HMS Oracle (1915)

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

Oracle
History
United Kingdom
Name	HMS Oracle
Namesake	Oracle
Ordered	November 1914
Builder	Doxford, Sunderland
Launched	23 December 1915
Completed	August 1916
Out of service	30 October 1921
Fate	Sold to be broken up
General characteristics
Class and type	Admiralty M-class destroyer
Displacement	950 long tons (970 t) normal 1,021 long tons (1,037 t) full load
Length	265 ft 8 in (80.98 m) p.p.
Beam	26 ft 9 in (8.15 m)
Draught	16 ft 3 in (4.95 m)
Propulsion	3 Yarrow boilers 2 Brown-Curtis steam turbines, 25,000 shp (19,000 kW)
Speed	34 knots (63.0 km/h; 39.1 mph)
Range	3,450 nmi (6,390 km; 3,970 mi) at 15 kn (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Complement	76
Armament	3 × QF 4 in (102 mm) Mark IV guns (3×1) 1 × 2-pounder (40 mm) "pom-pom" Mk. II anti-aircraft gun (1×1) 4 × 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes (2×2)

HMS Oracle was a Repeat Admiralty M-class destroyer which served in the Royal Navy during the First World War. The M class were an improvement on the previous L-class, capable of higher speed. The vessel was launched on 23 December 1915 and joined the Grand Fleet. Oracle spent much of the war involved in anti-submarine warfare. In August 1916, the destroyer rescued the crew of the light cruiser Nottingham, which had been sunk by a German submarine. In August 1917, the destroyer rammed and sank the submarine U-44. After the Armistice that marked the end of the First World War, the destroyer was transferred to Portsmouth. Initially, the destroyer was part of the local defence flotilla but soon Oracle was placed in reserve, decommissioned and, on 30 October 1921, sold to be broken up.

Design and development

Oracle was one of twenty-two Repeat Admiralty M-class destroyer destroyers ordered by the British Admiralty in November 1914 as part of the Third War Construction Programme.[1] The M-class was an improved version of the earlier L-class destroyer destroyers, originally envisaged to reach the higher speed of 36 knots (67 km/h; 41 mph) in order to counter rumoured German fast destroyers, although the eventual specification was designed for a more economic 34 knots (63 km/h; 39 mph).[2] The Repeat M class differed from the prewar vessels in having a raked stem and design improvements based on wartime experience.[3]

The destroyer was 265 feet (80.77 m) long between perpendiculars, with a beam of 26 feet 9 inches (8.15 m) and a draught of 16 feet 3 inches (4.95 m). Displacement was 1,025 long tons (1,041 t) normal and 1,250 long tons (1,270 t) deep load. Power was provided by three Yarrow boilers feeding two Brown-Curtis steam turbines rated at 25,000 shaft horsepower (19,000 kW) and driving two shafts.[3] Three funnels were fitted and 296 long tons (301 t) of oil was carried, giving a design range of 3,450 nautical miles (6,390 km; 3,970 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph).[4]

Armament consisted of three 4-inch (102 mm) Mk IV QF guns on the ship's centreline, with one on the forecastle, one aft on a raised platform and one between the middle and aft funnels. A single 2-pounder (40 mm) pom-pom anti-aircraft gun was carried, while torpedo armament consisted of two twin mounts for 21 in (533 mm) torpedoes.[5] The ship had a complement of 76 officers and ratings.[4]

Construction and career

Laid down by William Doxford & Sons of Sunderland, Oracle was launched on 23 December 1915 and completed during August the following year[3] The destroyer was the first Royal Navy ship to be named after the Oracle, a prophet of antiquity.[6] The vessel was deployed as part of the Grand Fleet, joining the Thirteenth Destroyer Flotilla at Scapa Flow.[7]

The destroyer was active in anti-submarine warfare but with variable results. On 19 August 1916, the destroyer, alongside sister ship Penn, was sent to destroy the German submarine U-52 that had sunk the light cruiser Nottingham. The destroyers failed to find the submarine, but did ensure many of the sailors were rescued.[8] On 18 January 1917, the destroyer was one of six destroyers that undertook patrols termed "high speed sweeps" in the North Sea using paravanes. No submarines were sighted.[9] On 12 August, the destroyer had greater success. Patrolling with the light cruisers Birkenhead and Yarmouth, Oracle spotted a vessel on the horizon northwest by west.[10] The vessel was the submarine U-44, hastily disguised with a sail. The destroyer sped towards the submarine, which dived, rose and dived again in an attempt to escape.[11] The destroyer discharged four rounds of gunfire, which missed, and then rammed the submarine between the conning tower and stern. The submarine sank with no survivors.[12] This was a rare success and soon afterwards, the Admiralty withdrew the destroyers like Oracle from patrols and reallocated them to be escorts for convoys, which proved more effective at preventing losses from submarines.[13]

