HMS Marne (1915)

HMS Marne was a Admiralty M-class destroyer which served with the Royal Navy during the First World War. The M class were an improvement on the preceding L class, capable of higher speed. The ship, the first Royal Navy vessel to be named after the River Marne, was launched on 29 May 1915. For much of the war, the destroyer escorted merchant ships in convoys and Royal Navy warships, but was also involved in the rescue of crew from the battleship HMS King Edward VII in 1916. The destroyer also took part in the Battle of Jutland as part of the shield for the British battlecruisers and engaged with the German light cruiser force with torpedoes. After the armistice, Marne was placed in reserve before being decommissioned and, on 31 November 1921, sold to be broken up.

History
United Kingdom
NameHMS Marne
NamesakeMarne
OrderedSeptember 1914
BuilderJohn Brown & Company, Clydebank
Yard number434
Laid down30 September 1914
Launched29 May 1915
Completed27 September 1915
Out of service31 November 1921
FateSold to be broken up
General characteristics
Class and typeAdmiralty M-class destroyer
Displacement
  • 860 long tons (870 t) normal
  • 1,021 long tons (1,037 t) full load
Length273 ft 8 in (83.4 m)
Beam26 ft 9 in (8.2 m)
Draught16 ft 3 in (4.95 m)
Propulsion
Speed34 knots (63.0 km/h; 39.1 mph)
Range3,450 nmi (6,390 km; 3,970 mi) at 15 kn (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Complement76
Armament

Design and development

Marne was one of the initial six Admiralty M-class destroyers ordered by the British Admiralty in September 1914 as part of the First Emergency War Programme.[1] The M-class was an improved version of the earlier L-class destroyer destroyers, designed to reach a higher speed in order to counter rumoured German fast destroyers, although it transpired these vessels did not exist.[2]

The destroyer was 273 feet 8 inches (83.41 m) long overall, with a beam of 26 feet 9 inches (8.15 m) and a draught of 16 feet 3 inches (4.95 m). Displacement was 860 long tons (870 t) normal and 1,021 long tons (1,037 t) full load.[3] Power was provided by three Yarrow boilers feeding two Brown-Curtis steam turbines rated at 25,000 shaft horsepower (19,000 kW) and driving two shafts, to give a design speed of 34 knots (63 km/h; 39 mph).[4] Three funnels were fitted and 296 long tons (301 t) of oil was carried, giving a design range of 3,450 nautical miles (6,390 km; 3,970 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph).[5]

Armament consisted of three 4-inch (102 mm) Mk IV QF guns on the ship's centreline, with one on the forecastle, one aft on a raised platform and one between the middle and aft funnels. A single 2-pounder (40 mm) pom-pom anti-aircraft gun was carried, while torpedo armament consisted of two twin mounts for 21 in (533 mm) torpedoes.[6] The ship had a complement of 76 officers and ratings.[5]

Construction and career

Marne was laid down by John Brown & Company of Clydebank on 30 September 1914 alongside sister ship Mons with the yard number 434, launched on 29 May the following year and completed on 27 September.[3] The destroyer was the first vessel in the navy to be named after the river Marne in France.[7] The ship was deployed as part of the Grand Fleet, joining the newly formed Eleventh Destroyer Flotilla.[8]

After the battleship King Edward VII had struck a mine on 10 January 1916, Marne was one of twelve destroyers that came to the stricken ship's aid. The destroyer, along with Fortune, Musketeer and Nessus, transferred all but one of the crew and took them back to port.[9] On 1 May, the destroyer picked up the survivors from the armed merchant ship SS San Urbano, which had been sunk by U-81.[10] At the Battle of Jutland later that year, Marne served as one of four members of the Eleventh Destroyer Flotilla attached to the First and Fourth Battle Squadrons.[11] The flotilla then formed close to the dreadnought battleship King George V when the two fleets converged on 31 May.[12] As the German fleet approached during the night, the flotilla was spotted by the vanguard of the High Seas Fleet,[13] The destroyers, led by the light cruiser Castor, attacked the German light cruisers. Marne launching a torpedo that failed to impact.[14] In return, the destroyer received a hit from a 4.1 in (100 mm) shell on the upper deck aft which failed to explode.[15]

