HMS ''Earnest'' was an "thirty-knotter"

torpedo boat destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...

of the British

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 ...

. She was built by Laird, Son & Company at their

Birkenhead Birkenhead (; cy, Penbedw) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England; historically, it was part of Cheshire until 1974. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the south bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liver ...

shipyard as one of six s ordered as part of the Royal Navy's 1895–1896 construction programme, which were later classified as members of the B-class. ''Earnest'' was launched on 7 November 1896 and was completed in November 1897. ''Earnest'' served in the Mediterranean from 1898 to 1907, before returning to Britain. She remained in service in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, being employed on patrol and convoy escort duties in the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea, epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the ...

and

Irish Sea The Irish Sea or , gv, Y Keayn Yernagh, sco, Erse Sie, gd, Muir Èireann , Ulster-Scots: ''Airish Sea'', cy, Môr Iwerddon . is an extensive body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Ce ...

. ''Earnest'' was sold for scrap on 7 January 1920.

Design and construction

''Earnest'' was ordered on 23 December 1895 as the first of six 30-knotter destroyers programmed to be built by Lairds under the 1895–1896 shipbuilding programme for the Royal Navy. These followed on from four very similar destroyers ordered from Lairds as part of the 1894–1895 programme. ''Earnest'' was

long overall __NOTOC__ Length overall (LOA, o/a, o.a. or oa) is the maximum length of a vessel's hull measured parallel to the waterline. This length is important while docking the ship. It is the most commonly used way of expressing the size of a ship, an ...

and

between perpendiculars Length between perpendiculars (often abbreviated as p/p, p.p., pp, LPP, LBP or Length BPP) is the length of a ship along the summer load line from the forward surface of the stem, or main bow perpendicular member, to the after surface of the ster ...

, with a beam of and a draught of .

Displacement Displacement may refer to: Physical sciences Mathematics and Physics * Displacement (geometry), is the difference between the final and initial position of a point trajectory (for instance, the center of mass of a moving object). The actual path ...

was light and full load. Like the other Laird-built 30-knotters, ''Locust'' was propelled by two triple expansion steam engines, fed by four

Normand boiler Three-drum boilers are a class of water-tube boiler used to generate steam, typically to power ships. They are compact and of high evaporative power, factors that encourage this use. Other boiler designs may be more efficient, although bulkier, an ...

s, rated at , and was fitted with four funnels. Armament was the standard for the 30-knotters, i.e. a QF 12 pounder 12 cwt ( calibre) gun on a platform on the ship's conning tower (in practice the platform was also used as the ship's bridge), with a secondary armament of five 6-pounder guns, and two 18-inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes. The ship had a crew of 63 officers and men. ''Earnest'' was

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one o ...

at Laird's

shipyard as

Yard number __NOTOC__ M ...

621 on 2 March 1896 and was launched on 7 November 1896. ''Earnest'' reached during

sea trials A sea trial is the testing phase of a watercraft (including boats, ships, and submarines). It is also referred to as a "shakedown cruise" by many naval personnel. It is usually the last phase of construction and takes place on open water, and i ...

. She was completed in November 1897.

Service

In 1897 ''Earnest'' was in reserve at Devonport. She was transferred to the Mediterranean Squadron in September 1898, and was in August 1901 recommissioned at Malta as tender to the battleship ''HMS Caesar''. Lieutenant Philip Agnew Bateman-Champain was in command from November 1901. She visited Greek waters (including

Nauplia Nafplio ( ell, Ναύπλιο) is a coastal city located in the Peloponnese in Greece and it is the capital of the regional unit of Argolis and an important touristic destination. Founded in antiquity, the city became an important seaport in the ...

) in September 1902. ''Earnest'' returned to Home waters in 1907. ''Earnest'' was a member of the Eastern group of destroyers based at Harwich in 1908, entering refit at

Chatham Dockyard Chatham Dockyard was a Royal Navy Dockyard located on the River Medway in Kent. Established in Chatham in the mid-16th century, the dockyard subsequently expanded into neighbouring Gillingham (at its most extensive, in the early 20th century ...

in September that year. In February 1910, ''Earnest'', by now a member of the Nore Destroyer Flotilla, was again under refit at Chatham. On 30 August 1912 the Admiralty directed all destroyers were to be grouped into classes designated by letters based on contract speed and appearance. As a four-funneled 30-knotter destroyer, ''Earnest'' was assigned to the B Class. In 1912, older destroyers were transferred to patrol flotillas, with ''Earnest'' forming part of 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 Devonport, by March 1913. In November 1913, ''Earnest'' was under repair at

Sheerness Dockyard Sheerness Dockyard also known as the Sheerness Station was a Royal Navy Dockyard located on the Sheerness peninsula, at the mouth of the River Medway in Kent. It was opened in the 1660s and closed in 1960. Location In the Age of Sail, the Roy ...

following a collision with another destroyer. ''Earnest'' remained part of the 7th Flotilla on the eve of the

in July 1914. At the outbreak of war, the 7th Flotilla was redeployed to the

Humber The Humber is a large tidal estuary on the east coast of Northern England. It is formed at Trent Falls, Faxfleet, by the confluence of the tidal rivers Ouse and Trent. From there to the North Sea, it forms part of the boundary between t ...

River for operations off the East coast of Britain. Duties of the Flotilla were to prevent enemy ships from carrying out minelaying or torpedo attacks in the approaches to ports on the East coast, and to prevent raids by enemy ships. ''Earnest'' was still part of the 7th Flotilla in June 1917, while in July was listed as part of the East Coast Convoy Flotilla, although in August ''Earnest'' had returned to the 7th Flotilla, which was recorded as being involved in East Coast Convoys. By October, ''Earnest'' was listed as being part of the Local Defence Flotilla for the Nore, where she remained in February 1918. By March, ''Earnest'' was one of seven destroyers making up the Irish Sea Flotilla, which by July had been renamed the Irish Sea Hunting Flotilla. She remained part of the Irish Sea Hunting Flotilla at the end of the war in November 1918, and was based at Kingstown (now

Dún Laoghaire Dún Laoghaire ( , ) is a suburban coastal town in Dublin in Ireland. It is the administrative centre of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown. The town was built following the 1816 legislation that allowed the building of a major port to serve Dubli ...

) in the South of Ireland. ''Earnest'' was sold for scrap to the shipbreakers S. Castle of Plymouth on 7 January 1920.

Pennant numbers

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Earnest (1896) Earnest-class destroyers Ships built on the River Mersey 1896 ships B-class destroyers (1913) World War I destroyers of the United Kingdom