HMS ''Colne'' was a
Thornycroft Type River class destroyer ordered by the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
under the 1903–1904 Naval Estimates. Named after the
River Colne in eastern
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, north east of
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, 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
Chiswick ( ) is a district of west London, England. It contains Hogarth's House, the former residence of the 18th-century English artist William Hogarth; Chiswick House, a neo-Palladian villa regarded as one of the finest in England; and Full ...
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 collided in the Channel, badly damaging both ships.
On 27 April 1908 the Eastern Flotilla departed Harwich for live fire and night manoeuvres. During these exercises rammed and sank , then damaged .
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.
First World War
In July 1914 she was on China Station based at Hong Kong tendered to . 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. With the fall of Tsingtao and the sinking of the , she was redeployed to the
5th Destroyer Flotilla
The British 5th Destroyer Flotilla, or Fifth Destroyer Flotilla, was a naval formation of the Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the ...
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 . 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.
On 18 March 1915 she in conjunction with and assisted with the rescue of the crew of the battleship after she struck a mine in the Dardanelles.
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.
She was awarded the Battle Honour "Dardanelles 1915–1916" for her service.
Pennant Numbers
It is not known if she was assigned a pennant number as no record has been found.
References
Bibliography
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Colne (1905)
River-class destroyers
World War I destroyers of the United Kingdom
1905 ships
Ships built by John I. Thornycroft & Company