HMS ''Dee'' was a
Palmer Type River Class Destroyer ordered by the Royal Navy under the 1901–1902 Naval Estimates. Named after the River Dee near Liverpool, England, she was the fourth ship to carry this name since it was introduced in 1814 for a 20-gun 6th rate sold in 1819.
Construction
She was laid down on 5 March 1902 at the Palmer’s shipyard at Jarrow and launched on 10 September 1903. She was completed in May 1904. 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 foc'x'le break and the third gun would be mounted on the quarterdeck.
Pre-War
After commissioning she was assigned to China Station in late 1904.
In September 1905 HMS ''Dee'' under the command of Lieutenant Commander Harold E Sullivan, RN, while accompanying
HMS ''Exe'' encountered a severe typhoon between Wei-hai-wei and Shanghai. Both ships weathered the storm and proved the seaworthiness of the River Class design.
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.
World War I
Upon her return to Home Waters 1914 she was in the
9th Destroyer Flotilla
The 9th Destroyer Flotilla, or Ninth Destroyer Flotilla, was a military formation of the British Royal Navy from January 1913 to December 1925 and again in January to July 1940.
History
Established in January 1913 when it was assigned to the Pa ...
based at Chatham tendered to
HMS ''St George''. The 9th Flotilla was a patrol flotilla tasked with anti-submarine and countermining patrols in the Firth of Forth area. Soon after the commencement of hostilities she was deployed to the Scapa Flow Local Flotilla under the command of the Commander-in-Chief Home Fleet tendered to
HMS ''St Vincent''. Her duties here included counter mining patrols and antisubmarine measures in defence of the Fleet anchorage.
In August 1915 with the amalgamation of the 9th and 7th Flotillas she was deployed to the
7th Destroyer Flotilla
The 7th Destroyer Flotilla, also styled as the Seventh Destroyer Flotilla, was a military 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 ki ...
based at the River Humber. She remained employed on the Humber Patrol participating in counter mining operations and anti-submarine patrols for the remainder of the war.
Disposal
In 1919 she was paid off and laid up in reserve awaiting disposal. On 23 July 1919 she was sold to
Thos. W. Ward
Thos. W. Ward Ltd was a Sheffield, Yorkshire, steel, engineering and cement business, which began as coal and coke merchants. It expanded into recycling metal for Sheffield's steel industry, and then the supply and manufacture of machinery.
I ...
of Sheffield for breaking at Briton Ferry, Glamorgan in Wales.
She was not awarded a Battle Honour for her service.
Pennant Numbers
References
Bibliography
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Dee (1903)
River-class destroyers
1903 ships