HMS Colne

History
United Kingdom
Name	HMS Colne
Ordered	1903–1904 Naval Estimates
Builder	John I. Thornycroft & Company Chiswick
Laid down	21 March 1904
Launched	21 May 1905
Commissioned	July 1905
Out of service	1919 laid up in reserve awaiting disposal
Honours and awards	Dardanelles 1915–1916
Fate	4 November 1919 sold to J.H. Lee for breaking at Dover
General characteristics
Class and type	Thornycroft Type River class destroyer[1][2]
Displacement	550 long tons (559 t) standard 615 long tons (625 t) full load 225 ft 9 in (68.81 m) o/a 23 ft 10.5 in (7.277 m) Beam 8 ft (2.4 m) Draught
Propulsion	4 × Thornycroft water tube boiler 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	127 tons coal 1,695 nmi (3,139 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 (1904) China Station (1909/10) 5th Destroyer Flotilla (December 1914)
Operations:	World War I

HMS Colne was a Thornycroft Type River class destroyer ordered by the Royal Navy under the 1903–1904 Naval Estimates. Named after the River Colne in eastern England, north east of London, she was the first ship to carry this name in the Royal Navy.

Construction

She was laid down on 21 March 1904 at the John I. Thornycroft & Company shipyard at Chiswick and launched on 21 May 1905. She was completed in July 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 fo'c'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 11 April 1907, Colne and the destroyer Falcon collided in the Channel, badly damaging both ships.[3]

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

In 1909–1910 she was assigned to China Station.

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.[4]

First World War

In July 1914 she was on China Station based at Hong Kong tendered to HMS Triumph.[5] She deployed with China Squadron to Tsingtao to blockade the German base. On 24 November 1914, after the Japanese declaration of war she returned to Hong Kong.[6] With the fall of Tsingtao and the sinking of the SMS Emden, she was redeployed to the 5th Destroyer Flotilla in the Mediterranean Fleet in November 1914 accompanying HMS Triumph, to support the Dardanelles campaign.

On 3 March while inshore shelling a battery near Erenkeui, she was taken under fire by HMS Amethyst. HMS Wolverine informed the cruiser she was firing on Colne and she ceased fire. HMS Colne was not hit and suffered no casualties during this friendly fire incident.[7]

On 18 March 1915 she in conjunction with HMS Jed and HMS Chelmer assisted with the rescue of the crew of the battleship HMS Ocean after she struck a mine in the Dardanelles.[8]

On 25 April 1915 under the command of Commander C. Seymour, she supported the landings at ANZAC Cove.

On 25 May 1915 she provided fire support for ground forces during their capture of some Turkish outpost trenches.

Disposition

In 1919 she returned to Home waters, was paid off and laid up in reserve awaiting disposal. On 4 November 1919 she was sold to J.H. Lee for breaking at Dover.[9]

She was awarded the Battle Honour "Dardanelles 1915–1916" for her service.[10]

Pennant Numbers

It is not known if she was assigned a pennant number as no record has been found.[9]

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) [1919]. Jane's Fighting Ships of World War I. Jane's Publishing. p. 76. ISBN 1-85170-378-0.
3. "Destroyers in Collision: Both Badly Damaged". Evening Journal. Adelaide. 12 April 1907. p. 1. Archived from the original on 16 February 2017. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
4. Conway’s All the World’s Fighting Ships 1906 to 1922. Conway Maritime Press. 1985. pp. 17–19. ISBN 0-85177-245-5.
5. "HMS Colne". Naval Database. Archived from the original on 3 September 2014. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
6. "The Allied China Squadron". The Naval Review. III (2): 312–321. 1915.
7. "Proceedings of HMS Amethyst while at the Dardanelles". The Naval Review. IV (1): 88. 1916.
8. "World War I at Sea: Royal Navy Vessels Lost and Damaged, January–March 1915". naval-history.net. Archived from the original on 16 January 2020. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
9. ""Arrowsmith" List – Part 1 Destroyer Prototypes through "River" Class". Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 1 June 2013.
10. "Battle Honours and Single-Ship Actions, 1914-1918 with the ships - by name, type and honour". naval-history.net. Archived from the original on 8 September 2016. Retrieved 22 September 2016.

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.