HMS ''Conflict'' was the

lead ship The lead ship, name ship, or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable to naval ships and large civilian vessels. Large ships are very complex and may ...

of the s built by

J. Samuel White J. Samuel White was a British shipbuilding firm based in Cowes, taking its name from John Samuel White (1838–1915). It came to prominence during the Victorian era. During the 20th century it built destroyers and other naval craft for both the ...

, at

East Cowes East Cowes is a town and civil parish in the north of the Isle of Wight, on the east bank of the River Medina, next to its west bank neighbour Cowes. The two towns are connected by the Cowes Floating Bridge, a chain ferry operated by the Isle ...

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...

for 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 ...

. She was launched on 13 December 1894, and entered service in 1899. After an initial spell in the Mediterranean Fleet, ''Conflict'' returned to British waters, where she served the rest of her career. ''Conflict'' was part of the Portsmouth Local Defence Flotilla during the

First World 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 ...

, which she survived. ''Conflict'' was sold for scrap on 20 May 1920.

Construction and design

On 7 November 1893, the British Admiralty placed an order for three "27-knotter"

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 ...

s (''Conflict'', and ) with the shipbuilder

under the 1893–1894 shipbuilding programme for the Royal Navy, with delivery of the three ships to be completed by April 1895. In total, the 1893–1894 programme ordered 36 destroyers from 14 shipbuilders as a follow-on to the six prototype "26-knotter" destroyers ordered under the 1892–1893 programme. 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, Traf ...

did not specify a standard design for destroyers, laying down broad requirements, including 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 specified armament, which was to vary depending on whether the ship was to be used in the torpedo boat or gunboat role. As a torpedo boat, the planned armament was a single QF 12 pounder 12 cwt ( calibre) gun on a platform on the ship's conning tower (in practice the platform was also used as the ship's bridge), together with a secondary gun armament of three 6-pounder guns, and two 18 inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes. As a gunboat, one of the torpedo tubes could be removed to accommodate a further two six-pounders. The three White-built destroyers were

long overall __NOTOC__ Length overall (LOA, o/a, o.a. or oa) is the maximum length of a vessel's hull measured parallel to the waterline. This length is important while docking the ship. It is the most commonly used way of expressing the size of a ship, an ...

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 ster ...

, 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 light and full load. Three

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-gen ...

s of White's own design fed steam to 2 four-cylinder triple-expansion steam engines, rated at . Three funnels were fitted. ''Conflict'' 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 ...

at White's Cowes,

shipyard on 3 January 1894 as

Yard number __NOTOC__ M ...

945 and was launched on 13 December 1894. The three Wight-built destroyers had difficulty meeting their required contract speed of 27 knots, although ''Conflict'' was eventually recorded as having reached during

sea trials A sea trial is the testing phase of a watercraft (including boats, ships, and submarines). It is also referred to as a "shakedown cruise" by many naval personnel. It is usually the last phase of construction and takes place on open water, and i ...

, and ''Conflict'' was not accepted into service until July 1899.

Service history

After her commission she served 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 ...

, serving as a tender to , and was ordered to return home in early 1902, but took part in gunnery and tactical exercises near

Arucas, Las Palmas Arucas is a municipality in the northern part of the island of Gran Canaria, province of Las Palmas, Canary Islands. Arucas is west of Las Palmas city. Its population is 36,852 (2013),Plymouth on 5 July 1902, and was paid off at

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

on 24 July. In early 1910, ''Conflict'' was a member of the

6th Destroyer Flotilla The British 6th Destroyer Flotilla, or Sixth Destroyer Flotilla, was a military formation of the Royal Navy from 1911 to 1939 and again from 1947 to 1951 History The flotilla was formed in 1911 at Portsmouth, with its first commander, Captain Mo ...

, based at

The Nore The Nore is a long bank of sand and silt running along the south-centre of the final narrowing of the Thames Estuary, England. Its south-west is the very narrow Nore Sand. Just short of the Nore's easternmost point where it fades into the ch ...

, and underwent refit at

Chatham Dockyard Chatham Dockyard was a Royal Navy Dockyard located on the River Medway in Kent. Established in Chatham in the mid-16th century, the dockyard subsequently expanded into neighbouring Gillingham (at its most extensive, in the early 20th century ...

. On 30 August 1912 the Admiralty directed all destroyers were to be grouped into classes designated by letters based on contract speed and appearance. After 30 September 1913, as a 27-knotter, ''Conflict'' was assigned to the . In March 1913, ''Conflict'' was based at

as a tender to the torpedo school HMS ''Vernon'', and listed as in-commission, with a nucleus crew. ''Conflict'' remained attached to HMS ''Vernon'' in July 1914, although now was listed as being in reserve.

First World War

By 1 November 1914, ''Conflict'' was still based at Portsmouth, one of six old destroyers, 17 torpedo boats and four submarines that made up the Local Defence Flotilla for the port. On 24 November 1914, following an attack by the German submarine on the steamer SS ''Malachite'' the previous day, ''Conflict'' and the torpedo boat escorted a transport from

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

Le Havre Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, very ...

. On 4 June 1917, the torpedo boat spotted the conning tower and periscope of a submarine off Portsmouth, and made to attack the submarine, which promptly dived. ''TB 98'' dropped two depth charges at the submarine, and when, about an hour later, the torpedo boat sighted a periscope, ''TB 98'' attempted to ram the submarine. ''Conflict'', which was following close behind ''TB 98'', dropped two depth charges. The attacks by ''TB 98'' and ''Conflict'' were judged by Naval Intelligence to be "improbable" to have been successful, although the commanding officers of the two ships were mentioned in dispatches. ''Conflict'' was remained part of the Portsmouth Local Defence Flotilla in August 1918, but by December that year, while still part of the flotilla, was listed as being paid off.

Disposal

By January 1920, ''Conflict'' was listed as for sale, and the ship was sold on 20 May 1920 to Ward for scrapping at their Milford Haven yard.

Pennant numbers

Notes

References

* * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Conflict (1894) Conflict-class destroyers Ships built on the Isle of Wight 1894 ships A-class destroyers (1913) World War I destroyers of the United Kingdom