HMS ''Daring'' and together made up the of

torpedo boat 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 1 ...

s which served with the Royal Navy during the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. On trial she made headlines as the 'Fastest Boat Ever'. The introduction of

steam turbine A steam turbine is a machine that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam and uses it to do mechanical work on a rotating output shaft. Its modern manifestation was invented by Charles Parsons in 1884. Fabrication of a modern steam turbin ...

s after 1897 quickly made her and her sisters obsolete and she was sold off in 1912.

Construction

The ship was laid down as yard number 287 at the Thornycroft yard at Chiswick in July 1892. She was launched on 25 November 1893 following the naming ceremony by Mrs Thornycroft, the wife of the company founder

John Isaac Thornycroft Sir John Isaac Thornycroft (1 February 1843 – 28 June 1928) was an English shipbuilder, the founder of the Thornycroft shipbuilding company and member of the Thornycroft family. Early life He was born in 1843 to Mary Francis and Thomas ...

. When Daring failed the sea trial

cavitation Cavitation is a phenomenon in which the static pressure of a liquid reduces to below the liquid's vapour pressure, leading to the formation of small vapor-filled cavities in the liquid. When subjected to higher pressure, these cavities, cal ...

was analyzed more deeply for the first time. Thornycroft records suggest that ''Decoy'' and ''Daring'' together cost £66,948, but a letter to the Austrian Naval Attaché stated that the vessels had cost the Admiralty of £36,840 per vessel. ''Daring'' commenced her trials off

Gravesend Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, situated 21 miles (35 km) east-southeast of Charing Cross (central London) on the Bank (geography), south bank of the River Thames and opposite Tilbury in Essex. Located in the diocese of Ro ...

on 17 January 1894 and soon moved to the measured mile at Maplin Sands near Southend. On 19 July she managed a speed of 28.21 knots over the measured mile, exceeding her design speed and earning her the sobriquet of the 'Fastest Boat Ever'. Her coal consumption trial on 18 September showed that on one ton of coal she could travel nearly 38 nautical miles at 10 knots on one boiler. She was completed in February 1895.

Service history

''Daring'' appears to have served in home waters between 1895 and 1912. She was commissioned at Portsmouth on 23 February 1900 as

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to , gunnery school situated on Whale Island near Portsmouth. In early June 1901 a boiler explosion occurred on board ''Daring'' at anchor off Portsmouth, causing the death of a crew-member and injuring several others. An inquiry showed that some tubes were blown out of the lower drum, thus freeing a flood of scalding water and steam. She was passed into the Fleet reserve at Portsmouth in early June 1902, and later the same month joined the instructional flotilla at

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 ...

. Lieutenant A. S. Susmann was appointed in command on 8 August 1902, and the following month she became

to , gunnery school ship off

. Later in September 1902, however, she was reported to be part of a squadron visiting Nauplia and

Souda Bay Souda Bay is a bay and natural harbour near the town of Souda on the northwest coast of the Greece, Greek island of Crete. The bay is about 15 km long and only two to four km wide, and a deep natural harbour. It is formed between the Akr ...

at Crete in the Mediterranean Sea. On 26 October 1907 a minor collision took place between ''Daring'' and the destroyer at Devonport, both ships' hulls being dented. ''Daring'' was sold on 10 April 1912.Lyon (1996), p.43.

Notes

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Daring (1893) Daring-class destroyers (1893) 1893 ships Ships built in Chiswick Ships built by John I. Thornycroft & Company