The ''Myrmidon''-class destroyer was a class of two

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 ...

s that 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 ...

. and were built by

Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Company Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Company Limited, often referred to simply as "Palmers", was a United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, British shipbuilder, shipbuilding company. The Company was based in Jarrow, County Durham, in north-eastern ...

as part of the group of boats known as the 'thirty knotters'. Concern about the higher speeds of foreign boats had prompted 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, Tr ...

to order new destroyers capable of , rather than the requirement which had been standard. The boats were not able to make this speed in bad weather, where they were usually wet and uncomfortable with cramped crew quarters, but they proved their toughness in serving in the

Great 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 ...

, despite being twenty years old. Thanks to their watertight bulkheads, their thin plating and light structure was able to take a great deal of damage and remain afloat, although their plates buckled easily affecting their handling. ''Myrmidon'' was sunk after a collision in 1917, while ''Syren'' served through the war and was broken up after the end of hostilities. The ships were fitted with Reed boilers which generated around . They were armed with the standard 12-pounder gun and two

torpedo tube A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed aboa ...

s and carried a complement of 63 officers and men. Ships of this type bore four

funnels A funnel is a tube or pipe that is wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, used for guiding liquid or powder into a small opening. Funnels are usually made of stainless steel, aluminium, glass, or plastic. The material used in its construc ...

and were designated s after a reorganisation in 1913. These particular ships had a special form of funnel cap fitted which was designed to prevent sea water entering the space between the funnel uptake and outer casing.

Ships

* , launched 26 May 1900, rammed and sunk by SS ''Hambourn'' in the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

, 26 March 1917. * , launched 20 December 1900, sold for breaking up 14 September 1920.

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * {{B class destroyer (1913) Destroyer classes Ship classes of the Royal Navy