''Tejo'' was Portugal's first

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 ...

, and the first destroyer to be built in Portugal. It was the only ship of its class to be built. Launching in 1904, it served with the Portuguese Navy until 1927.

Construction and design

In 1901 the ship was started in the Naval Arsenal of

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

. This was part of a plan to retrofit the Portuguese Navy, a plan implemented during the reign of Carlos I of Portugal. The ship was originally classified as a "torpedo-gunboat", and was designed to fill the role of gunboat, torpedo boat and

. The ship, displacing 522 tons, was designed to be long with a beam of and a draught of . The engines provided 7000 hp which gave ''Tejo'' a speed of . The vessel had a complement of 85.Campbell, p. 379

Service history

''Tejo'' went into service in 1904, but tests were continued on it until 1906. The initial armament consisted of one gun, one gun, four guns and two torpedo tubes. However, during tests, its broad range of roles limited its effectiveness overall. The decision was then made to transform ''Tejo'' completely into a destroyer. After the First Portuguese Republic was established, the ship was recommissioned as NRP ''Tejo''. In 1910, ''Tejo'' accidentally ran aground in Peniche and suffered severe damage. Five years later, in 1915, the ship was taken to port to be converted completely to a destroyer. These changes were completed in 1917 and the ship became a full-fledged destroyer. It retained most of its armament, only swapping the 65 mm gun for a gun. While undergoing tests, ''Tejo'' proved to be the fastest ship of the Portuguese Navy. ''Tejo'' was scrapped in 1927. This was the second ship in Portugal's history to bear the name ''Tejo''. A gunboat in 1868 was the first and a destroyer of the ''Vouga'' class - launched in 1935 - was the third.

Note

* This article was translated from the Contratorpedeiro português Tejo article in the Portuguese language Wikipedia.

Citations

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tejo 1904 ships Ships built in Portugal Destroyers of Portugal Destroyers of the Portuguese Navy