HMS ''Lennox'' was a built for the Royal Navy during the 1910s.

Description

The ''Laforey'' class were improved and faster versions of the preceding . They displaced . The ships had an overall length of , a

beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially localized grou ...

of and a draught of . ''Lennox'' was powered by two

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 ...

direct-drive

steam turbine A steam turbine is a machine that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam and uses it to do mechanical work on a rotating output shaft. Its modern manifestation was invented by Charles Parsons in 1884. Fabrication of a modern steam turbin ...

s, each driving one propeller shaft, using steam provided by four Yarrow boilers.Gardiner & Gray, p. 76 The turbines developed a total of and gave a maximum speed of . The ships carried a maximum of of

fuel oil Fuel oil is any of various fractions obtained from the distillation of petroleum (crude oil). Such oils include distillates (the lighter fractions) and residues (the heavier fractions). Fuel oils include heavy fuel oil, marine fuel oil (MFO), bun ...

that gave them a range of at . The ships' complement was 74 officers and ratings.Friedman, p. 296 The ships were armed with three single QF Mark IV guns and two QF 1.5-pounder (37 mm)

anti-aircraft gun Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...

s. These latter guns were later replaced by a pair of QF 2-pounder (40 mm) "pom-pom" anti-aircraft guns. The ships were also fitted with two above-water twin mounts for torpedoes. They were equipped with rails to carry four Vickers Elia Mk IV mines, although these rails were never used.

Construction and service

''Lennox'' was laid down at William Beardmore and Company's

Clydebank Clydebank ( gd, Bruach Chluaidh) is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland. Situated on the north bank of the River Clyde, it borders the village of Old Kilpatrick (with Bowling, West Dunbartonshire, Bowling and Milton, West Dunbartonshire, Mil ...

shipyard as ''Portia'' on 14 November 1912.Friedman, p. 307. On 30 September 1913, the Admiralty ordered that the L-class be renamed with names beginning with the letter "L", and ''Portia'' was renamed ''Lennox''. She was launched on 17 March 1914 on completed in July that year. On commissioning, ''Lennox'' joined the

3rd Destroyer Flotilla The British 3rd Destroyer Flotilla, also styled as Third Destroyer Flotilla, was a naval formation of the Royal Navy from 1909 to 1939 and again from 1945 to 1951. History In 1907 the Channel Fleet had a large Channel Flotilla of destroyers in Fe ...

, based at The Nore.Manning, p. 15. On the outbreak of the First World War this Flotilla became part of the Harwich Force, under the overall command of Commodore Reginald Tyrwhitt, serving in the North Sea, but capable of reinforcing either the Grand Fleet or forces in the English Channel as required.Friedman, pp. 139–140. ''Lennox'' saw action in several engagements, including the

Battle off Texel The Battle off Texel, also known as the Action off Texel or the Action of 17 October 1914, was a naval battle off the coast of the Dutch island of Texel during the First World War. A British squadron, comprising one light cruiser and four destr ...

. On 6 May 1916, ''Lennox'' accidentally collided with , a seaplane carrier. Damage was insignificant for both ships, however.Caruna, "et al"

Notes

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lennox (1914) Laforey-class destroyers (1913) 1914 ships World War I destroyers of the United Kingdom Ships built on the River Clyde