Tribune was one of thirty-three S class destroyers ordered by the British Admiralty on 7 April 1917 as part of the Twelfth 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] Differences with the R class were minor, such as having the searchlight moved aft.[2]
Armament consisted of three QF 4-inch (102 mm) Mk IV guns on the ship's centreline.[4] One was mounted raised on the forecastle, one on a platform between the funnels and one aft.[5] The ship also mounted a single 2-pounder 40-millimetre (1.6 in) "pom-pom" anti-aircraft gun for air defence. Four 21-inch (533 mm) tubes were fitted in two twin rotating mounts aft.[4] The ship was designed to mount two 18-inch (457 mm) torpedo tubes on either side of the superstructure to be controlled by the officer in charge directly, but this required the forecastle plating to be cut away. This made the vessel very wet, so they were removed.[2] The weight saved enabled the heavier Mark V 21-inch torpedo to be carried.[1] Four depth charge chutes were fitted aft.[6] The ship had a complement of 90 officers and ratings.[7]
On 8 December 1921, Tribune was dispatched to Mykolaiv in one of the last naval operations in the Russian conflict.[17] Although there is a lack of contemporary evidence for how Tribune was involved in the actual evacuation, the operation was considered a success by contemporaries.[18] On 1 December the following year, the destroyer was again stationed in Constantinople.[19] The recent Chanak Crisis had shaken the British ruling class and, along with the Carlton Club meeting, led to the fall of the government of David Lloyd George.[14] The destroyer was sent to Chanak on 2 December, but saw no action and returned to Malta the following day.[20]
January 1923 found Tribune still in the Mediterranean.[21] Soon afterwards, the destroyer returned to the UK and was decommissioned. On 21 September, Tribune was recommissioned and subsequently joined the Seventh Destroyer Flotilla of the Atlantic Fleet.[22] The ship then served for a further eight years based at Portsmouth. On 8 August 1929, Tribune took part in a war game around Telscombe, which involved simulated amphibious warfare, combining units from the Royal Navy and the London Regiment of the Territorial Army.[23] On 26 June 1930, the destroyer transported attendees to the Imperial Press Conference to see a demonstration of naval power. The destroyer launched a torpedo at the target shipRoss and was attacked by the submarineL25. The torpedoes ran under their targets, leaving them unharmed but simulated hits.[24] On 7 October, the ship carried some of the coffins of the victims of the R101 disaster back to Britain from France.[25]
On 22 April 1930, the United Kingdom signed the London Naval Treaty, which limited the total destroyer tonnage that the navy could operate.[26] The S class was deemed out of date and ripe to be replaced with more modern ships, including the C and D-class destroyers. In July 1931, Tribune was replaced as emergency destroyer at Portsmouth, with Tribune's crew transferring to sister ship Sabre.[27] On 17 December, the destroyer was sold to Cashmore of Newport, Wales, and broken up.[10]
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