HMS ''Beaver'' was an ''Acheron''-class destroyer of the Royal Navy that served during the First World War and was sold for breaking in 1921. She was the ninth Royal Navy ship to be named ''Beaver'', after the mammal of the same name.

Construction

She was ordered under the 1910-11 shipbuilding programme from

Parsons Parsons may refer to: Places In the United States: * Parsons, Kansas, a city * Parsons, Missouri, an unincorporated community * Parsons, Tennessee, a city * Parsons, West Virginia, a town * Camp Parsons, a Boy Scout camp in the state of Washingto ...

, with construction subcontracted to

William Denny & Brothers William Denny and Brothers Limited, often referred to simply as Denny, was a Scottish shipbuilding company. History The shipbuilding interests of the Denny family date back to William Denny (born 1779), for whom ships are recorded being built ...

of Dumbarton.Friedman 2009, p. 123. ''Beaver'' was laid down on 18 October 1910, was launched on 6 October 1911 and commissioned in November 1912.Friedman 2009, p. 306. She and her sister-ship ''Badger'' were completed with geared steam turbines for evaluation purposes and were known as "Parsons Specials".

Pennant numbers

Operational history

Pre-war

''Beaver'' served with the

First Destroyer Flotilla The 1st Destroyer Flotilla, also styled as the First Destroyer Flotilla, was a naval formation of the British Royal Navy from 1909 to 1940 and again from 1947 to 1951. History Pre-war history In May 1906, the First Destroyer Flotilla was at ...

from 1911. She was stranded at

Great Yarmouth Great Yarmouth (), often called Yarmouth, is a seaside town and unparished area in, and the main administrative centre of, the Borough of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, England; it straddles the River Yare and is located east of Norwich. A pop ...

in December 1912, but was not badly damaged. With her flotilla, she joined the

British Grand Fleet The Grand Fleet was the main battlefleet of the Royal Navy during the First World War. It was established in August 1914 and disbanded in April 1919. Its main base was Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands. History Formed in August 1914 from the ...

in 1914 on the outbreak of the First World War.

The Battle of Heligoland Bight

She was present on 28 August 1914 at the Battle of Heligoland Bight, detached from the First Destroyer Flotilla along with ''Jackal'', ''Badger'' and ''Sandfly''. She shared in the prize money for the engagement.

Home Waters service

During the War, the Canadian

John Moreau Grant Captain John Moreau Grant CBE (1895–1986) was the first Commanding Officer of in Esquimalt, British Columbia. The Grant Building at Royal Roads University was named in his honour. Education John Moreau Grant was born in 1895 in Halifax, N ...

(later the first commanding officer of HMCS ''Royal Roads'') served in ''Beaver'', eventually becoming her first lieutenant. ''Beaver'' was employed in patrolling the English Channel as far as the Hook of Holland, and escorted hospital ships to and from France. Grant's oral testimony reports an action against an unknown submarine during this period.

Mediterranean service

In April 1918 she was ordered to the Mediterranean, where she was employed in convoy and anti-submarine work. Based at

Brindisi Brindisi ( , ) ; la, Brundisium; grc, Βρεντέσιον, translit=Brentésion; cms, Brunda), group=pron is a city in the region of Apulia in southern Italy, the capital of the province of Brindisi, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. Histo ...

, Italy, she participated in the attempted blockade of Austro-Hungarian submarines in the Adriatic. In October 1918 she took part in the bombardment of Durazzo (now Durrës, Albania). When the Ottoman Empire signed the Armistice of Mudros on 30 October 1918, ''Beaver'' ferried troops to the Dardanelles and entered the Sea of Marmara before proceeding to Constantinople. From Constantinople, she sailed to

Odessa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...

, where civil order was breaking down amidst occupation by both the Imperial German army and the White Russian Army. She sailed up the Danube and in December 1918 visited Sevastopol, where the Russian Black Sea Fleet lay abandoned and in a poor state of repair. Some political refugees were rescued from Odessa.

Decommissioning and fate

In common with most of her class, she was laid up after the First World War and, in May 1921, she was sold for breaking.

Citations

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Beaver (1911) Acheron-class destroyers of the Royal Navy Ships built on the River Clyde 1911 ships World War I destroyers of the United Kingdom