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 ...
British Admiralty
The Admiralty was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom responsible for the command of the Royal Navy until 1964, historically under its titular head, the Lord High Admiral – one of the Great Officers of State. For much of it ...
order of 12 January 1917, fitted to carry 60 naval mines for operations as a minelayer. She was launched on 21 September 1917 and completed on 29 November 1917. Her original
pennant number
In the Royal Navy and other navies of Europe and the Commonwealth of Nations, ships are identified by pennant number (an internationalisation of ''pendant number'', which it was called before 1948). Historically, naval ships flew a flag that iden ...
, F30, assigned in 1917, became F21 in January 1918 and F87 in September 1918 before finally changing to D87.
Service history
During World War I, ''Venturous'' took part in the first deployment of operational
magnetic
Magnetism is the class of physical attributes that are mediated by a magnetic field, which refers to the capacity to induce attractive and repulsive phenomena in other entities. Electric currents and the magnetic moments of elementary particle ...
bottom mine
A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to damage or destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, any v ...
s when she joined the destroyers , , , , and , escorted by eight other destroyers, in laying 234 Sinker Mk1(M) mines in the North Sea off the coast of Flanders, Belgium, about eight
nautical mile
A nautical mile is a unit of length used in air, marine, and space navigation, and for the definition of territorial waters. Historically, it was defined as the meridian arc length corresponding to one minute ( of a degree) of latitude. Today ...
s (15 km) north of
Dunkirk
Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label=French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France.France. German forces did not interfere with the operations. She also participated with ''Abdiel'', ''Tarpon'', ''Telemachus'', and ''Vanquisher'' in the second operation to lay Sinker mines on 22 August 1918, in the North Sea off Flanders about 17 nautical miles (31 km) north of Zeebrugge, Belgium, supported by Royal Air Force aircraft which patrolled to prevent German aerial observation of the operation.
As the result of a reorganization of Royal Navy destroyer flotillas in 1921, ''Venturous'' became part of 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 ...
along with the destroyer leaders , , and and the destroyers , , , , and . The entire flotilla was transferred to the
Reserve Fleet
A reserve fleet is a collection of naval vessels of all types that are fully equipped for service but are not currently needed; they are partially or fully decommissioned. A reserve fleet is informally said to be "in mothballs" or "mothballed"; a ...
After World War I, the United Kingdom received the passenger liner SS ''Bismarck'' from Germany in 1920 as a war reparation, and she was sold to the White Star Line, later the
Cunard White Star Line
Cunard-White Star Line, Ltd, was a British shipping line which existed between 1934 and 1949.
History
The company was created to control the joint shipping assets of the Cunard Line and the White Star Line after both companies experienced fin ...
, in which she served as . In 1936, Cunard White Star retired ''Majestic'' and sold her to Thos. W. Ward for scrapping, but because of legal requirements imposed under the agreement transferring ''Majestic'' to the United Kingdom as a war prize, the British government instead took control of ''Majestic'' and assigned her to the Royal Navy. To pay Thos. W. Ward for ''Majestic'', the Royal Navy agreed to transfer 24 old destroyers with a combined scrap value equivalent to that of ''Majestic'' to Thos W Ward for scrapping. ''Venturous'' was among these, and her transfer to Thos W Ward for scrapping took place on 24 August 1936. She was scrapped at Inverkeithing, Scotland.