HMS ''Skate'' was a which served with 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 ...

. Built by

Vickers Vickers was a British engineering company that existed from 1828 until 1999. It was formed in Sheffield as a steel foundry by Edward Vickers and his father-in-law, and soon became famous for casting church bells. The company went public in 18 ...

, she was launched on 13 March 1895 and sold on 9 April 1907.

Construction and design

On 8 November 1893, the

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 ...

placed an order with the Naval Construction and Armament Company of

Barrow-in-Furness Barrow-in-Furness is a port town in Cumbria, England. Historically in Lancashire, it was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1867 and merged with Dalton-in-Furness Urban District in 1974 to form the Borough of Barrow-in-Furness. In 2023 the ...

(later to become part of

) for three "Twenty-Seven Knotter" destroyers as part of the 1893–1894 construction programme for the

,Lyon 2001, p. 69 with in total, 36 destroyers being ordered from various shipbuilders for this programme.Lyon 2001, p. 19 The Admiralty only laid down a series of broad requirements for the destroyers, leaving detailed design to the ships' builders. The requirements included a trial speed of , a "turtleback"

forecastle The forecastle ( ; contracted as fo'c'sle or fo'c's'le) is the upper deck of a sailing ship forward of the foremast, or, historically, the forward part of a ship with the sailors' living quarters. Related to the latter meaning is the phrase " be ...

and a standard armament of 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.Lyon 2001, p. 20Lyon 2001, pp. 98–99Friedman 2009, p. 40 The Naval Construction and Armament Company produced a design with a length of

overall Overalls, also called bib-and-brace overalls or dungarees, are a type of garment usually used as protective clothing when working. The garments are commonly referred to as a "pair of overalls" by analogy with "pair of trousers". Overalls were ...

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 300 long tons light and 340 long tons deep load. Three funnels were fitted, with the foremast between the ship's bridge and the first funnel.Friedman 2009, p. 50Manning 1961, p. 38 Four Blechyndnen

water-tube boiler A high pressure watertube boiler (also spelled water-tube and water tube) is a type of boiler in which water circulates in tubes heated externally by the fire. Fuel is burned inside the furnace, creating hot gas which boils water in the steam-gene ...

s fed steam at to two three-cylinder triple expansion steam engines rated at .''The Engineer'' 11 October 1895, p. 365 60 tons of coal were carried,Brassey 1902, p. 274 giving a range of at a speed of .Friedman 2009, p. 291 The ship's crew was 53 officers and men. ''Skate'' 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 ...

on 20 March 1894 as

Yard number __NOTOC__ M ...

235, was launched on 13 March 1895 and completed in January 1896.

Service history

In 1897 ''Skate'' was in reserve at Devonport. In 1900 she was commissioned to serve at the

Mediterranean station The British Mediterranean Fleet, also known as the Mediterranean Station, was a 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 vital sea link between ...

, and was ordered to return home in early 1902. She left

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

on 9 May, convoyed by the

cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several roles. The term "cruiser", which has been in use for several hu ...

, and arrived in

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

on 14 May. She paid off at Devonport on 20 May, and was placed in the A Division of the Fleet Reserve. Lieutenant James Farie was appointed in command on 1 August 1902, as she took part in the

fleet review A fleet review or naval review is an event where a gathering of ships from a particular navy is paraded and reviewed by an incumbent head of state and/or other official civilian and military dignitaries. A number of national navies continue to ...

held at

Spithead Spithead is an area of the Solent and a roadstead off Gilkicker Point in Hampshire, England. It is protected from all winds except those from the southeast. It receives its name from the Spit, a sandbank stretching south from the Hampshire ...

on 16 August 1902 for the

coronation A coronation is the act of placement or bestowal of a coronation crown, crown upon a monarch's head. The term also generally refers not only to the physical crowning but to the whole ceremony wherein the act of crowning occurs, along with the ...

of King

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria an ...

. Lieutenant Robert Mairis Haynes succeeded him in command later the same month, on 28 August, when she was attached to the Devonport instructional flotilla. During a cruise with the flotilla the following November, a heavy sea swept the upper deck and partially carried away the fore-bridge and twisted other fittings, leading ''skate'' to abort the cruise and return to dock for repairs. In 1906 ''Skate'' was used as a target in firing trials of the effectiveness of various guns against destroyers. 3-pounder (47 mm) guns proved ineffective, having difficulty penetrating the ship's plating in end-on engagements, and while 12-pounder (3-in (76 mm)) guns caused more damage, it was concluded that a single hit could not be guaranteed to disable a destroyer. 4-inch (102 mm) guns proved much more effective, particularly when

Lyddite Picric acid is an organic compound with the formula (O2N)3C6H2OH. Its IUPAC name is 2,4,6-trinitrophenol (TNP). The name "picric" comes from el, πικρός (''pikros''), meaning "bitter", due to its bitter taste. It is one of the most acidic ...

-filled shells were used, and this led to a change in destroyer armament to 4-inch guns.Brown 2003, pp. 178, 187.Friedman 2009, p. 108. Sold in 1907 to Cox & Co. of

Falmouth, Cornwall Falmouth ( ; kw, Aberfala) is a town, civil parish and port on the River Fal on the south coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It has a total resident population of 21,797 (2011 census). Etymology The name Falmouth is of English or ...

for £305,''Journal of the American Society of Naval Engineers'' May 1907, p. 562. she was the first destroyer of this type to go to the breakers.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Skate (1895) Sturgeon-class destroyers Ships built in Barrow-in-Furness 1895 ships Victorian-era destroyers of the United Kingdom