HMS Sprightly (1900)

"Sprightly" redirects here. For the Australian research ship, see RV Sprightly. For the island in Antarctica, see Sprightly Island.

History
United Kingdom
Name	HMS Sprightly
Builder	Laird, Son & Co., Birkenhead
Laid down	20 June 1899
Launched	25 September 1900
Completed	March 1902
Fate	Scrapped, 1920
General characteristics
Class and type	Lively-class destroyer
Displacement	385 long tons (391 t)
Length	219 ft (67 m)
Beam	21.25 ft (6.5 m)
Draught	8 ft 7 in (2.6 m)
Propulsion	Vertical triple-expansion steam engines Coal-fired Normand boilers 6,250 hp (4,661 kW)
Speed	30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph)
Armament	1 × QF 12-pounder gun 3 × 6-pounder guns 3 × 18 inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes

HMS Sprightly was a B-class torpedo boat destroyer of the British Royal Navy. She was built speculatively by Laird, Son & Company, Birkenhead, pre-empting further orders for vessels of this type, and was purchased by the navy in 1901.

Construction

Sprightly arrived at Plymouth from Birkenhead in late November 1901 for tests and fitting of navy equipment.^[1] She was placed in the B division of the Fleet Reserve at Devonport in late March 1902.^[2]

In 1912 the Admiralty directed all destroyers were to be grouped into classes designated by letters based on appearance.^[3][4] to provide some system to the naming of HM destroyers. "30 knotter" vessels with 4 funnels, were classified by the Admiralty as the B-class, the 3-funnelled, "30 knotters" became the C-class and the 2-funnelled ships the D-class). As a 4 funnel vessel Sprightly became a B-class.

Operational history

Sprightly was commissioned at Devonport by Commander Roger Keyes on 13 May 1902,^[5] with the crew of the destroyer Falcon, taking that ship's place in the instructional flotilla.^[6] She took part in the fleet review held at Spithead on 16 August 1902 for the coronation of King Edward VII.^[7]

References

1. "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36621. London. 25 November 1901. p. 10.
2. "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36726. London. 27 March 1902. p. 4.
3. Gardiner and Gray 1985, p. 18.
4. Manning 1961, pp. 17–18.
5. "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36773. London. 21 May 1902. p. 10.
6. "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36764. London. 10 May 1902. p. 8.
7. "Naval Review at Spithead". The Times. No. 36847. London. 15 August 1902. p. 5.

Bibliography

• Brassey, T. A., ed. (1898). The Naval Annual 1898. Portsmouth, UK: J Griffin and Co.
• Chesneau, Roger & Kolesnik, Eugene M., eds. (1979). Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-133-5.
• Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.
• Dittmar, F.J.; Colledge, J.J. (1972). British Warships 1914–1919. Shepperton, UK: Ian Allan. ISBN 0-7110-0380-7.
• Friedman, Norman (2009). British Destroyers: From Earliest Days to the Second World War. Barnsley, UK: 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 0-85177-245-5.
• Lyon, David (2001) [1996]. The First Destroyers. London: Caxton Editions. ISBN 1-84067-3648.
• Manning, T. D. (1961). The British Destroyer. London: Putnam & Co. OCLC 6470051.
• March, Edgar J. (1966). British Destroyers: A History of Development, 1892–1953; Drawn by Admiralty Permission From Official Records & Returns, Ships' Covers & Building Plans. London: Seeley Service. OCLC 164893555.