HMS Scout was an S-classdestroyer that served with the Royal Navy from the end of the First World War to the end of the Second World War. On retirement, the vessel was the oldest destroyer in the Royal Navy. The S class was a development of the previous R class, with minor differences, constructed as a cheaper and faster alternative to the V and W class. Launched in 1918, Scout joined the Grand Fleet for the last few months of the First World War before sailing in 1919 under the command of Rear-admiralWalter Cowan to participate in the British campaign in the Baltic. Scout was part of a flotilla attacked by four Russian destroyers, led by Avtroil, but sustained no damage and, on returning to the UK, was placed in reserve. The vessel participated in coastal artillery training exercises near the River Tees in 1934 and ran aground in 1938 but returned to service in the China Station before the start of the Second World War. Scout assisted in the defence of northern Sumatra after the United Kingdom declaration of war on Japan and evacuated naval personnel from Singapore after the fall of the island before being transferred to Trincomalee, Ceylon, in 1942, serving as an escort for the remainder of the war. With peace, Scout was retired and, in 1946, sold to be broken up.
Scout was one of 33 Admiralty S class destroyers ordered by the British Admiralty on 17 April 1917 as part of the Eleventh War Construction Programme. The design was a development of the R class introduced as a cheaper and faster alternative to the V and W class.[1][2] Differences with the R class were minor, such as having the searchlight moved aft.[3]
Armament consisted of three QF 4 in (102 mm) Mk IV guns on the ship's centreline.[5] One was mounted raised on the forecastle, one on a platform between the funnels and one aft.[6] The ship also mounted a single 2-pounder 40 mm (1.6 in) "pom-pom" anti-aircraft gun for air defence. Four 21 in (533 mm)torpedo tubes were carried in two twin rotating mounts aft.[5] Four depth charge chutes were also fitted aft. Typically ten depth charges were carried.[7] The ship was designed to mount two additional 18 in (457 mm) torpedo tubes either side of the superstructure but this required the forecastle plating to be cut away, causing excess water to come aboard at sea, so they were removed.[3] The weight saved enabled the heavier Mark V 21-inch torpedo to be carried.[1]Fire control included a training-only director, single Dumaresq and a Vickers range clock.[8] The ship had a complement of 90 officers and ratings.[9]
Although the war on the Western Front had finished, the escalating civil war in Russia continued. The United Kingdom decided to send units of the Royal Navy into the Baltic Sea to monitor the situation and to protect British interests.[14] The fleet was also tasked with helping to help organise the evacuation of German forces from the country and supporting the Estonian War of Independence.[15]Scout was sent as part of a detachment of ten destroyers under the command of Rear-admiralWalter Cowan in the light cruiserCaledon. The flotilla left on 25 March 1919, sailing initially to Oslo, Norway, and Copenhagen, Denmark.[16] Remaining there until 26 April, Scout then departed for Tallinn to support the Estonian armed forces.[17] On 14 May, the destroyer, alongside the light cruiser Cleopatra, destroyer leaderShakespeare and destroyer Walker, left the port to Narva Bay and sailed along the Gulf of Finland. There they supported the Estonian troops against the Red Army with gunfire. They also had occasional encounters with Soviet warships, but these did not lead to significant action. For example, on 17 May, the British flotilla was stationed off the island of Seskar observing the Russian fleet at Kronstadt when the dreadnought battleshipPetropavlovsk was reported to have left the anchorage. As the flotilla moved in, four Russian destroyers, led by Avtroil, attacked. Returning fire, the British ships reported a hit on one of the Russian vessels. However, both sides retreated before significant damage was recorded.[18]
At the same time, the Royal Navy was returning to a peacetime level of strength and both the number of ships and personnel needed to be reduced to save money.[19] By October, Scout had joined the Seventh Destroyer Flotilla based at Rosyth and was placed in reserve with a reduced complement.[20] The ship was briefly allocated to Plymouth as an emergency destroyer until replaced by Tuscan in August 1925.[21] On 1 April 1932, after being repaired, the vessel took up a similar role at the Nore.[22] From there, Scout undertook a visit to Southend between 9 and 13 July.[23] On 9 August 1934, the destroyer took part in an exercise with sister shipScimitar to test the defences of the northeast coast, including the coastal artillery defending the River Tees.[24]Scout was relieved by Wanderer on 5 March the following year.[25] In April 1936, Scout ceremonially carried the body of the German Ambassador, Leopold von Hoesch, from Dover to Germany after he had died of a heart attack in London.[26] On 4 January 1938, the ship ran aground shortly after departing Sheerness Dockyard for trials but was refloated with one engine damaged and no loss of life.[27] After being repaired, Scout was recommissioned on 20 September and dispatched to Singapore, arriving at the colony on 19 December via the Suez Canal.[28][29]
Scout joined the China Station.[30] On 12 May 1939, the destroyer was moored off the coast of Xiamen in response to Japanese aggression.[31] Based at British Hong Kong, with the United Kingdom declaration of war on Japan on 8 December 1941, the ship sailed to Singapore.[32] On 18 December, Scout was in command of a flotilla of small craft known as the Perak Flotilla whose task was to stop Japanese landings in northern Sumatra.[33] The Japanese instead attacked Palembang on the south of the island on 13 February 1942.[34] By that time, the destroyer had left the island. During the fall of Singapore, on 14 February, the destroyer left the colony carrying naval personnel, including some who had survived the sinking of Repulse, to safety.[35] Arriving in Batavia, the ship undertook a sortie on 26 February to attack a Japanese convoy, but returned without spotting it the following day. The destroyer sailed for the navy base at Trincomalee in British Ceylon for following day.[36] On 26 March, the ship initially formed part of Force B based at the island supporting the Revenge class battleships that constituted the core of the force.[37] The vessel spent the rest of the war as an escort, primarily between Ceylon and India, but occasionally further afield. For example, on 8 March 1943, the vessel accompanied the troopshipMonticello on a trip from Bombay to Melbourne, Australia.[38]
After the end of the conflict, Scout was retired and sold to be broken up on 29 March 1946 by Thos. W. Ward at Briton Ferry.[39] At the time, the vessel was the oldest destroyer in the Royal Navy.[40]
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. ISBN978-1-526793-78-2.
Colledge, James Joseph; 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. ISBN978-1-85367-566-9.
Cunningham, Andrew Browne (1951). A Sailor's Odyssey: The Autobiography of Admiral of the Fleet, Viscount Cunningham of Hyndhope, K.T., G.C.B., O.M.D.S.O. London: Hutchinson. OCLC883960472.
Dull, Peter (2013). A Battle History of the Imperial Japanese Navy 1941–1945. New York: Naval Institute Press. ISBN978-1-61251-290-7.
Dunn, Steve (2020). Battle in the Baltic: The Royal Navy and the Fight to save Estonia & Latvia 1918–20. Barnsley: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN978-1-52674-273-5.
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