During the following year, Marne was transferred to the Northern Division of the Coast of Ireland Station based at Buncrana.[16] The destroyer was part of the escort service provided to convoys travelling across the Atlantic. The Division provided three escorts every eight days to protect convoys travelling to and from Halifax, Nova Scotia.[17] On 2 October, the destroyer briefly escorted Drake after the armoured cruiser had been torpedoed by U-79.[18]

After the armistice, the Royal Navy returned to a peacetime level of mobilisation and Marne was declared superfluous to operational requirements. On 22 October 1919, the destroyer was reduced and placed in reserve at Devonport.[19] However, this did not last long and, after being decommissioned, on 31 November 1921, Marne was sold to G Cohen to be broken up in Germany.[20]

Pennant numbers
Pennant number Date
HA6August 1915[21]
G05January 1917[22]
HA0March 1918[21]
H38January 1919[23]

References

Citations
  1. McBride 1991, p. 44.
  2. Friedman 2009, p. 132.
  3. Johnston 2014, p. 189.
  4. Parkes & Prendergast 1969, p. 109.
  5. Friedman 2009, p. 296.
  6. Gardiner & Gray 1985, p. 79.
  7. Manning & Walker 1959, p. 288.
  8. "Flotillas of the Grand Fleet". The Navy List: 12. October 1915. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
  9. Corbett 1920, p. 266.
  10. Naval Staff Monograph No. 35 1939, p. 18.
  11. Brooks 2016, p. 155.
  12. Brooks 2016, pp. 270.
  13. Corbett 1920, p. 391.
  14. Brooks 2016, p. 386.
  15. Campbell 1998, p. 397.
  16. "Coast of Ireland Station". The Navy List: 17. October 1917. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
  17. Newbolt 1928, p. 106.
  18. Newbolt 1931, p. 162.
  19. "Marne", The Navy List, p. 813, July 1920, retrieved 1 February 2022 – via National Library of Scotland
  20. Colledge & Warlow 2006, p. 217.
  21. Bush & Warlow 2021, p. 78.
  22. Dittmar & Colledge 1972, p. 65.
  23. Bush & Warlow 2021, p. 72.

Bibliography
  • Brooks, John (2016). The Battle of Jutland. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-107-15014-0.
  • 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.
  • Campbell, John (1998). Jutland: An Analysis of the Fighting. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 978-0-85177-750-4.
  • Colledge, J.J.; Warlow, Ben (2006). Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of All Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy. London: Chatham Press. ISBN 978-1-93514-907-1.
  • Corbett, Julian S. (1920). Naval Operations: Volume III. History of the Great War. London: Longmans, Green and Co. OCLC 1049894619.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Johnston, Ian (2014). A Shipyard at War: Unseen Photographs of John Brown & Co. Ltd, Clydebank, 1914–18. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-59114-189-1.
  • Manning, Thomas Davys; Walker, Charles Frederick (1959). British Warship Names. London: Putnam. OCLC 780274698.
  • McBride, Keith (1991). "British 'M' Class Destroyers of 1913–14". In Gardiner, Robert (ed.). Warship 1991. London: Conway Maritime Press. pp. 34–49. ISBN 0-85177-582-9.
  • Monograph No. 35: Home Waters Part IX: 1st May 1917 to 31st July 1917. Naval Staff Monographs (Historical). Vol. XIX. Naval Staff, Training and Staff Duties Division. 1939.
  • Newbolt, Henry (1928). Naval Operations: Volume IV. History of the Great War. London: Longmans, Green and Co. OCLC 1049894132.
  • Newbolt, Henry (1931). Naval Operations: Volume V. History of the Great War. London: Longmans, Green and Co. OCLC 220475309.
  • Parkes, Oscar; Prendergast, Maurice (1969). Jane's Fighting Ships 1919. Newton Abbott: David & Charles. OCLC 907574860.
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