HMS Teazer
History
United Kingdom
NameHMS Teazer
OrderedDecember 1915
BuilderThornycroft
Laid downMarch 1916
Launched21 April 1917
CommissionedJuly 1917
Out of service6 February 1931
FateSold to be broken up
General characteristics
Class and typeR-class destroyer
Displacement1,035 long tons (1,052 t) standard 1,208 long tons (1,227 t) full
Length274 ft 3 in (83.6 m)
Beam27 ft (324.0 in)
Draught11 ft (3.4 m)
Propulsion
Speed35 knots (40 mph; 65 km/h)
Range3,450 nautical miles (6,390 km) at 20 knots (37 km/h)
Complement82
Armament

HMS Teazer was an R-class destroyer which served with the Royal Navy during World War I. The destroyer was launched in April 1917 and, on trial, proved to be one of the fastest afloat, exceeding 40 knots (46 mph; 74 km/h). Attached to the Harwich Force, the ship supported the monitors Erebus, Terror and Marshal Soult in the bombardment of Zeebrugge in May 1918 and one of the final sorties of the war in the October following. The destroyer also took part in operations off the coast of Heligoland with a flying boat on a lighter, although the aircraft failed to take off. After the war, Teazer was kept in reserve until being sold to be broken up in 1931 following the signing of the London Naval Treaty that limited total destroyer tonnage.

Design and development

Teazer was one of two R-class destroyers ordered by the British Admiralty from Thornycroft in December 1915 as part of the Seventh War Construction Programme alongside Taurus. The ships differed from the six preceding Thornycroft M-class built by the yard in having all geared turbines and the aft gun being raised on a bandstand.[1]

The ship had an overall length of 274 feet 3 inches (83.59 m) and was 265 feet (81 m) between perpendiculars.[2] Beam was 27 ft (324.0 in) and draught 11 ft (3.4 m).[3] Displacement was 1,035 long tons (1,052 t) normal and 1,208 long tons (1,227 t) full load.[4] Three Yarrow boilers fed steam to two sets of Brown-Curtis geared steam turbines rated at 29,000 shaft horsepower (22,000 kW) and driving two shafts, giving a design speed of 35 knots (65 km/h; 40 mph), although Teazer achieved a class-leading speed of 40.22 knots (74.49 km/h; 46.28 mph) during trials.[5] Three funnels were fitted, the centre one larger in diameter than the others. A total of 296 long tons (301 t) of fuel oil was carried, giving a design range of 3,450 nautical miles (6,390 km; 3,970 mi) at 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph).[6]

Armament consisted of three QF 4in Mk IV guns on the ship's centreline. One was mounted on the forecastle, one aft and one between the second and third funnels.[4] The ship also mounted a single 2-pounder (40 mm) pom-pom anti-aircraft gun for air defence and four 21 in (533 mm) torpedoes in two twin rotating mounts.[2] The vessel had a complement of 82 officers and ratings.[4]

Construction and career

Laid down in March 1916, the vessel was launched on 21 April 1917.[3] Teazer was commissioned in July 1917 and joined the Harwich Force, serving as part of the Tenth Destroyer Flotilla.[7] The name had been used by the Royal Navy for warships since 1794, most recently for a Conflict-class destroyer.[8]

On 22 May 1918, the Dover Patrol carried out a bombardment of the German held Belgian port of Zeebrugge, using the monitors Erebus, Terror and Marshal Soult. Teazer was one of the destroyers from the Harwich Force that patrolled the outer perimeter.[9] At the same time, the Navy was looking at alternative ways of attacking the Germans, particularly the fast but short range Thornycroft Coastal Motor Boats and Curtis Large American flying boats. A lighter was developed that could be towed by destroyers, taking the faster craft close to the enemy.[10] On 10 August, Thisbe, towing a flying boat on a lighter and accompanied by six Coastal Motor Boats, joined a fleet of four light cruisers and thirteen destroyers to sail for Heligoland and attack German shipping. Initially, the assignment was not a success as the aircraft failed to take off and the boats were all sunk or interned, but subsequently one of the aircraft launched by one of the other destroyers shot down the Zeppelin LZ 100.[11][12] The vessel also took part in one of the last operations of the war. On 1 October, Teazer was one of a five destroyers, led by flotilla leader Montrose, that identified that German forces had withdrawn from Flanders.[13]