After the armistice, the Grand Fleet was disbanded and Oracle joined the Defence Flotilla at Portsmouth.[14] However, the end of the war meant that the Royal Navy returned to a peacetime level of mobilisation and both the number of ships and the amount of staff needed to be reduced to save money.[15] Oracle was declared superfluous to operational requirements and, on 1 February 1920 and placed in reserve.[16] However, that situation did not last long. The harsh conditions of wartime operations, exacerbated by the fact that the hull was not galvanised, meant that the ship was soon worn out.[17] The destroyer was decommissioned and, on 30 October 1921, sold to W. & A.T. Burden to be broken up.[18]

Pennant numbers

Pennant Number	Date
G27	September 1915[19]
F08	January 1917[20]
D46	January 1918[21]
F76	January 1919[22]

References

Citations

1. McBride 1991, p. 45.
2. Friedman 2009, p. 132.
3. Parkes & Prendergast 1969, p. 109.
4. Friedman 2009, p. 296.
5. Preston 1985, p. 79.
6. Manning & Walker 1959, p. 324.
7. "Destroyer Flotillas of the Grand Fleet". The Navy List: 12. October 1916. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
8. Naval Staff Monograph No. 33 1927, p. 100.
9. Naval Staff Monograph No. 34 1933, p. 91.
10. Naval Staff Monograph No. 35 1939, pp. 238.
11. Messimer 2002, p. 65.
12. Naval Staff Monograph No. 35 1939, pp. 239.
13. Newbolt 1928, p. 383.
14. "III Local Defence and Training Establishments", The Navy List, p. 13, July 1920, retrieved 5 April 2022 – via National Library of Scotland
15. Moretz 2002, p. 79.
16. "639 Oracle", The Navy List, p. 818, October 1920, retrieved 5 April 2022 – via National Library of Scotland
17. Preston 1985, p. 80.
18. Colledge & Warlow 2006, p. 250–251.
19. Dittmar & Colledge 1972, p. 66.
20. Bush & Warlow 2021, p. 45.
21. Bush & Warlow 2021, p. 37.
22. Bush & Warlow 2021, p. 51.

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: The Complete Record of All Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy. London: Chatham Press. ISBN 978-1-93514-907-1.
• 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.
• Manning, Thomas Davys; Walker, Charles Frederick (1959). British Warship Names. London: Putnam. OCLC 780274698.
• McBride, Keith (1991). "British 'M' Class Destroyers of 1913–14". In Gardiner, Robert (ed.). Warship 1991. London: Conway Maritime Press. pp. 34–49. ISBN 978-0-85177-582-1.
• Messimer, Dwight R. (2002). Verschollen: World War I U-boat Losses. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-55750-475-3.
• Monograph No. 33: Home Waters Part VII: From June 1916 to November 1916 (PDF). Naval Staff Monographs (Historical). Vol. XVII. Naval Staff, Training and Staff Duties Division. 1927.
• Monograph No. 34: Home Waters Part VIII: December 1916 to April 1917 (PDF). Naval Staff Monographs (Historical). Vol. XVIII. Naval Staff, Training and Staff Duties Division. 1933.
• Monograph No. 35: Home Waters Part IX: 1st May 1917 to 31st July 1917 (PDF). Naval Staff Monographs (Historical). Vol. XIX. Naval Staff, Training and Staff Duties Division. 1939.
• Moretz, Joseph (2002). The Royal Navy and the Capital Ship in the Interwar Period. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-71465-196-5.
• Newbolt, Henry (1928). Naval Operations: Volume IV. History of the Great War. London: Longmans, Green and Co. OCLC 1049894132.
• Parkes, Oscar; Prendergast, Maurice (1969). Jane's Fighting Ships 1919. Newton Abbott: David & Charles. OCLC 907574860.
• Preston, Antony (1985). "Great Britain and Empire Forces". In Gardiner, Robert; Gray, Randal (eds.). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. London: Conway Maritime Press. pp. 1–104. ISBN 978-0-85177-245-5.