HMS ''Moy'' was a Laird Type

River-class destroyer The River-class destroyer (re-designated in 1913 as the E class) was a class of torpedo boat destroyer built for the Royal Navy at the turn of the 20th century, and which saw extensive service in World War I. The class introduced new features t ...

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 early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

. Named after the

River Moy The River Moy () is a river in the northwest of Ireland. Name Ptolemy's ''Geography'' (2nd century AD) described a river called Λιβνιου (''Libniu'', perhaps from *''lei''- "flow") which probably referred to the River Moy. The Moy is fi ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, she was the first ship to carry this name in the Royal Navy.

Construction

She was ordered under the 1903 – 1904 Naval Estimates, laid down on 22 March 1904, at

Cammell Laird Cammell Laird is a British shipbuilding company. It was formed from the merger of Laird Brothers of Birkenhead and Johnson Cammell & Co of Sheffield at the turn of the twentieth century. The company also built railway rolling stock until 1929, ...

's shipyard at

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 ...

and launched on 10 November 1904. She was completed in June 1905. Her original armament was to be the same as the turtleback

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 1 ...

s that preceded her. In 1906 the

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong *Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Traf ...

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's'le break and the third gun would be mounted on the

quarterdeck The quarterdeck is a raised deck behind the main mast of a sailing ship. Traditionally it was where the captain commanded his vessel and where the ship's colours were kept. This led to its use as the main ceremonial and reception area on bo ...

Pre-War

After commissioning she was assigned to the East Coast Destroyer Flotilla of the 1st Fleet and based at

Harwich Harwich is a town in Essex, England, and one of the Haven ports on the North Sea coast. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the north-east, Ipswich to the north-west, Colchester to the south-west and Clacton-on- ...

. On 27 April 1908, the Eastern Flotilla departed Harwich for live fire and night manoeuvres. During these exercises HMS ''Attentive'' rammed and sank HMS ''Gala'' then damaged HMS ''Ribble''. In April 1909 she was assigned to 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 ...

on its formation at Harwich. She remained until displaced by a ''Beagle''-class destroyer by May 1912. She went into reserve assigned 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 ...

of the

Second Fleet The United States Second Fleet is a numbered fleet in the United States Navy responsible for the East Coast and North Atlantic Ocean. The Fleet was established following World War II. In September 2011, Second Fleet was deactivated in view of ...

with a nucleus crew. 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 early 1914 when displaced by G-class destroyers she joined 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 Chatham may refer to: Places and jurisdictions Canada * Chatham Islands (British Columbia) * Chatham Sound, British Columbia * Chatham, New Brunswick, a former town, now a neighbourhood of Miramichi * Chatham (electoral district), New Brunswic ...

tendered to HMS ''St George''. The 9th Flotilla was a patrol flotilla tasked with anti-submarine and counter-mining patrols in the

Firth of Forth The Firth of Forth () is the estuary, or firth, of several Scottish rivers including the River Forth. It meets the North Sea with Fife on the north coast and Lothian on the south. Name ''Firth'' is a cognate of ''fjord'', a Norse word meani ...

area. On 16 December 1914 under division leader HMS ''Doon'' along with HMS ''Waveney'', HMS ''Test'' and HMS ''Moy'' under the command of Lieutenant C. C. Naylor were sent to patrol off

Hartlepool Hartlepool () is a seaside and port town in County Durham, England. It is the largest settlement and administrative centre of the Borough of Hartlepool. With an estimated population of 90,123, it is the second-largest settlement in County ...

. During the German Battlecruiser raid on Hartlepool, she was damaged by German shellfire. She was struck by fragments from a shell, bursting short and superficial suffered splinter damage and no casualties. 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 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 the ...

. She remained employed on the Humber Patrol participating in counter-mining operations and anti-submarine patrols for the remainder of the war.

Disposition

In 1919 HMS ''Moy'' was paid off then laid up in reserve awaiting disposal. On 27 May 1919 she was sold to T Oakley for scrapping. She was not awarded a Battle Honour for her service.

Pennant Numbers

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Moy (1904) River-class destroyers Ships built on the River Mersey 1904 ships World War I destroyers of the United Kingdom