HMS ''Tipperary'', launched on 5 March 1915, was a Royal Navy

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 ...

which was sunk in action on 1 June 1916 by the Imperial German Navy at the

Battle of Jutland The Battle of Jutland (german: Skagerrakschlacht, the Battle of the Skagerrak) was a naval battle fought between Britain's Royal Navy Grand Fleet, under Admiral John Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe, Sir John Jellicoe, and the Imperial German Navy ...

in World War I.

War service

Originally ordered by Chile, ''Tipperary'' and her sisters were bought by the Royal Navy at the outbreak of World War I. Initially, ''Tipperary'' served as the second flotilla leader with 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 ...

in the Harwich Force, arriving there in June 1915. Late in that same year, she took charge of a detachment of destroyers from the 2nd Flotilla, while in March 1916, ''Tipperary'' had rejoined the Harwich Force, being attached to the Fifth Light Cruiser Squadron. For a while during the war she was commanded by Captain (later Admiral) Sir

Barry Domvile Admiral Sir Barry Edward Domvile, (5 September 1878 – 13 August 1971) was a high-ranking Royal Navy officer who was interned during the Second World War for being a Nazi sympathiser. Throughout the 1930s, he had expressed support for Germany' ...

. In May 1916 ''Tipperary'' was made the leader of the 4th Flotilla, a formation which directly supported the Grand Fleet.

Sinking

About 21:58 GMT 31 May 1916 while

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 searching for the German High Seas Fleet in the North Sea in the

she encountered the enemy's 7th Flotilla (destroyers). The Imperial German Naval vessels launched torpedoes at the British ships, none of which hit, and 7th Flotilla then turned away. Nicholas Jellicoe's account states that "Between 23:15 and 23:20 a lookout n HMS ''Garland''... saw what he thought were enemy ships on the starboard quarter". A few minutes later ''Tipperary'' flashed the recognition signal and was immediately lit up by the searchlights of three German battleships and three light cruisers. From 23:30 to about 23:34 around 150 5.9-inch shells from and were fired at ''Tipperary;'' she was badly stricken by this fire, which left her bridge damaged and most of her forward crew casualties, including her commander, Captain Wintour. At about 02:00 GMT 1 June 1916 she was abandoned, and sank in the following hours due to battle damage. 150 of her crew of 197 were killed in the action, a number of the survivors were rescued from the sea by the Imperial German Navy and transported back to Germany as prisoners of war. Stoker David Eunson described the sinking: "As we floated away on that awful night, many died of sheer exhaustion and suffering. After drifting for well nigh 5 hours we were picked up at dawn. I saw the Tipperary, a mass of flames, keel over".

Aftermath

The wrecksite is designated as a ''protected place'' under the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986.

Citations

Bibliography

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SI 2008/0950
Designation under the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986

External links

Battle of Jutland Crew Lists Project - HMS Tipperary Crew List
Almirante Lynch-class destroyers (1912) Faulknor-class flotilla leaders Ships built on the Isle of Wight 1915 ships World War I destroyers of the United Kingdom Maritime incidents in 1916 Ships sunk at the Battle of Jutland Protected Wrecks of the United Kingdom {{UK-destroyer-stub