HMS ''Panther'' was a B-class

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 ...

of the

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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 ...

. She was completed by Laird, Son & Company,

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 ...

, in 1897.

Design and construction

''Panther'' was ordered on 9 January 1896 as one 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. ''Panther'' 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 stern ...

, with 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 .

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 A conning tower is a raised platform on a ship or submarine, often armored, from which an officer in charge can conn the vessel, controlling movements of the ship by giving orders to those responsible for the ship's engine, rudder, lines, and gro ...

(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. ''Panther'' 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 ...

624 on 19 May 1896 and was launched on 21 January 1897. She 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 ...

. and was completed in January 1898.

Service history

In July–August 1900, ''Panther'' took part in that year's Royal Navy Annual Manoeuvres. On 20 April 1901 she was commissioned at Devonport by Lieutenant and Commander A. K. Macrorie to take the place of

HMS Osprey Five ships and a shore establishment of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS ''Osprey'', after the bird of prey the Osprey: Ships * was an 18-gun sloop launched in 1797 and broken up in 1813. * was a 12-gun brig launched in 1844 and wrecked in ...

in the dockyard's instructional flotilla. In July–August 1901, she again took part in the annual manoeuvres. In early December 1901 Commander

Cecil Lambert Admiral Sir Cecil Foley Lambert KCB (28 May 1864 – 29 February 1928) was a Royal Navy admiral during World War I. Naval career Born the son of Sir Henry Edward Francis Lambert, 6th Baronet, and his wife, Eliza Catherine Hervey, Cecil Lambe ...

was appointed in command, as she was recommissioned as tender to the battleship ''Illustrious'' on the

Mediterranean station The British Mediterranean Fleet, also known as the Mediterranean Station, was a military formation, formation of the Royal Navy. The Fleet was one of the most prestigious commands in the navy for the majority of its history, defending the vita ...

. Lambert was moved to another ship the following month, however, and when she left Devonport for

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

in January 1902, Lieutenant and Commander Lancelot Napier Turton was in command. She visited

Lemnos Lemnos or Limnos ( el, Λήμνος; grc, Λῆμνος) is a Greek island in the northern Aegean Sea. Administratively the island forms a separate municipality within the Lemnos regional unit, which is part of the North Aegean region. The p ...

in August 1902. On 27 October 1904, ''Panther'' collided with the destroyer . Both destroyers were damaged and had to return to

for repair. ''Panther'' returned to British waters in 1906. In August 1906, ''Panther'' replaced in the

2nd Destroyer Flotilla The British 2nd Destroyer Flotilla (also styled as Second Destroyer Flotilla) was a naval formation of the Royal Navy from 1909 to 1943 and again from 1945 to 1946. History The 2nd Destroyer Flotilla originated in early 1907 as a part of a Home ...

when ''Orwell'' was refitted. In August 1907,''Panther'', now a member of the

4th Destroyer Flotilla The British 4th Destroyer Flotilla , or Fourth Destroyer Flotilla, was a naval formation of the Royal Navy from August 1909 to July 1951. History In 1907 the Home Fleet had a large formation of destroyers called the Home Fleet Flotilla of destr ...

, was (along with fellow flotilla members and ) having defects rectified 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 R ...

. By December 1908, ''Panther'' was part of the Eastern Group of destroyers, 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- ...

. She started a refit at Sheerness that month, which was completed by March, when she returned to Harwich to rejoin what had been renamed the

1st Destroyer Flotilla The 1st Destroyer Flotilla, also styled as the First Destroyer Flotilla, was a naval formation of the British Royal Navy from 1909 to 1940 and again from 1947 to 1951. History Pre-war history In May 1906, the First Destroyer Flotilla was at ...

, although she was due to be replaced by the Tribal-class destroyer . This happened at the end of June that year, with ''Panther'' being the last "Thirty-Knotter" in service with the 1st Flotilla. In August 1910, ''Panther'', now part of the

Nore The Nore is a long bank of sand and silt running along the south-centre of the final narrowing of the Thames Estuary, England. Its south-west is the very narrow Nore Sand. Just short of the Nore's easternmost point where it fades into the cha ...

flotilla, was refitted 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 October 1911, ''Panther'', now a member of 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 ...

, based at Devonport and which consisted of destroyers in commission with nucleus crews, was docked for repair of a propeller damaged in a collision with

Yarmouth Pier Yarmouth Pier is a Victorian pleasure pier, located in Yarmouth, Isle of Wight Yarmouth is a town, port and civil parish in the west of the Isle of Wight, off the south coast of England. The town is named for its location at the mouth of the ...

. 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, ''Panther'' was assigned to the B class. In 1912, older destroyers were organised into Patrol Flotillas, with ''Panther'' being part of the 7th Flotilla, based at Devonport, in March 1913. In July 1914, shortly before the

Irish Volunteers The Irish Volunteers ( ga, Óglaigh na hÉireann), sometimes called the Irish Volunteer Force or Irish Volunteer Army, was a military organisation established in 1913 by Irish nationalists and republicans. It was ostensibly formed in respons ...

carried out the

Howth gun-running The Howth gun-running ( ) involved the delivery of 1,500 Mauser rifles to the Irish Volunteers at Howth harbour in Ireland on 26 July 1914. The unloading of guns from a private yacht during daylight hours attracted a crowd, and the authorities or ...

, the ''Panther'' was sent to Dublin Bay to guard against such a measure.

Bulmer Hobson John Bulmer Hobson (14 January 1883 – 8 August 1969) was a leading member of the Irish Volunteers and the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) before the Easter Rising in 1916.D.J. Hickey & J. E. Doherty, ''A New Dictionary of Irish History fro ...

told a colleague "in strict confidence" that an arms landing was planned for

Waterford "Waterford remains the untaken city" , mapsize = 220px , pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates ...

, in the south of the country, hoping that the news would leak to the authorities. The ''Panther'' duly sailed south, and the way was left clear for the operation at Howth to proceed. ''Panther'' remained part of the 7th Flotilla on the eve of 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 ...

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 th ...

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. ''Panther'' remained part of the 7th Flotilla in August 1917, but in September that year was listed as part of the local defence flotilla for the

. ''Panther'' was still listed as part of the Nore local defence Flotilla at the start of March 1918, but joined the

6th Destroyer Flotilla The British 6th Destroyer Flotilla, or Sixth Destroyer Flotilla, was a military formation of the Royal Navy from 1911 to 1939 and again from 1947 to 1951 History The flotilla was formed in 1911 at Portsmouth, with its first commander, Captain Mor ...

, part of the

Dover Patrol The Dover Patrol and later known as the Dover Patrol Force was a Royal Navy command of the First World War, notable for its involvement in the Zeebrugge Raid on 22 April 1918. The Dover Patrol formed a discrete unit of the Royal Navy based at Dove ...

on 23 March 1918. ''Panther'' remained part of the 6th Destroyer Flotilla in November 1918 and was under repair at the end of the war on 11 November that month. ''Panther'' was sold for scrap on 7 June 1920.

Pennant numbers

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Panther (1897) Earnest-class destroyers Ships built on the River Mersey 1897 ships B-class destroyers (1913) World War I destroyers of the United Kingdom