HMS Comet (1910)
{{short description|Destroyer of the Royal Navy}}
{{other ships|HMS Comet}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2017}}
| {{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image |Ship image=HMS Comet, Acorn-class destroyer - IWM Q 75088.jpg |Ship caption=Comet }} {{Infobox ship career |Hide header= |Ship country=United Kingdom |Ship flag={{shipboxflag|United Kingdom|naval}} |Ship name=Comet |Ship namesake=Great January Comet of 1910 |Ship ordered= |Ship builder=Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering Company, Govan |Ship laid down=1 February 1910 |Ship launched=23 June 1910 |Ship completed=June 1911 |Ship in service= |Ship honours= |Ship fate=Sunk by torpedo, 6 August 1918 |Ship notes= }} {{Infobox ship characteristics |Hide header= |Header caption= |Ship class={{sclass|Acorn|destroyer}} |Ship displacement={{convert|772|LT|t|lk=on}} |Ship length= {{convert|246|ft|m|abbr=on}} |Ship beam={{convert|25|ft|5|in|m|1|abbr=on}} |Ship draught={{convert|8|ft|6|in|m|1|abbr=on}} |Ship propulsion=3 shafts; 1 steam turbine |Ship speed= {{convert|27|kn|lk=in}} |Ship range={{cvt|1540|nmi|lk=in}} at {{convert|15|kn}} |Ship power=*4 Yarrow boilers
|Ship complement=72 |Ship armament=*2 × BL 4 inch naval gun Mk VIII |Ship notes= }} |
HMS Comet was one of 20 {{sclass|Acorn|destroyer}}s built for the Royal Navy in the 1910s. Completed in 1911 she saw active service in the First World War.
Design and description
The Acorn class marked a return to oil-firing as pioneered in the Tribal or F class of 1905 and {{HMS|Swift|1907|6}} of 1907. The Admiralty provided general specifications, but each shipyard did their own detailed design so that ships often varied in size.Gardiner & Gray, p. 74 The Acorns had an overall length of {{convert|246|ft|m|0}}, a beam of {{convert|25|ft|5|in|m|1}}, and a deep draught of {{convert|8|ft|6|in|m|1}}. The ships displaced {{convert|772|LT|t|lk=on}} at deep load and their crew numbered 72 officers and ratings.Friedman, p. 295
The destroyers were powered by a single Parsons steam turbine that drove three propeller shafts using steam provided by four Yarrow boilers. The engines developed a total of {{convert|13500|shp|kW|lk=on}} and were designed for a speed of {{convert|27|kn|lk=in}}. Comet reached a speed of {{convert|27.9|kn}} from {{cvt|13726|shp}} during her sea trials.March, p. 109 The Acorns had a range of {{convert|1540|nmi|lk=in}} at a cruising speed of {{convert|15|kn}}.
The primary armament of the ships consisted of a pair of BL 4 inch naval gun Mk VIII in single, unprotected pivot mounts fore and aft of the superstructure. They were also armed with two single QF 12 pounder 12 cwt naval gun, one on each broadside between the forward and centre funnels. The destroyer were equipped with a pair of single rotating mounts for 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes amidships and carried two reload torpedoes.Friedman, pp. 119, 295
Construction and career
{{stack|File:HMS Comet (1910) IWM Q 021108.jpg}}
Comet was ordered under the 1909–1910 Naval Programme from Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering Company. The ship was laid down at the company's Govan shipyard on 1 February 1910, launched on 23 June and commissioned in June 1911. She was torpedoed and sunk on 6 August 1918.Friedman, p. 306
References
{{reflist}}
Bibliography
- {{cite book|last=Friedman|first=Norman|title=British Destroyers: From Earliest Days to the Second World War|year=2009|publisher=Seaforth Publishing|location=Barnsley, UK|isbn=978-1-84832-049-9}}
- {{cite book|editor1-last=Gardiner|editor1-first=Robert|editor2-last=Gray|editor2-first=Randal|title=Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921|year=1985|publisher=Conway Maritime Press|location=London|isbn=0-85177-245-5|name-list-style=amp}}
- {{cite book|last=March|first=Edgar J.|title=British Destroyers: A History of Development, 1892–1953; Drawn by Admiralty Permission From Official Records & Returns, Ships' Covers & Building Plans|year=1966|publisher=Seeley Service|location=London |oclc=164893555}}
- {{cite book| last=Jellicoe|first=John |author-link=John Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe |title=The Grand Fleet 1914–16: Its Creation, Development and Work| url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.41761| year=1919| publisher=Cassell and Company |location=London |oclc=859842281 }}
{{Acorn class destroyer}}
{{August 1918 shipwrecks}}
{{coord|36|29|N|15|45|E|display=title}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Comet (1910), HMS}}
Category:Acorn-class destroyers
Category:World War I destroyers of the United Kingdom