Serapis was one of thirty-three Admiralty S class destroyers ordered by the British Admiralty in June 1917 as part of the Twelfth War Construction Programme. The design was a development of the R class introduced as a cheaper and faster alternative to the V and W class.[1] Differences with the R class were minor, such as having the searchlight moved aft.[2]
Armament consisted of three QF 4-inch (102 mm) Mk IV guns on the ship's centreline.[4] One was mounted raised on the forecastle, one on a platform between the funnels and one aft.[5] The ship also mounted a single 40-millimetre (1.6 in) 2-pounder pom-pomanti-aircraft gun for air defence. Four 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes were fitted in two twin rotating mounts aft.[4] The ship was designed to mount two additional 18-inch (457 mm) torpedo tubes either side of the superstructure but this required the forecastle plating to be cut away, making the vessel very wet, so they were removed.[2] The weight saved enabled the heavier Mark V 21-inch torpedo to be carried.[1] The ship had a complement of 90 officers and ratings.[6]
However, Serapis did not remain there long. Although the war had ended, fighting then started between Greece and Turkey and, in Russia, the civil war continued. The United Kingdom decided to send units of the Royal Navy to the front line. Serapis was one of the ships chosen, and was commissioned and sailed to Constantinople.[10] On 16 January 1920, Serapis, along with sister shipsSomme and Steadfast, sailed into the Black Sea to assist in the evacuation of Russian officers' families.[11] The destroyer arrived in Sevastopol in February.[12] The evacuation of the Crimea continued until November.[13] Meanwhile, the city of Smyrna had been occupied by the Greeks since 15 May 1919, but was retaken by the Turkish Army on 9 September 1922. The destroyer was called upon to support the evacuation of refugees from the city, which was complete by 30 September.[14] Overall, the ship helped to evacuate about nine hundred people.[15]
On 27 January 1927, the destroyer joined the Eighth Destroyer Flotilla to operate under the Commander-in-Chief, China, and was transferred to Hong Kong. Serapis was recommissioned in Hong Kong on 1 October 1929.[16] However, the posting did not last long. On 22 April 1930, the United Kingdom signed the London Naval Treaty, which limited the total destroyer tonnage that the navy could operate.[17] The S class was deemed out of date and ripe to be replaced with more modern ships. Serapis returned to the United Kingdom and, on 25 January 1934, the destroyer was sold to Rees of Llanelly to be broken up.[18]
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