After the armistice of 11 November 1918 and the end of war, the destroyer remained with the Tenth Destroyer Flotilla.[14] Recommissioned on 16 October 1919 and transferred to Devonport, the vessel was reduced to reserve on 11 August 1920.[15][16] Teazer was retired following the signing of the London Naval Treaty which limited total destroyer tonnage in the Navy.[17] The vessel was sold on 6 February 1931 to Cashmore of Newport and broken up.[18]

Pennant numbers

Pennant Number Date
F93September 1915[19]
F71January 1917[20]
D83January 1919[21]
F40November 1919[22]
H17January 1922[23]

References

Citations

  1. ↑ Parkes & Prendegast 1919, p. 106.
  2. 1 2 Moore 1990, p. 70.
  3. 1 2 Parkes & Prendegast 1919, p. 107.
  4. 1 2 3 Gardiner & Gray 1985, p. 81.
  5. ↑ "Thornycroft "R" Class". The Marine Engineer and Naval Architect. 43: 71. 1921.
  6. ↑ Friedman 2009, p. 310.
  7. ↑ "Harwich Force". Supplement to the Navy List Showing Organisation of the Fleet, Flag Officers' Commands &c.: 13. January 1918. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
  8. ↑ Manning & Walker 1959, p. 435.
  9. ↑ Newbolt 1931, pp. 249–251.
  10. ↑ Friedman 2014, p. 183.
  11. ↑ Friedman 2014, p. 184.
  12. ↑ Newbolt 1931, pp. 345–347.
  13. ↑ Newbolt 1931, p. 363.
  14. ↑ "Harwich Force". Supplement to the Navy List Showing Organisation of the Fleet, Flag Officers' Commands &c.: 13. January 1919. Retrieved 10 September 2017.
  15. ↑ "Teazer". The Navy List: 871. April 1920. Retrieved 10 September 2017.
  16. ↑ "Teazer". The Navy List: 871. January 1921. Retrieved 10 September 2017.
  17. ↑ Friedman 2009, p. 211.
  18. ↑ Colledge & Warlow 2006, p. 398.
  19. ↑ Bush & Warlow 2021, p. 53.
  20. ↑ Dittmar & Colledge 1972, p. 71.
  21. ↑ Bush & Warlow 2021, p. 40.
  22. ↑ Bush & Warlow 2021, p. 48.
  23. ↑ Bush & Warlow 2021, p. 67.

Bibliography

  • Bush, Steve; Warlow, Ben (2021). Pendant Numbers of the Royal Navy: A Complete History of the Allocation of Pendant Numbers to Royal Navy Warships & Auxiliaries. Barnsley: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-526793-78-2.
  • Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006). Ships of the Royal Navy: a complete record of all fighting ships of the Royal Navy from the 15th century to the present. London: Chatham. ISBN 978-1-85367-566-9.
  • Dittmar, F.J.; Colledge, J.J. (1972). British Warships 1914–1919. Shepperton: Ian Allan. ISBN 978-0-71100-380-4.
  • Friedman, Norman (2009). British Destroyers: From Earliest Days to the First World War. Barnsley: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-049-9.
  • Friedman, Norman (2014). Fighting the Great War at Sea: Strategy, Tactics and Technology. Barnsley: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-189-2.
  • Gardiner, Robert; Gray, Randal, eds. (1985). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 978-0-85177-245-5.
  • Manning, Thomas Davys & Walker, Charles Frederick (1959). British Warship Names. London: Putnam. OCLC 780274698.
  • Moore, John Evelyn (1990). Jane's Fighting Ships of World War I. London: Random House Group. ISBN 978-1-85170-378-4.
  • Newbolt, Henry (1931). Naval Operations: Volume V. History of the Great War. London: Longmans, Green and Co. OCLC 220475309.
  • Parkes, Oscar; Prendegast, Maurice (1919). Jane's Fighting Ships. London: Sampson Low, Marston & Co. Ltd.
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