Destroyer Flotilla – 1912 Assigned E Class – Aug 1912 – Oct 1913 9th Destroyer Flotilla – 1914 1st Destroyer Flotilla – Nov 1916
Operations:	World War I 1914 - 1918

Construction

She was laid down on 1 March 1904 at the Palmer’s shipyard at Jarrow and launched on 25 October 1904. She was completed in June 1905. Her original armament was to be the same as the Turleback torpedo boat destroyers that preceded her. In 1906 the Admiralty decided to upgrade the armament by landing the five 6-pounder naval guns and shipping three 12-pounder 8 hundredweight (cwt) guns. Two would be mounted abeam at the foc's'le break, and the third gun would be mounted on the quarterdeck.

Pre-War

After commissioning she was assigned to the East Coast Destroyer Flotilla of the 1st Fleet and based at Harwich.

On 27 April 1908 the Eastern Flotilla departed Harwich for live fire and night manoeuvres. During these exercises Attentive rammed and sank Gala then damaged Ribble.

In April 1909 she was assigned to the 3rd Destroyer Flotilla on its formation at Harwich. She remained until displaced by a Basilisk Class destroyer by May 1912. She was assigned to the 5th Destroyer Flotilla of the 2nd Fleet with a nucleus crew.

On 30 August 1912 the Admiralty directed all destroyer classes were to be designated by alpha characters starting with the letter 'A'. The ships of the River Class were assigned to the E Class. After 30 September 1913, she was known as an E Class destroyer and had the letter ‘E’ painted on the hull below the bridge area and on either the fore or aft funnel.^[3]

World War I

In early 1914 when displaced by G Class destroyers she joined the 9th Destroyer Flotilla based at Chatham tendered to St George. The 9th Flotilla was a Patrol Flotilla tasked with anti-submarine and countermining patrols in the Firth of Forth area. By August she had been redeployed to Scapa Flow Local Flotilla under the command of Commander-in-Chief Home Fleets and tendered to St Vincent. Here she provided anti-submarine and counter mining patrols in defence of the main fleet anchorage.^[4]

With the amalgamation of the 7th and 9th Flotillas in August 1915, she was redeployed to the North Channel Patrol based at Larne, Northern Ireland. Here she was employed in escorting merchant ships, anti-submarine patrols and counter smuggling patrols following the Easter Uprising in Dublin in 1916.^[5]

In November 1916, she was assigned to the 1st Destroyer Flotilla when it was redeployed to Portsmouth. She was equipped with depth charges for employment in anti-submarine patrols, escorting of merchant ships and defending the Dover Barrage. In the spring of 1917 as the convoy system was being introduced the 1st Flotilla was employed in convoy escort duties for the English Channel for the remainder of the war

Disposition

In 1919 she was paid off and laid up in reserve awaiting disposal. On 27 May 1919 she was sold to TR Sales for breaking.^[6]

She was not awarded a Battle Honour for her service.

Pennant Numbers

Pennant Number[7]	From	To
N12	6 Dec 1914	1 Sep 1915
D34	1 Sep 1915	1 Jan 1918
D91	1 Jan 1918	27 May 1919

References

1. Jane, Fred T. (1969) [1905]. Jane’s Fighting Ships 1905/6. New York: first published by Sampson Low Marston, London 1905, Reprinted ARCO Publishing Company. p. 75.
2. Jane, Fred T. (1990). Jane’s Fighting Ships of World War I. Jane’s Publishing © 1919. p. 76. ISBN 1 85170 378 0.
3. Conway’s All the World’s Fighting Ships 1906 to 1922. Conway Maritime Press. 2006 [1985]. p. Page 17 to 19. ISBN 0 85177 245 5.
4. "Naval Database". Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 19 June 2013.
5. "History of the Great War, Naval Operations, Volume III, Spring 1915 to June 1916 (Part 1 of 2), by Sir Julian S Corbett, Chapter XIII, Loss of Argyl and Natal". Retrieved 1 June 2013.
6. ""Arrowsmith" List – Part 1 Destroyer Prototypes through "River" Class". Retrieved 1 June 2013.
7. ""Arrowsmith" List – Part 1 Destroyer Prototypes through "River" Class". Retrieved 1 June 2013.

Bibliography

• Chesneau, Roger & Kolesnik, Eugene M., eds. (1979). Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-133-5.
• 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.
• Dittmar, F.J.; Colledge, J. J. (1972). British Warships 1914–1919. Shepperton, UK: Ian Allan. ISBN 0-7110-0380-7.
• 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.
• Manning, T. D. (1961). The British Destroyer. London: Putnam & Co. OCLC 6470051.
• 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.